I'll never forget preaching that sermon. Even as I spoke I was thinking, "The only way I could get better attention is if I'd forgotten to wear my pants!"
The message wasn't much different from any other sermon. But that Sunday, I was experimenting with a new way of delivering that message. And people were listening very closely.
Preaching is a great privilege. But it can also be great anguish. You agonize in prayer to "feed the sheep" faithfully. You work hard all week to prepare. You get excited about the wondrous truths of Scripture. Sunday comes. You start to preach. Listeners say, "Been there. Done that. Goodnight."
What does it take to keep people's attention? A murder mystery? Murder is not necessary. But it is a step in the right direction.
God created us to be inquisitive. We humans want to discover. We don't want to be told. Look how God revealed himself in the Bible, not through a systematic theology but in a lot of stories. Jesus used stories. He almost always preceded his proposition with a question. In one of my favorite stories in the Bible, Jesus told a story, asked a question, and then drove home his point (Luke 7:36-50).
So, what caused me to feel like I must be preaching without pants? After reading Eugene K. Lowry's book, "The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as a Narrative Art Form," I decided to experiment. It worked!
What does a sermon with characteristics of a story look like? It begins with a problem. Then it increases in the listeners' minds the tension related to the problem. But it withholds the solution until a clue helps them begin to discover the answer for themselves from the Word of God.
"Inductive Preaching: Helping People Listen" by Ralph L. Lewis & Gregg Lewis takes it a step further, recommending an inductive-deductive structure. The first half of the sermon would inductively lead to Lowry's "Clue." The second half deductively fleshes out the main idea of the sermon.
Some might object that this just lengthens the introduction and leaves less time for teaching. But the goal is not to douse listeners with ten gallons of teaching. We would rather have them drink deeply of the rivers of living water, even if only one gallon.
Enough theory! How about some specific methodology?
Being an engineer kind of person, I love to take a complex problem and create a solution so simple that anyone could use it. Below are seven steps that produce a five-point inductive-deductive sermon outline that has worked exceptionally well for me.
Preparation: What is expository preaching?
This article assumes a solid understanding of expository preaching as Dr. Haddon Robinson covers magnificently in his classic, "Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages." The simplest expression in my mind is: Preach what the Bible teaches. That may seem obvious. But the Bible can all too easily become just another piece of supporting material.
Outline: What is an "in-deductive" sermon outline?
This is what it looks like, complete with alliteration, of course.
TRIP—Upset the listeners' equilibrium.
TENSION—Provoke the relevant questions or problems they have.
TWIST—Provide a clue to the solution.
TRUTH—Explain the Bible's solution to the problem.
TRIUMPH—Give them a nugget of truth to take with them.
Method: How do I create that outline?
Here are the steps in the most natural order.
Exegetical Study
Research the history, grammar, and theology of the passage. Paraphrasing the text can help define a good exegetical idea.
Homiletical Idea
This is the most crucial step. This is also the most challenging step. Making the transition from an exegetical idea to the “Big Idea” requires the most prayer and hard thinking, even wrestling with (not against) the Spirit. This step is so hard that some preachers just don't do it. Honestly, it’s far easier just to talk about the exegetical information you have gathered and hope for the best.
Sometimes sermons spend most of their time on exegetical details and tack on some applications at the end. Frankly, don’t most listeners sit there thinking, "I don't care about how the Israelites took care of their sheep"? They get tired of waiting and leave the station long before the application arrives.
Imagine attending a lecture on the proper way to fill out a certain government form. The speaker even includes the grammar and history of the questions. On the other hand, imagine starting that lecture with, "If you don't fill out this form correctly, you could lose your house."
Robert Traina's classic "Methodical Bible Study" (1952) on the Observation, Interpretation, and Application of Scripture asserts the same point.
"The applicatory step is that for which all else exists. It represents the final purpose of Bible study."
If so, then it also represents the final purpose of the sermon. Application cannot be an appendix. It should define the shape of the sermon from beginning to end.
Transforming the exegetical to the homiletical is utterly essential. But it is also the most rewarding step as you work with the Holy Spirit to formulate a message that both he and you can deliver in power to the people you minister to.
The Twist
Closely related to the homiletical idea is the Twist, the Clue. In fact, it may well need to be developed in parallel. The Clue gives the listeners the chance to begin to discover for themselves the biblical solution to the problems presented in the Tension. Moreover, it connects the Tension to the Truth.
Brainstorming the Twist is difficult but I have found a helpful question.
What is the most startling truth in this passage?
Some passages will have more startling truths than others. Deciding which one to use depends on what God lays on your heart and how it relates to the homiletical idea. Furthermore, it can be intensified by the Trip and the Tension.
For example, with John 3:16, one might have a homiletical idea something like this: God gave his all, his one, dear Son, to give us our all, eternal life. In that case, the Twist might be something like this: For us not to perish, Jesus had to perish.
The Trip
This is the normal attention-getting opening. But it must hook them on the Tension, the more personal the better. Of course, it could also be just the ever-reliable "Once upon a time," as I attempted in this article.
The Tension
In stories, this is usually called the conflict that the protagonist encounters. In the sermon, it is what you want happening in the listeners' minds. You are trying to raise deep needs to their consciousness to build tension that makes them cry out, "Yes, I have that problem! Tell me how the Lord can fix it!"
A curious thing happened on the way to the development of this step. The best Tension turns out to be from the passage itself, the opposite of the Truth. Your sermon preparation becomes like the game show "Jeopardy." You get to figure out the questions from the answers in the text.
For example, with John 3:16, one could talk about how we Christians take God’s love for granted, how we often don’t feel his love, how we get wrapped up in our temporary, earthly life and never think about heavenly life, how we never think about what it cost the Father and what it cost the Son.
The Truth
Relate the Scripture passage as solutions to the problems created in the Tension section of the sermon. Unfold the homiletical idea in the process.
The Triumph
Resolve the story of the sermon. Describe the "happily ever after." Send them on their way with the Big Idea or a pithy restatement of it.
If you've never felt like you must be preaching without pants, try an “in-deductive” sermon. Follow Jesus' example of whetting the appetite before serving the bread of life. Help people do what they really want to do, thoroughly engage with the Word of God, even with God himself.
To see examples for the book of Colossians, click the "Series" link next to the title above.
