Editorial draft for review. “From the guide” sections are Parker's words; “Working it out,” examples and worksheets are editorial.
Guide sections: The Foundation of All Preaching
Read
Read “From the guide” first, out loud if you can. Then read “Working it out.”
From the guide
The goal is transformation, not information
The purpose of studying is not to make you smart.
It’s to make you holy, wise, and impactful in the world.
What we say is not meant to impress, or even inform, but to transform.
If your sermon doesn’t call for response, it’s just a lecture.
Let the text be the text
Learn to see Jesus in the Bible.
Let the text lead.
Let the text speak.
Let the text confront.
Let the text comfort.
Don’t force ideas onto Scripture.
Pull truth out of it.
Exegesis means to lead out of the text.
Eisegesis means to force something into it.
Choose exegesis every time.
Preach from conviction
Great preaching comes from deep conviction.
“I know, I believe, I am persuaded, I am committed.”
People can feel borrowed conviction.
They can feel real conviction too.
Authority doesn’t come from volume.
It comes from persuasion of heart.
Working it out
Response is the test. Before you write anything else, ask what response this sermon will call for. If you cannot name one, you are planning a lecture.
The text addresses you first. Let the passage lead, confront and comfort you before you ask it to do that for anyone else. A simple test for exegesis: could a careful listener with the passage open see where your point came from?
See Jesus. Ask of every passage where it shows us Jesus, and let the text answer rather than forcing a connection.
Borrowed or real. You will learn from other preachers, and you should. But a sermon carried by someone else's conviction sounds borrowed. Find the part of this passage you are personally persuaded of and build from there.
Faithfulness and results (editorial addition). Aim for transformation and call for response. The results belong to God; your part is faithful, prayerful work.
Example
A preacher (fictional) planned a sermon on generosity from a passage that turned out to be mainly about trust. After tracing his claim to the text, he rewrote it around trust and kept generosity as one application.
Discuss
- Where has a passage confronted or comforted you personally before you preached it?
- Where does your passage show us Jesus?
- Which part of your current sermon idea came from the text, and which came from you?
- What in this passage are you personally persuaded of? What are you still borrowing?
Mentor: describe a sermon you preached on borrowed conviction and what you learned.
Practice
This is a “before” snapshot, not your big idea. Write in one sentence what you currently expect this sermon to say. Underneath, list the words or details in the passage that support it and mark anything that does not come from the text. Then write the response you hope the sermon will call for. Keep this page unchanged. In installment 5 you will mark each claim on it keep, revise or remove.
Worksheet
Copy onto paper or download below; nothing is saved here.
- What I currently expect this sermon to say (one sentence)
- Words or details in the passage that support it
- Parts not supported by the text
- Where this passage shows us Jesus
- The response I hope it calls for
- What I am personally persuaded of here
Review
Artifact: “Before” snapshot traced to the passage.
Complete when: Every part of the sentence points to something in the text or is marked for rethinking, and a hoped-for response is named.
- Snapshot is one sentence.
- Each part points to the text or is marked.
- A response is named.
- One personal conviction is named.
- Snapshot kept unchanged for the installment 5 comparison.
Mentor feedback
Bring the work you made, not just your answers. Show one place where the passage shaped a decision. Name one strength, choose one useful improvement, and check the revision together.
- Name one real strength in the work.
- Name one priority improvement, based on evidence in the work.
- Revise, then recheck against the review list.