Editorial draft for review. “From the guide” sections are Parker's words; “Working it out,” examples and worksheets are editorial.
Guide sections: Transitions That Always Work
Read
Read “From the guide” first, out loud if you can. Then read “Working it out.”
From the guide
Use these freely:
“Here’s what the text says. Here’s why it matters.”
“If that’s true, here’s what we do.”
“Some of you are thinking…”
“This is where it gets personal.”
“Let me show you what this looks like.”
“So what? Now what?”
Transitions keep people with you.
Working it out
Each one does a job. Notice what the six are for. Two move from explanation to application (“Here's why it matters,” “here's what we do”). One names an objection (“Some of you are thinking…”). One turns toward the listener (“This is where it gets personal”). One introduces an illustration (“Let me show you”). One sums up and moves on (“So what? Now what?”).
Fill them with your content. Use the phrases freely, and follow each with something specific from your sermon. “Some of you are thinking…” only works if you then say what they are really thinking.
Find the joins. A sermon has more joins than points: opening to first movement, between movements, explanation to application inside a movement, and into the landing.
Worked example (fictional, weak vs stronger)
Weak: “Moving on to my next point.” Stronger: “If that's true, here's what we do,” followed at once by the first application from Mark 4:40 (sample work). The stronger version tells listeners why the next part matters.
Discuss
- Where in your sermon might a listener get lost?
- Which of the six do you already use without thinking?
- Where in your sermon is a skeptic thinking something you have not named?
- Which join in your sermon has no transition at all?
Mentor: listen to the transitions read back to back and say where you got lost.
Practice
List every join in your sermon. Choose one of the six for each, or write your own, and write the sentence that follows it. Read them out loud in order. Then ask your mentor, without looking at your outline, to describe how two of your movements connect. Repair the weakest join.
Worksheet
Copy onto paper or download below; nothing is saved here.
- Opening → first movement: transition and next sentence
- Between each pair of movements: transition and next sentence
- Explanation → application (each movement): transition and next sentence
- Into the landing: transition and next sentence
- Which of the six I used
- My mentor's description of one connection / the weakest join and my repair
Review
Artifact: Written transitions for every join.
Complete when: Every join has a transition followed by specific content, and they have been read out loud in order.
- Every join has a transition.
- Each is followed by content from this sermon.
- At least one names what listeners are thinking.
- Read out loud in sequence.
- Mentor described a connection without the outline, and the weakest join was repaired.
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.