Script

Hello and welcome back to our masterclass

My name is Ian White and right now we’re going to take our next step towards crafting a sermon and start to think about the main idea your sermon will contain.

We’re likening the crafting of a sermon to creating a bridge

(here’s our bridge)

On one side we have the world of the Bible and on the other we have the world of today

• and the way I’m recommending you work on a bible passage is like this …

• let’s assume that our work on the Bible’s text is complete,

So, armed all this stuff, we’re now going to develop the single idea that will be the heartbeat of your talk or sermon.

What will be the heartbeat of your sermon?

Now, as with all of the insights in the masterclass, you may have your own way of doing this; especially if you’re a regular preacher.

I’d really like to hear about it in the comments section below so we can share our journey together.

You can probably see some symmetry here in our method (that probably says more about me liking things neat and tidy than it does about much else!)

The question to think about in this segment is

What will be the single thing – the main point that you want to get across,

and how might we go about finding it?

The Big Idea?

This boils down to asking what do you want your congregation to remember from your talk?

Write it down – as briefly, as succinctly and as clearly as possible

• it may take time to work it out – and I quite often have several attempts before I settle on something I’m happy with.

Consider this: “If ten people were asked what you preached about today, would seven of them give the same answer?”

• and would it be the same as your answer?!

This highlights the principle difference between a sermon and a lecture.

• Lecture – many points, students taking notes, and the focus is largely in information

• Sermon – one main point – and the focus is largely on inspiration

So in a sermon we want to say one thing and say it well!

The big idea of your sermon should be similar to the big idea of the passage you’ve been studying

• And if it isn’t, just be clear with your own conscience that you’re expounding the right text for this occasion.

How can I locate my Big Idea?

I’m using the word ‘locate’ deliberately – because in my experience it’s going to be in there somewhere and what I have to do is dig for it,

I think of myself as being a little like a metal detectorist.

• Sometimes you find a single coin, sometimes you hit on a whole hoard.

So to locate the big idea, the heartbeat, I find myself asking questions like these:

What can I say that will create a sense of awe and wonder?

• It may be to wonder at who God is – what Christ has done

• at how worship changes me etc.

What can I say that will comfort the disturbed?

• It may be claiming a biblical promise that God knows your pain, or is with you in suffering.

• In every congregation there are people facing uncertainty and anxieties.

• Our task is never to gloss over these tough realities.

Conversely:

What can I say that will disturb the comfortable?

• It may be a challenge to live a different lifestyle or adopt a different pattern of thinking.

• But do beware of assuming your audience is complacent.

• For the most part there are good reasons for our congregation members to behave the way they do, and it’s our job to understand them and minister to them.

And that brings me on to a fourth question:

What can I say that will show my concern and compassion for the people I’m speaking to?

• This was a factor that made Jesus’ preaching distinctive in his day

Matthew tells us “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

• and the gospel writers observe this often enough for it to be noticeable.

• (also in Matthew 14:14, 15:32, 20:34, Mark 6:34)

My friend, if you don’t feel genuine compassion for the people you’re preaching to, then do us all a favour and don’t preach to them. Recuse yourself from the pulpit!

• If you find yourself preaching out of anger, frustration or envy then deal with your own heart first before you assume the right to mess with anyone else’s.

• I have heard too many sermons where the preacher has launched a verbal attack on his congregation (and it tends to be us men who do this the most) telling them they’re not being sufficiently committed, not worshipping heartily enough, not giving enough, not praying enough,

• and the result is crushed (often mystified) people. (especially people who are more prone to being crushed)

(end of rant)

Fundamentally, then, What is the thing that I most want people to remember?

Say one thing and say it well!

To find that one thing I will almost certainly need some digging.

When I reflect on this part of the process, I find a some scriptures very telling in this regard:

Mary had a visitation from an angel who told her she would be the mother of God’s son.

• She ‘pondered these things in he heart” Luke 2:18-19

When we do the same, the text becomes part of our thinking.

• Probe at it like a bee probing at blossom

• Play with it like a dog at a bone

• Suck at it like a child with a milk shake

• Chew on it like a cow chews the grass. And a cow has 8 stomachs – so digest it many times over!

All the time, cry humbly to God “please, Lord, light up (illuminate) your word to my soul, so I can light up other people’s”

Again

Daniel was wrestling with God and trying to hear what the Lord was saying. It was a very different situation from ours, but the principles still holds. The angel said to Daniel

“Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. Daniel 10:12

When I humble myself to hear the heartbeat of God from his word to embed it in my words, angels attend to guide me!

In 2 Timothy 2:7 Paul assured Timothy

“The Lord will grant you understanding

So scribble down your thoughts – sometimes they’ll be a jumble!

And try to tease out the one thing you want people to take away, and then write it in a single easy-to-read sentence.

Say one thing – and say it well!

A couple of examples:

E.g. When preparing on Colossians 1:1-14 “I thank God for you all and want you to live for him”

E.g. Ruth 1: “No matter where you are right now, God can bring you home.”

E.g. the parable of the good Samaritan

We could expound it as saying that acts of service are important for Christians. That would be true, but it would miss the racial point Jesus made. That it was someone who was despised because of his ethnicity that was God’s agent!

It’s an implied criticism of religion that doesn’t extend love and care to the last, the least and the lowest. If we don’t do that our religion, however orthodox, is bogus.

Jesus message that ‘Samaritan lives matter’!

Charles Simeon was a preacher in the early 19^th century who wrote extensively about how to preach. He said

“I think every sermon should have like a telescope with but one object in the field”

And he went on to say that, once we’ve discovered that object, we should write it down as a “categorical proposition” (Let’s just call it the heartbeat, or the big idea, or the main theme – whatever)

they he goes on to say:

“Reduce your text to a simple proposition, and lay that down … [Then] screw the word into the minds of your hearers. A screw is the strongest of all mechanical powers … when it has turned a few times, scarcely any power can put it out”

Here is John Stott

“In our sermon preparation we must not try to bypass the discipline of waiting patiently for the dominant thought to disclose itself…. Then there will be no danger of unscrupulous text-twisting. On the contrary, the Word of God will dominate our mind, set fire to our hearts … and later leave a lasting impression on the congregation”

Say one thing – and say it well.