Versus
aimless rambling with one’s words, to be an
effective communicator, one must organize his thoughts. This is
especially true
when one purposes to communicate the Word of God to his fellow man; no
communication is as important as or more desperately needed by humanity
than
divine revelation. Therefore, preachers and teachers must carefully
prepare
beforehand how to convey selected truths from God’s Word; the
sheer volume of
divine revelation (the Bible) and the limited capacity of mortals to
absorb it
on any one occasion, the whole counsel of God (Acts 20:27) must be
proclaimed
in installments. The whole counsel of God needs to be preached, but not
all at
once and not in such a disorganized fashion that it is incomprehensible.
The most important element to a well-organized
presentation (including sermons and Bible studies) is the thesis or
purpose
statement. Nothing belongs in a particular sermon or Bible lesson that
does not
pertain to and explain the thesis or purpose statement. While various
sermons
or Bible lessons, indeed, may contain a wide range of biblical
material, not
every biblical truth belongs in the same outline. The thesis or purpose
statement needs to be carefully worded to be direct and simple enough
to allow
the subsequent outline to explain it thoroughly within the anticipated
available time allotment. One must guard against making either a vague
thesis
or purpose statement or making the thesis or purpose statement too long
or
complicated.
The
thesis or purpose statement is the anchor for the
sermon to which one organizing his thoughts (usually in written form)
repeatedly visits throughout the process of organization and
composition of
one’s outline. While some people do not need to use an
outline or notes while
preaching or teaching, one must at least refer to a mental outline
while
publicly speaking, especially to ensure that he makes an organized,
understandable presentation while avoiding as much as possible
unintended and
pointless repetition (not all repetition is unintended or pointless, 2 Peter
1:12-15; 3:1).
One’s
well-organized thoughts need to be balanced,
respecting quantity and discernible transition from point to point. It
must be
apparent to the auditor of one’s preaching and teaching what
the purpose of the
sermon or Bible study is, as well as that the presenter has clearly and
adequately demonstrated that the thesis statement has been
satisfactorily
developed
The best communicators lead their hearers not merely to
acquire information, but challenge the auditors of their speeches to
act consciously
upon the facts presented (e.g., repent, apply to themselves, commit
themselves,
etc.). Good preachers and teachers exhibit genuine enthusiasm for the
object of
their preaching and teaching (i.e., not just speaking more loudly, but
become
animated by the subject matter); they pass this zeal for the Word of
God to the
honest hearts (2 Corinthians 9:2) of those who hear them proclaim the
unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ (Ephesians 3:8).
While enthusiasm cannot be written on paper (or a
computer screen), organization can be committed to printed form.
Frankly, the
mechanics of outlining a sermon are so simple that it is almost no more
difficult to write a good sermon than to fill in the blanks! Every line
of a
sermon outline should be a full sentence; abbreviated statements do
little to
convey the intended thoughts maybe to the presenter and certainly to
anyone
else to whom the outline may be given. In addition, one can flesh out
his
thoughts more fully in full sentences in his outlines, and he can
practice word
choice and good grammar in full sentences in outlines. One need not say
the
exact words in his sermon outline when making the presentation (either
by
reading the manuscript or memorizing it, neither of which make for
effective
presentations), but every preacher and teacher of God’s Word
needs to be
familiar with the lesson material and have a plan on how to best
present it.
Often, full sentence outlines provide for extended opportunities for
teaching
by giving the notes to others as handouts, or the outlines provide the
basis of
written articles or books or radio or TV sermons at some future time.
Don’t
re-invent the wheel, but build in the future on past studies;
don’t merely open
canned goods (previous sermons, etc.) in the future and warm up what
one used
in the past, but use the past efforts as a foundation for building new
sermons,
Bible studies and articles.
Following is the outline that I use tenaciously. In
addition, for ten years, I taught students in a school of preaching to
mold
their sermons after this pattern. See if the following template
doesn’t prove
useful for you, and amount to filling in the blanks with your Bible
study on a
particular topic or passage of Scripture.
Title:
________________________________
Text:
________________________________
Thesis:
________________________________
Song:
________________________________
Introduction:
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
3.
________________________________.
Body:
I.
________________________________.
A.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
B.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
II.
________________________________.
A.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
B.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
III.
________________________________.
A.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
B.
________________________________.
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
Conclusion:
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
3.
________________________________.
Invitation:
1.
________________________________.
2.
________________________________.
3.
________________________________.
A symmetrically balanced outline is not lopsided in any
area as opposed to some other area of the outline; for instance, if
there is a
sub point “one”, there is at least a sub point
“two” also. In addition, one
section of an outline will not have numerous sub points while another
section
of the outline has no or few sub points. Pretend to build an airplane,
and
consequently balance it so that so that can fly.
Every statement throughout the outline ought almost to
demand what the next statement will be; going back to the airplane
illustration, one ought to be able to glide from one point to the next
point
throughout the outline. Alternatively, to use another illustration,
imagine the
difference between driving a car with an automatic transmission versus
an
automobile with a standard transmission. No one wants a jerky ride, and
likewise, one’s presentation should be smooth from point to
point automatically
and naturally, not jerky and awkward.
Every sermon needs an invitation. The invitation to the
first recorded Gospel sermon appears in Acts
2:38.
A sermon needs to call listeners to action (e.g., to save
one’s soul or apply
some part of God’s Word to one’s life). Going back
to the concept of smooth
transition, the first point under the invitation should provide for a
smooth
transition or bridge from the sermon to the invitation. There is no
need and no
benefit to divorce the sermon from its invitation. Use some prominent
principle
from the sermon to introduce the thoughts in the invitation. Then, tell
non-Christians how to be saved, and tell erring Christians, likewise,
how to be
saved (Mark 16:16; 1 John 1:9).
Organization isn’t everything to a sermon or Bible
study or some other public presentation, but organization is a crucial
part of
the mechanics of public speaking, including preaching the Gospel of
Jesus Christ.
Successful communication of God’s Word to one’s
fellow men is the reason for
which one preaches, and that is more likely to occur when proper
organizational
skills are used. Fill in the blanks and preach a good Gospel sermon,
everywhere
and at all times (2 Timothy 4:2).
