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SERMON BRIEF
The following steps should be undertaken fully in the preparation of the sermon.
Responses to each question/statement should be written out in full.
TAKING THE TEXT SERIOUSLY
Determine the parameters of the text
Establish a reliable translation of the text When possible make your own
translation and/or read a variety of translations choosing one as your working text
BROODING OVER THE TEXT
Prayerful, creative, imaginative meditation on the text, a spontaneous, even nave
engagement between you, the text, and the Holy Spirit. No commentaries or other outside
sources. Read the text silently several times, then read it aloud several times to begin to get
a feel for the text and the feeling of the text. Listen, think, feel, imagine, ask every
conceivable question that arises from your reading. Jot down everything that enters your
mind. Your aim here is not to gather data but to encounter the living Word! Suggested
approaches:
After several readings try to rewrite the text in your own words without referring
back to the text. Compare your paraphrase with the text noting what you included
and omitted.
Look for elements that appear at first glance to be unusual or out of place
Ask if the text has a center of gravity- a focal point around which everything seems
to revolve
Look for conflict in or behind the text
Look for connections to what precedes and follows the text
View the text through as many different eyes as possible. Think of those who will be
hearing the sermon and imagine how they will hear it
Think of the text as someones attempt to reflect on the answer to some important
question, then try to discern what that question could be.
Ask, What is the text doing? Is it commanding, singing, narrating, explaining,
exhorting, warning, debating, praying, reciting?
EXEGETING THE TEXT
Having lived with the text yourself, now you may turn to other resources (commentaries,
Bible Dictionaries, etc.). You should consult at least six reliable sources. While you may use
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older, classic works, you should also consult the most recent works. Cite sources (e.g.
Brown, 276) and include a complete bibliography.
Set the text in its historical context
Set the text in its literary context
Set the text in its theological context
Verse-by-verse analysis examine the words, phrases, ideas, etc.
TAKING THE MESSAGE SERIOUSLY
DETERMINE POINTS OF CONTACT WITH THIS TEXT.
At what level will you engage the text?
At what points does this text encounter the human situation?
At what points does this text encounter youre your life?
What basic truth(s) do you find in this text?
What truth(s) will not be silent?
What is God trying to accomplish through this text?
What would happen if everyone really heard this text?
PUT THE MESSAGE IN YOUR OWN WORDS
In one sentence answer the following:
What is the text saying?
What is the text doing?
TAKING THE MEDIUM SERIOUSLY
Choose a form that best enables the text to say and do what the text says and does.
FLESH OUT THE FORM AND SUBSTANCE OF THE SERMON
Write a carefully worded statement for each major structural unit, move, or point
that clearly embodies or indicates its direction.
Under each directional statement write a series of statements that develop this
statement. There should be no more than five and these should act to prompt the
memory and guard against wordiness.
Prepare adequate transitional statements that aid the hearer in moving from unit to
unit.
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ENHANCE THE FORM OF THE SERMON
Choose illustrations that work!
Prepare an introduction.
Prepare a conclusion.

TAKING THE DELIVERY SERIOUSLY
Live with the sermon throughout the week as you develop each part of the sermon
continue to go over it in your mind. Preach it to yourself!
Be familiar enough with the sermon to preach it without notes
THE OUTLINE
ME
Introduce a dilemma you have faced or are currently facing
The idea is to find common ground with the audience
WE
Find common ground with your audience around the same or similar dilemma:
Sometimes I wonder why I even bother praying (ME). I bet youve wondered about
that as well (WE).
Sometimes I wonder why I am overcome by the same temptations over and over
(ME). But thats probably something that only I wrestle with. Right? (WE)
There are just some people I dont get along with (ME), can anybody here relate to
that (WE)?
Spend time applying the tension to as many areas as you can so as to spark an emotion in
as broad an audience as possible
Dont transition from WE to the next section until you feel like you have created a tension
that your audience is dying for you to resolve.
Focus on the question you are intending to answer until you are confident your audience
wants it answered.
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This approach introduces a topic within the context of application.
GOD
Transition to the text to discover what God says about the tension or question you have
introduced:
Well, the good news is, we are not the first people to struggle with this. The people in
Jesus day did as well. Turn with me to
The good news is that we are not the first group to have doubts about Gods goodness, King
David did as well
Dont skimp, but dont bog down. This is where sermons lose momentum and get boring.
Engage the audience with the textmake it part of the journeymake it so fascinating that
they are actually tempted to go home and read it on their own.
YOU
Challenge your audience to act on what they have just heard:
ApplicationSo what? and Now what?
Find one point of application that I can challenge everybody to embrace:
How does this apply to me?
How does this apply to my family relationships?
How does this apply to my relationships in the community of faith?
How does this apply to my relationships with those outside the faith?
How does this apply in the marketplace?
Stages of life:
How does this apply to teenagers and college students?
How does this apply to singles?
How does this apply to newlyweds?
How does this apply to parents?
How does this apply to empty nesters?
Is there an application for unbelievers? If it doesnt, let them know.
Does your message apply to a person who is not there?
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WE
Close with several statements about what could happen in your community, your church,
or the world, if everybody embraced that particular truth
Paint a verbal picture of what could be and should be.
Imagine what would happen in one week if everybody here treated everybody they came
into contact with like someone for whom Christ died.
Scriptures were not just given as a means of making our individual lives better. They were
given so that as a body, corporately, we could shine like a beacon of hope in our
communities and in the marketplace.
WHEN YOURE STUCK
What do they need to know? Information
Why do they need to know it? Motivation
What do they need to do?
Application
Why do they need to do it?
Inspiration
How can I help them remember?
Reiteration
A. What do they need to know?
1. In light of what Ive discovered from the text and the insights Ive gained along the
way, what is the one thing they need to know?
B. Why do they need to know it?
1. What will happen to the person who never discovers the truth or principle you are
about to address?
2. What is at stake for them?
3. Heres why this is important
4. If you are a teenager, heres why you need to listen closely this morning
5. If you are married, this principle has huge implications for your marriage
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6. If you are in a difficult relationship, Im really glad youre here for this. This truth
could make all the difference
7. Usually explain the why at the end of the intronow that they know where we are
going, they need to why Im taking them there.
C. What do they need to do?
1. What do you want them to do in response to what youve said?
2. Every message you deliver has at least one point of application. Discover it and then
state it.
3. Be specificgive your audience something very specific to do. Something so specific
they will know immediately whether or not they have done it.
4. If it is a lifestyle issue, make a suggestion as to how long they should do it.
5. E.g. Begin the next seven days with prayer.
6. Be creativeledger sheet for expense tracking
D. Why do they need to do it?
1. Inspire them to action
2. Think about whats at stake if they dont follow throughmake a list and put it in
your outline.
3. After you explain what you want them to do, tell them whythis serves as the perfect
segue into the WE section of the message.
4. Imagine what would happen in our families if every one of us made a list of the
relational debts we felt that others owed us and then cancelled those debts.
5. Imagine how much joy we could generate as a congregation if every one of us sat
down this week and wrote a thank-you letter to the person who introduced us to
Christ.
E. What can I do to help them remember?
1. Ledger sheet
2. Memory verse card
3. Object
BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE MESSAGE
WHAT IS THE QUESTION I AM ANSWERING?
What can I do to get my audience to want to know the answer to that question?
WHAT IS THE TENSION THIS MESSAGE WILL RESOLVE?
What can I do to make my audience feel that tension?
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WHAT MYSTERY DOES THIS MESSAGE SOLVE?
What can I do to make my audience want a solution?
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK:
What do you do when you love someone who doesnt love you back?
What is one fear that you know is holding you back?
What do you do with the majority of your money?
Are you happy with yourself?
Why do you matter?
In the haste of our daily lives, what are we not seeing?
What impact do you want to leave on the world?
Are you holding onto something that you need to let go of?
What worries you most about the future?
If today were the last day of your life, would you want to do what you are about to
do today?
What are you pretending not to know?
Are you doing what you believe in or settling for what youre doing? (Wrong
perspective)