Preaching - Lesson 24

Dr. Bryan Chapell
Preaching
pr600-24
Old Friends in New Clothes
Lesson Transcript

[00:00:00] This recording is provided courtesy of Covenant Theological Seminary. But today is taking the next step forward. Last semester in Prep and Elle, we did very formal forms of preparing sermons. I mean, the most formal form where we talked about all those things of a proposition or a main point is a combination of a principle and an application. It was never those classic words, a universal truth in an auditory mode. I know it's just like poetry to you, isn't it? But at the same time, we recognize those big long statements are boxy, and very few people actually preach that way. I mean, even though you see it in my book and had Robinson's book, you recognize those long statements of principle and application are not kind of ordinary speech. The reason we prepare that way is because of where you are in the curriculum that not having had a lot of exegesis and hermeneutics yet simply forcing you to look at a passage and say, All right, what's true and what can I, with the authority of God's Word, tell you to do about it? So by forming main points and propositions with principle and application, you're simply forced to think what's true. And what must you do about it? Well, now you actually start preaching this semester. So we want to take the next step. And that is to say, all right, how do you take these formal forms and reduce them to more common language? And the big picture is going to be we're basically going to chop them in half and we're going to talk about how we do that, how we take those formal structures and do a fundamental reduction. And what we're going to do this semester is we're going to preach with the formal reductions.

[00:01:41] We're going to the fundamental reductions this semester. You're still going to go through the process of a formal formulation of proposition and main points fact you'll turn that in as part of your assignment, I'll tell you. But when you're actually preaching, we're going to ask you to do the fundamental reduction to shorten things down where it's more normal in the way that you hear people preaching. So that's the goal for today, if you will. What we're talking about in this first lecture of elementary practicum is more outline forms. So we're taking another step forward in structure and you'll see that it's the same kind of old friends are going to be talking about principle and application will be the same old friends that will will shorten their clothes, as it were, in putting their new clothes on, in converting traditional structures to short forms. Let's first of all, just kind of think of where we were before and let me get the lights down here. When we looked at these formal forms, we said, here's a principle consistent outline, right? Where the principle is staying consistent because Jesus is the only hope of salvation. And that's in the proposition main points. And that means the anchor clause is staying the same. Right. And the principle consistent. It's the principle that's staying the same. This one happens to be in consequential for. This is all old, familiar stuff. You've even seen this outline because Jesus is the only salvation when this present Christ at every opportunity is principal consistent. So the application clause is what's changing as you go through. Principal is staying the same. Sound familiar? See, now, before you've even put it on the midterm and we said if we were looking at application consistent outlines, very similar things in application consistent outline here it's in conditional form, but here the anchor clause is the application.

[00:03:43] So since Jesus alone provides salvation, we must present Christ in every opportunity. Since Jesus alone purchased salvation, we must present Christ at every opportunity. Oops. Since she's long possessed the salvation we has present Christ for Opportunity says Jesus alone bestows salvation. He must present Christ under opportunity. Okay. Application system, the application staying the same all the way through. Now, here's what we're going to do this time. Have you see those old things? The formal proposition. And her main point that you saw, the universal truth was in an auditory mode, that universal truth was based on the text in an application based on the universal truth. The old formal proposition main point was always a combination of principle and application. And we just again looked at these formal structures for principle, consistent and application consistent outlines. Where we're going to go is this next major step, item B a fundamentally reduced outline. In a fundamentally reduced outline, the consistent clause that is the anchor clause becomes the proposition. That's the simplest way to say it. You just chop the thing in half and whatever was staying the same, that becomes the proposition. Whatever was changing, those become the main points. Let's look and see what it would look like if you were in this application. Consistent outline. Since Jesus alone provide salvation means present Christ in every opportunity. And you are saying that. The application is staying the same. In a fundamentally reduced outline, you drop the sense into the cause, and whenever we're staying the same, you must present crisis. Every opportunity becomes the proposition. The anchor clause becomes the proposition alone. They will ask a question of risk. Remember, we talked about interrogating. The proposition was a very standard way that people move through their outlines, strong statement, ask a question and then answer the question with what were the developmental clauses or the magnet clauses? So what was changing? So in parallel, learning now become the main points.

[00:06:03] So simplest rule, you take the long formal wording of Proposition nine point and just chop the thing in half and whatever was staying the same. That becomes the proposition and whatever was changing, those become the main points. And that happens whether you're dealing with application consistent or if you're dealing with principle consistent. Same thing. In this particular case, the principle was staying the same because Jesus is the only hope of salvation. So in the reduction, Jesus is the only hope of salvation. Notice again the because in the sense drop away. But the proposition is simply the anchor clause. You ask a question and then you begin to answer with the application clauses that were changing. Let's look at it in real life and see what that means. What do you do? Item C is the step by step conversion process, and that's going to say in a more elaborate way what I just said about chopping the thing in half. Okay. But here's what we do in a step by step conversion process. We're going to know which element, principle or application remains consistent in the outline. And as we simply identify the anchor clause two, we develop the concept of the consistent element in the introduction and proposition. Now, let's look at this one. Is this fundamental reduction of the principle consistent outline. The principle is Jesus is the only hope of salvation. Okay. And if that's going to be the proposition, I've still got the same obligations. My introduction has to still prepare for the proposition in concept and terminology. So my introduction is still going to be preparing for this proposition. When my brother was in high school. He was to all accounts, I think one of the finest Christians I had ever known.

[00:08:14] After high school, he went into the military and he was stationed all across the world in various places. His particular branch of the military involves him in negotiations, often with other international military leaders for American technology, and that put him in locations all across the world and ultimately began to bother him a great deal that what he had been taught as a child, that Jesus was the only hope of salvation which seemed to exclude hundreds, thousands, millions of people from salvation. And ultimately he felt he could no longer affirm that the fact that Jesus is the only hope of salvation to him became the aspect of the gospel that he could no longer receive. Now, my brother's gone through lots of stages in life, but at that stage he shared with a lot of people, maybe some of you. What is the most onerous part of Christianity in a pluralistic culture that we say Jesus is the only hope of salvation? If it's true, if Jesus is the only hope of salvation, what are the consequences? Does you hear what I did? I use Jesus of the loop of salvation as the proposition, preparing for it with an illustration, which was my brother's experience. And then having said the proposition, I ask an analytical question and as I interrogate my own question, what are the consequences? And then the answers are what have been the developing side of the formal main points that is the magnet causes? Now, up here we must present Christ in difficult situations. If it's true that he's the only for salvation, we must present him difficult people. We must present Christ despite our difficulties. Let's do it the other way. What if it's application consistent? Now, again, in this application consistent outline, the proposition was we must present crisis every opportunity because that was the anchor clause, the thing that was staying the same.

[00:10:30] And what if I were to say, some years ago our washing machine broke down. And as a consequence, we needed to go and do our laundry at the local laundromat. Hadn't done that in a few years. But, you know, my wife watched our young kids and I went to do the laundry at the laundromat, and while I was there doing my laundry at the laundromat, just kind of sitting down, reading my newspaper, enjoying myself, somebody took their wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into one of those coin operated dryers, put their coins in, turn the button. And nothing happened. And that person began to beat on the dryer and curse at it and say, if there is a God in heaven, why did he let these kinds of things happen? And then he looked over at me and said, Do you have an answer for that? Of course, what I was thinking was What? I just came here to do my laundry. But here was an opportunity to present the gospel to someone. If there's a God in heaven, why do you let things like that happen? It was the opportunity present Christ. And what the Bible is telling us is we must present Christ at every opportunity. Why does the Bible say that? Well, first, because Jesus alone purchased salvation. Now what are you going to get? Explanation, illustration, application. And then I may say this again, I may ask the question again Why else must we present Christ in every opportunity? Because Jesus alone possesses salvation. Explanation, illustration, application. You know, there may be what, seven or 8 minutes of material going by there, and then I'll say, Why else must we present Christ at every opportunity? Because Jesus alone bestows salvation.

[00:12:30] Now, most of the things that are happening. You've still got strong parallelism in your main points. So it's still the all flag to the ear, right? Not a main point. Not a main point. That's what's come out because you've got the parallel language, you've got key word changes. So the parallel language allows to say, here's the specific thing that this main point is going to be about. It's either going to be about Jesus proto salvation, possessed salvation or bestow salvation. So my sub points are going to be about the specific wording of the Magna clause, just like it was before. But what we're doing is we're actually throwing that anchor clause into the transition question. Here. I said it. What's another consequence of Jesus being the only hope of salvation? Why else must we present Christ in every opportunity? So instead of saying that big boxing long statement, we're actually using the transition to ask a question and get ready for the next main point. And it may be a much shorter form of that proposition. Right? Whilst we present Jesus, maybe I won't say at every opportunity, but I'm getting the proposition kind of back in view during the transition by the use of the question. Now, again, if you just kind of listen to pastors preach, you will find they do this over and over and over again. Strong statement. Ask a question about it and then answer the question with the main points. And when one main point is done, you ask a similar question again and that gets the next main point in view. So the way that you keep tying back to the proposition is that question, right? That's linking together the main points. It's not different than what we know what to say.

[00:14:15] This is so different than what you've done before. It's actually not. It's what you've done before. It's just taking the formal elements and putting them in more conversational language. And that's the goal, to make it more conversation or presentable in a step by step conversion process. Just to remind you here, we note which element, principle or application. Remains consistent in the outline. That is, we identify the anchor clause. We develop the concept of the consistent element in the introduction and proposition. So whatever is that anchor clause about, we will use the introduction to develop that anchor clause concept. The number three is the one where it really starts to sing and flow. We create an analytical question or implication or questions based on a consistent element. Then as we interrogate the proposition and we ask who, what, when, where, why, how? What are the consequences? What else should I do? And we interrogate that. And then number four, we answer the questions with the developmental clauses, which become the main points, and you see the hints at the bottom to enhance unity in flow. The anchor clause reappears in the transition between main points as the analytical question. And what's another reason that we should proclaim Christ in all of situations? Or what's another implication of knowing Christ is Lord over all of life? Now I'm just going to stop for a minute and see if you've got questions. I mean, well, I feel like there's a complicated way of doing this. The big picture, again, is you're still doing principle and application and we're still going to ask you to do that when you turn in an outline as part of your preparations. But what we're actually asking you to preach is not that long statement, but take those long statements, chop them in half, and whatever was staying the same.

[00:16:18] Becomes the proposition and whatever was changing becomes the main points. And the way you set up those main points is with an analytical question. You got questions? Yes. Carry those questions that are not answered by that outline. Yeah. Is that okay? No, it's not okay. I mean, you're looking at the outline as it would be developed, but surely you would have to ask other questions, answer other questions as part of that process. In other words, I didn't give you all the sub points, and surely the sub points would have to be answering questions like Why is he the only hope? And what are the consequences of being the. I mean, there would have to be other questions in there which are being answered by he bestows and he's possess, you know, they are in there. But all you're saying is the main points. But no question you've got to answer further questions to be consistent with what that story was setting up. But all we're asking you to do at this point, I haven't gotten to it yet, is do the main points in the structure that I showed just so that we know what you're doing. But yeah, that would not be a complete sermon in my mind either. More questions would need to come. Questions on structure. Do you feel like it'd be more comfortable? I mean, you know, when you did those big long things before, it seemed kind of unnatural, didn't it? So even though it kind of forced you hermeneutic to say what the text said, and can I prove you have to pry something out of it now? It's kind of moving you, I think, to more conversational kinds of presentation. But you're still be doing the same thing in terms of thinking through the process.

[00:17:56] You want to move? Okay. Next things. Page two. Some results of using reduced forms. Number one, a principle consistent outline in reduced form will have a principle for the application. Because that was the anchor clause and applications for the main points. The proposition will say what is true and the main points will say what to do. Now, again, that may be more complicated than needs to be said, but here's the idea. If your proposition is a principal, what automatic will all your main points be? Applications. If your proposition is an application, what will automatically all of your main points be? There will be principal, so there'll be more and more principals in essence. The application will stay the same. And you're saying, why should we do that? What's another reason we should do that? What's another reason we should do that? If it were an application consistent outline. So here's the hint. Whatever the proposition is, principal or application. The main points are the opposite. Whatever the proposition is, the main points are the opposite. So for instance, at this stage and we'll do other things later, but at this stage, if my proposition is Jesus is the only hope of salvation. My main points cannot be Jesus alone. Bestow salvation. Jesus alone possesses starvation. Jesus alone. Purchase salvation. Because the first thing Jesus is the only salvation was a principle. And all those other things Jesus purchased. Jesus possesses Jesus. All that bestows their more principles. They go with another outline somewhere. So we don't have principle and principles. Whatever the proposition is, the main points are the opposite. Now what? We always preach that way. No, but we are at a certain place in the curriculum. What we're saying, what is true and what to do about it.

[00:20:03] So we're just thinking in those terms in the way that we form things now. And number two on page 200 says the opposite, right? And application consists an outline of an application for the proposition and principles for the main points. The proposition will say what to do, and the main points will say what is true. That is the reasons why to do it. The goals for using these short forms. You recognize the goals? The main points hopefully will be more concise and memorable. That's why we're trying to shrink these things down. We said early on, What's the sign of a good proposition? Our main point is that it passes the 3 a.m. test and it's brief, and then in contradistinction, we form these big long line points and propositions. Well, now we're trying to shrink them down and be consistent with our own principles if we can. So main points should be concise and memorable. Number two sub points will still support or prove their specific main point. So some points will still be about what was the Magna clause, right? Some points are still going to be about their specific main point. And number three, and this is the one you almost want to put in neon lights. We still now want to reign. Key term changes from the sub points to tell the illustration and form the application. Now, my my sense is that you will just naturally after this lecture think, oh, we can finally word main points more naturally and you're going to be fine with that. The thing that's often hard at this stage is to say, but you know, those principles about sub point statements have the keywords that go into the illustrations and applications. That's usually the harder thing to do.

[00:21:49] And it hasn't changed from last semester. You know how 90% of getting an A in any course is learning what the professor expects? So it you know, it's learning what the professor expects. I will tell you all the adjuncts. Every single one of them has gotten head like upfront message check to make sure they're doing exposition. All right. Okay. So whatever instructor you have is going to check and say, is the keyword change in the sub point? Is that going into the illustration? And the keywords and your sub points. Are they appearing in the application? So you just, you know, you just know that everybody's going to be checking to see, did you do that? Questions now expositional rain or fundamental reductions, I'm about to say. What do you actually turn in when you turn in your sermon, etc., but just questions on how to do it. Adam Yeah. Are you saying that? I am saying that you do not have to do the event anymore or that because therefore it's implied? That's right. Simply by your saying choices are the only observation. What are the consequences? You've already said because it's implied, but you're actually dropping off the sense and you're dropping off the because it's just again, to shorten down the language. So you're making a strong statement. The question that you ask about it will automatically imply in your conditional or consequential concept. That's a good question. And I mean, it really it's just so much more conversational this way, which is the we're going this just helps us be more conversational. Now, any other questions about either expositional, rein or structure? Those of you who already had me for your section, this is going to be redundant now because I'm going to talk about what are we actually looking for.

[00:23:44] You're turning into professors this semester. So if you say one of Sherman requirements this for the semester, a prior to presentation of each sermon you preach, give the instructor a typed manuscript of the entire message. So that's number one. You come in, you're going to have your type manuscript of the entire message. And. We'll look at an outline on that in just a minute. You can see in manuscript and outline requirements, handout and the example. SURMAN In prepping Dell. Now, here's here's the essence I'm going to show you in just a minute a lot of a lot of detail on what your sermon should look like when you turn it in. But most of this is simply saying make it look like the example sermon in the back of the syllabus. The one change will be the example. Sermon in the back of the syllabus has formal wording and you're going to be going through reduced wording, but everything else stays the same. So you're basically saying as we're starting out preaching here and you've got adjunct professors, instructors who are kind of checking out, did you do that? Did you do that? Did you understand that? They understand how that works. It just helps them to see here's how you're structuring it along consistent lines. So that example sermon in the back of your Prep and L syllabus is still your guideline except for going to reduced forms. So that's the first thing you'll turn into for manuscript B Prior to presentation of each sermon, you should give your instructor two outlines of your message. And Adam, this is what I thought you were about to ask. So you changed a little bit, but the first thing you're going to turn in is a bare bones outline that only includes the formal proposition and main points.

[00:25:27] Fully white out both the anchor and magnet classes as examples in Prep and Del, so on the overhead. What we're looking for is what shown right there that you turn in the outline that's that's just barebones and just shows the proposition main points. Forget the sub points, forget the illustrations, forget the applications, just turn in a formally worded proposition and nine points. So, you know, you come in, you're going to give the professor a manuscript and you're going to give them an outline that's bare bones, just proposition, main points, but it's formally worded, so it's got the law structure in it. The second thing which Adam already said, the good wording is you're going to turn in another outline, which is the pulpit outline. That's a number to hear a pulpit outline prepared for the actual preaching of the sermon showing the proposition and main points in fundamentally reduced structure. That is, proposition equals the anchor clause only, and the main points are the magnet clauses. Only profit outlines should also show whatever you need to protect your memory in order to preach. That is, you might have introduction to sub point statements, illustration reminders, application specifics, etc. Here's the goal you know right out of your manuscript. That's a great discipline to go through. But if you preach from a manuscript, what are you going to end up doing? You'll end up reading it. So the goal is you write out of full manuscript before you've written out a full manuscript, you have prepared hopefully a formal outline list proposition. The main points write out the full manuscript. But now in what you preach from hopefully will be a proper outline. And remember, that's just whatever it takes for you, whatever it takes for you to preach the message with prompting.

[00:27:22] For most of you, it's probably going to be what? 2 to 3 pages of outline material that is kind of prompting you with what you want to say, that the manuscript helps you get very prepared. The outline hopefully helps you preach freely, the proper outline. So a proper outline. The instructor is not going to have any requirements on what that looks like. It could be handwritten. It can be computer printed. The damage you'll do to yourself is if you start, you know, putting things in seven point font, you know, to cram it all in so that it really isn't an outline at all. It's just kind of a manuscript that you shut down into two or three pages. But the idea is it's prompting for you because most preachers preach from outlines you just see here. It does say if you feel like you have to have a manuscript this semester, you're not forbidden to take a manuscript into the pulpit. Okay. You're not forbidden to take a manuscript into the pulpit next semester. You are. Okay. So the idea is to to get ready and preach as much as you can. Some outlines this semester, and some guys will do the broadcast style, right? They'll put the manuscript down on two thirds of the page and they'll put their outline and one third of the page. So they use the outline as much as they can, but they've got the manuscript if they need it. Others will do the old one page. Right. So they'll put, you know, introduction first main point. Second main point. Third, main point and conclusion. And that's a very standard, the way that preachers preach the one page fold. Very standard way people put their outlines together. Yes. That's a great question.

[00:29:02] As in writing out the manuscript, is it supposed to be a verbatim? I would write it as you plan to speak it so it makes sense. And conversational language is a little bit different. You are not being graded on what's in the manuscript. You're being graded on what you say. All right. Now, the reason we say that is this If you try to memorize the manuscript, it's just going to then you write. It's just going to freeze you up and constrain you. So the idea of writing out the manuscript is so that you carefully think out what you intend to say. But nobody is saying he didn't say that word. He didn't say that word. He didn't say. That's not happening. You're being you're being graded for what you present, not for what you have written on paper. Now, if you say, well, then the manuscript doesn't matter, well, that'll hurt you. I mean, obviously we're asking you to turn the manuscript because we want to see what you're doing and that you've planned well. But. But please don't memorize the words on the manuscript. I mean, some of you may be able to do that. You may be one of those exceptional people with that photographic memory. And it just kind of, you know, reappears in your brain, whatever you've written out. But most of us aren't that way. And trying to memorize it just really, you know, freezes us. Most of us. Anyway, Don't answer what you were asking. You're really the manuscript is to prepare you, but what you present is what you're being graded on. And you know, everybody's going to mess up words, right? Everybody's going to say exactly what they had intended, and that's fine. Gerard. Right. I'm just going to repeat your question for the camera.

[00:30:32] How much freedom should you allow yourself for the Holy Spirit to work in the event itself so that you are changing as you speak? Should you allow that to occur? And the answer is yes, definitely. That that notion, Robert Mary McShane, that we looked at last semester, that he wanted to write out a manuscript to prepare carefully what he intended to say, but then put the manuscript aside and speak freely, is empowered by the Holy Spirit. It's that gentle maxim that you can be under-prepared and therefore not confident what you intend to say. You can be overprepared and now just practically stiff in what you're saying. So it's that what this dynamic middle ground of being very prepared, very sure of yourself, so that when you see somebody, they're not getting it, you can repeat it or you feel from your own sense of this is so important. I need to settle in here a little bit and focus on this a bit more that you're doing that even while you're preaching. And, you know, I, I have the wonderful advantage of being able to preach sermons in a lot of different places, but they are never the same because you're always reading people, feeling the dynamics of the moment. The church situations are different, and I just think you want to be there. You ask another question, Gerard, about kind of, who are you talking to? And I was going to mention it later, but let me just throw it in because it follows on your question, because as all of it is straight up, it's a little bit artificial, right? You're preaching from a manuscript that you've prepared into outline form. You're talking to a group of what, ten or 11 guys in a room, and they're all seminary students.

[00:32:08] And you know that that seems a little bit artificial. The ways that you can make it more artificial. I begin talking to all the young women in the audience and the grandmothers and about who is he talking to? You know, I mean, it's kind of like the I would encourage you to come prepared to minister. Granted, you're going to be evaluated. Granted you say something. People are going be writing notes on a piece of paper while you do it. But if you if you really come to say, listen, this is the word of God and I'm proclaiming it, I know I'm learning, I know the value adding. But even if I were in a church situation apprenticing with a senior pastor, he'd be talking to me afterwards about what I said. So I still want to come in, minister to people, and use the apprenticeship of their comments even as I'm ministering to them. So I would come prepared really to preach. Now remind yourself that not everybody you're talking I mean, everybody you're talking to is a seminary student. But they're more than that. Right. Most of us have jobs in other place at the same time. Many of us have family situations we're going through. Many of us have health issues that we're facing. Lots of us have financial pressures. Lots of us face lust and ambition, anger and everything that goes on in people's hearts. There's no temptation taking you, but such as is common. So I would take care not to make every application about, you know, we're mad at this particular professor because he graded the Hebrew exam too hard, you know? You know, I would remember. It's a broader scope, right? Our lives are broader than and certainly apply to guys preparing for ministry.

[00:33:42] But remember, they're more than that, too. And what your passage is about, try to gear the applications for what your passages about and that will help. Jared Did I answer both sides of your question? So I don't think I come in prepared to talk to a high school youth group if they're not the ones you're talking to. I think I've come in prepared to minister to these guys, Aaron. Yes. And in almost all the rooms where you'll be preaching, there's a mike that is that is set up to transmit to a video camera. Now, the professor is not typically moving the camera with you. So if you plan to move around and some of you will and some of you are if you tell him to backup the the you know what I to wide screen at somewhat right so that you're not moving out of camera range. So if you plan to move. Most of my sections are in here. And if you move the can you see the camera back through the glass back there? So I'm pretty familiar with that camera. And, you know, if you move kind of beyond this chair right here, you've moved out of shot. So I encourage guys, if they're going to move, to kind of stay within kind of shoulders, length of the pulpit here and the camera works fine. But if they move way far, this camera won't work and most of them won't. But you're not obligate. You're not obligated to stand right here. Okay. You can move some. And it's a different age in that I mean, I'm guessing a lot of us feel more comfortable moving than we would have a generation or two ago. Curiously, a lot of churches, the portraits won't let you move.

[00:35:15] Right. Just the way they're constructed. You can't move. They're constraining. But if if you feel comfortable moving, I actually am pretty comfortable with that. I like being able to move around personally. Yes, Rob. If you want to preach to the unchurched, I think you're fine with that. The. Let me think now. Two semesters from now, you'll get specific instruction on preaching to the unchurched. But if you want to do that now, that's fine. I mean, I still think you're going to be held accountable for Is that what this text says? And does that application come out of this text? But using plainer language, not taking jargon for granted, defining your terms is perfectly fine to do. It doesn't hurt, by the way, to declare kind of as you're preaching, guys. I'm going to be talking to you today, but I'm going to be talking to you as people who don't understand the jargon. I actually find it a little problematic because all of us that have Hebrew and Greek, if even in seminary sermons, we start referring to the Hispaniola and the Arabs and kind of assume that because we're in seminary settings that I would still say the Arabs, meaning completed action. I'd still define those terms. And I just assume, you know, I'm preparing for general preaching by using a highly esoteric language. So I think I would preach to how do I say this normal people and not just kind of very. Esoteric language understanding seminarians. Yes, right. When you. That's a great question. What's the normal order that you'll follow these days? For most of you, what you'll do is you will announce the text. You will do a scripture introduction. You will read the Scripture. Have prayer for illumination. And then begin the sermon.

[00:37:15] So in that Scripture introduction is when you're doing the see and see contextualization, creation of longing. All of you have now turned in one sermon. What was the easier thing to do of contextualization? Creation of longing? What's it everybody do? Contextualization. What's a lot of people forget to do? Creation of longing. Again, academic settings tend to create academic ideas. So everybody was great at saying, Here's the context of this passage. Sometimes people forgot to say, and here's why it's important to you. Here's why I want you to read it with me. And that's that's the harder thing to do. Actually going to ask the question, Are you okay? Those are great questions. And again, I think the more we can come prepared to minister to one another, the better. I mean, it is a little bit that sense of. Often homologous courses are people's favorite courses, not because you hear the most amazing sermons, but because you start helping one another and you get that sense of mutual accountability. How can I encourage you? How can I help you? And you deal with me too, And you just. First semester sermons are a little stilted. I will tell you, the second semester I hear from our own students some of the best sermons I hear anywhere. By the second semester, we. I mean just being challenged and helped by guys that you're accountable to in, you know, just ten or 11 guys. We just grow so rapidly and it's just it's just really neat. And curiously, we hold ourselves more accountable for what the text says than often the church does outside seminary settings. And that's often why these are some of the best sermons I hear, because the guys are really looking closely at the text and trying to minister to one another, knowing their friends are going to tell them if it worked or not.

[00:39:02] You know, it just really makes you grow fast. And I mean, we really do a good job of helping one another that way. Let me make sure I just cover what's here. On page five in my notes. Do you have a couple of pages of examples and then page five? And page five is just a general description of what the sermon manuscript should involve. Okay, so here's here's a quick reminder. All sermon manuscripts must be typed. See the example sermon, the prep and death syllabus for basic format and should indicate by heading boldface or underlined the major sermon components they contain and rise as part of your question again. So you're going to indicate in the manuscript scripture introduction. Now, you know, I've say C and C, but you should say, here's the scripture introduction, the sermon introduction with key words preparing for proposition boldfaced. Virtually all the professors will do this. They are sitting here at the back of the classroom, or I'm sitting back there behind that glass, and I've got your manuscript on the desk and I've got your proper outline. Usually both are face up. So when you start preaching, I don't want to be reading your manuscript. Right. But I do want to know, did you get the key words in your introduction? Preparing for your proposition? So I just want to be able to glance down and see boldfaced in your introduction. The key words there in the proposition. I really will be watching you not reading your introduction. Okay. So I'm able to grade while you're talking by just saying, Oh, he's got the key words that are in this proposition being used in the introduction. So it really is just a fast way for the instructor to follow what you're doing as you're doing it.

[00:40:45] The same is true on the FCF is the FCF underlined in the introduction. Now, that's the other question, and I say that those words in exactly the same way. But have you identified what the burden of the sermon is and have you spotted it in the introduction itself? The proposition is it fundamentally reduced main points, fundamentally reduced some point statements. The illustrations notice again the highlight with key words from preceding sub point statements boldface. So in the illustration, how do you boldface the words that are coming out of the sub point statements? And again, that's just a quick grading method, right? So when you're going through the illustration, I'm not reading, I'm watching you. But I do glance down to say are using the words out of your sub points. Okay. And by the way, it's not the sub point paragraph, it's the sub point statement. Right. The key words out of that sub point statement, are they appearing in your illustration and in your application? So it's just kind of a quick method of saying, did you do that? And then conclusion. So in essence, make it look like what's at the back of your syllabus. What's the exception? Except they're in fundamentally reduced forms, not the longer forms anymore, but the structure is basically the same. Can. Yes, all all the old things. So one illustration per main explanation. Illustration, application. And can you remind me I mean, just just hints of things that may help. Do you have to illustrate every sub point? Say, no, you do not have to illustrate every sub point. Do you have to apply every sub point? Yes. Okay. So just a quick reminder, they some points don't have to all be illustrated, maybe just one of them or maybe a group of all together.

[00:42:33] Fine. But you can't just talk about a sub point for three or 4 minutes and then never do anything with it, you know? So you don't have to illustrate all the sub points, but you do have to apply all the sub points. So make sure you do that. Rob is. Certainly hear the question. Can you do a variety of interesting conclusions? Conclusions? We've only said basically two styles human interest account and grand style. Some of you can do grand style. I will say maybe pushing kind of what you understand about preaching thus far to two grand style. But interactions we've talked about last lot, you know, can be examples, could be startling statements, could be provocative questions. So you've got different ways of doing introductions now. But most often they'll still be human interest accounts. After those elements. We're preparing manuscripts with great care and ought to be well prepared. But we should not read in the pulpit. Our goal is to convert the manuscript to a pulpit outline and then preach from this outline to provide the most natural powerful and the judge earlier question spirit led delivery. Do you remember my key hint for pop? It outlines it is to start new main points on a new top of page. That's my kids. So that when you're when you're preaching and you're kind of through the main point, you're not starting somewhere on the page and you're like, Where am I? But, you know, every time you start a new point, it's going to be at the top of the next page. And usually while I waste lots of paper that way, fine. Waste lots of paper. If your I always knows where the next main point starts. It's a good way to keep from getting lost.

[00:44:20] Okay. So that's just a key hint. And if you you know, if you color code things or circle things, all that's acceptable, whatever gives you the most freedom is what we're going for in that polka dot line. Neatness is not the goal. Freedom is the goal. So whatever you're using, you're going to give the professor a copy of that so you can kind of follow. What you're doing is you're going through. The top of that line is not simply a listing of propositions, main points in some points, but rather an organized presentation of all material that allows you to see the glass, usually in one, two, three pages, what you intend to say in the entire passage. A good rule of thumb is to keep main points segregated on different pages of the proper outline so that your I always knows where the next main point starts. If you want further handsome preparing these extended pulpit outlines, look at Christ Center preaching pages 334 to 336 So quick reminder before you preach the day that you preach. Here's what you're going to give the professor a complete manuscript. One thing you're going to get, second thing you can give a pulpit outline that includes fundamental images, proposition, main points, along with introductions, illustrations, whatever it takes for you to preach from. You're going to get in your pocket outline. Three. You're going to give me the bare bones outline. That is, you're going to show that you've done the fundamental reduction by turning in a proposition and main points that are formally worded the old law of things. Okay, so you're still going to turn in that bare bones of that. And for you're going to hand the professor a VHS format video. So this is where you are taped and in all of your classes.

[00:45:59] What will happen is after you preach within two further classes. You're going to turn in a one page analysis of your delivery per main point. So I'm going to say first main point. I said all 35 times. But I did look up and I did smile. I was speaking with adequate volume. Second main point The US went away. But the volume dropped. Third main point. I put it all together. Eye contact was good, you know. Voice was strong. Now, as I was confident, more and more I spoke more confident. I got. So you're doing a one page analysis of your delivery. Now this. If you're like me, this is like being in a torture chamber, you know, having to sit and watch yourself preach. But again, it's just it's actually kind of liberating over time because I oh, I didn't know I was doing that. And then kind of spotting it on your own state. Once you see it, usually it doesn't reoccur. Okay. So the idea is within not six weeks, but within two class periods of when you preach, you turn in a one page analysis of your own sermon presentation. It's on VHS because that's what our cameras are and because you're going to go, you'll learn when you go to your sections, you're going to go to Dr. Swain's office, and he's also going to analyze your delivery off the VHS tape. So you actually watch with him and get some analysis of your delivery with three other students to meet with two other students. The three of you will work on that together. You know, you're hear about that when you get in your sections. One. One page total. One page total of your entire sermon. But go point by point in the analysis that you do.

[00:47:52] As you do that one, one full page is all we're looking for. And I mean, basically, it's just a way of evaluating yourself. So if you took all the pieces and say, what kind of feedback am I getting? I just preached. All right. You're going to hear from the professor right after you preach because you're going to preach about 25 to 30 minutes and that leaves 20 minutes for sermon evaluation. So you're going to hear from the professor. You're going to hear from your peers because they're going to be led in the discussion of could you hear wasn't orthodox. Is it what the text said, that application really in that text? Okay. So your peers are going to be responding to that. If you do say there are two members of the Trinity, someone should say that that's a problem. Yes. So you'll get feedback from professor, feedback from the students. Then you going to get written feedback from the professor. Then you're going to do yourself and you're going to give feedback from you, and then you're going to be in a smaller section with only two other guys looking at some of the video of your work and you will get feedback from Dr. Swan insistence on delivery alone. Do you think preaching is important in Covenant Seminary and you're getting line after line after line of feedback so that hopefully, as I said, by the second semester beyond this, I actually hear some of the best sermons I ever hear from students here at the seminary. It's just great to hear how the Lord uses you all.