Page 23 - Homiletics Student Textbook

So, the first thing you must do is take them from where they are to where you want them to be. You
must capture their interest in the topic of your sermon and somehow motivate them enough to focus on
what you are about to introduce. How do you do this? There are a variety of ways.

Most pastors tell a short story that introduces the topic at hand. You could show a short video. You do
a dramatization using a couple of people in the class as volunteers. There are an infinite number of
things you can do; you just must plan carefully how you will accomplish this. You need to do something
that will capture their minds.

This introduction is also called a HOOK. When you go fishing, you may have a plain hook
on the end of your fishing pole. But you must put some bait on the hook so that it will be
more appealing for the fish to bite the hook. With any sermon, you must create an
appeal. You must give your congregation a desire to pay attention for the next few
minutes as you share God’s Word with them.

Your introduction is planned and should be a part of your strategy when creating a plan for your
sermon. It should be related in some way to the topic of the Scripture. And by the time you have
employed your hook, every person should be ready and wanting to move forward into the sermon. An
effective hook will do just that. If you have created a good hook, you have successfully motivated your
congregation to want to know what comes next.

You need to know that your hook, while it may take only a few minutes of the sermon, is probably the
most important part of your sermon plan. If you get up and start your lesson with, “Today’s sermon is
about the Fruit of the Spirit…” you probably will find that your people will dial you out. But if you
suddenly revealed a large bowl of different kinds of fruit, each with a label of one of the fruits of the
Spirit and you start eating the banana labeled, “Love”, you may find a different response as you move
forward with your lesson. Your lesson will rise or fall on your hook or introduction.

Proposition – The Heart.
This is the sermon in a nutshell. This is the “Big Idea” of the text. It contains a subject and a
complement. The Proposition can be stated and built into the beginning in the Introduction (Deductive),
at the end in the Conclusion (Inductive), or in the middle in the Body (Inductive-Deductive). This will be
discussed in further detail later in this course.

Transitional Sentences – The Muscles.
These form bridges between the different parts of your sermon. They help maintain structure, unity,
coherence, and progression.

Body – The Skeleton & Flesh
It consists of main points of the sermon and of Sub-points. The Main Points are the major movements
of the sermon. They explain the complement of your proposition.
The Sub-Points are minor movements of the sermon. They clarify the Main Points. They explain, illl the
text, illustrate, and apply the text. The goal in the Body is to tell them what you told them you were
going to tell them!

Conclusion – The Feet
In the conclusion, you review and summarize your main points. You call your listeners to act upon what
they heard. The goal in the Conclusion is to tell them what you told them!

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