Page 28 - Homiletics Student Textbook

2. Each new complement tells us what is being said about the subject, and each new complement
forms a different idea. Each idea can be explained, proved, illustrated, and applied.
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Example of the ‘Big Idea’
THE BIG IDEA OF PSALM 117:1-2 Everyone should praise the Lord because His love is strong and his
faithfulness is eternal

What is the subject of Psalm 117:1-2?
Answer: Subject = Praising the Lord

What is Psalm 117:1-2 saying about Praising the Lord?
Answer = Why everyone should praise the Lord

What is the subject-phrase of Psalm 117:1-2?
Answer = The reasons why everyone should praise the Lord…

What are the complements of Psalm 117:1-2?
Answer = His love is strong and His faithfulness is eternal.

‘Big Idea’ preaching is first discovering the central idea of the text and then communicating that central
idea via a subject/complement propositional statement. This type of preaching eliminates ‘buckshot’
sermons and focuses on ‘bullets’ that are not only easily understood, but also easily remembered.

COMMUNICATING THE ‘BIG IDEA’

Although there is to be only one ‘Big Idea’ communicated, this ‘Big Idea’ can be communicated in
different ways. This depends largely upon the sermon’s purpose. In this session we will discuss various
purposes of the sermon and then introduce the different forms a sermon can take.

Sermon Purposes

Whereas the idea states the truth, the purpose defines what that truth should accomplish…As part
of his exegesis [the expositor] should ask, “Why did the author write this? What effect did he
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expect it to have on his readers?”

1. An Idea to be Explained
Question – What does this mean?
1. Introduction = state the idea completely
2. Body = take the idea apart and analyze it
3. Conclusion = review and state the idea again

2. A Proposition to be Proved
Question – Is this really true?
1. Introduction = state the idea completely
2. Body = give reasons why the idea is true
3. Conclusion = review and state the idea again

43 Robinson, 40.
44 Robinson, Haddon, Biblical Preaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1980), 108-109.
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