Page 54 - Homiletics Student Textbook

A communicator speaks directly. He keeps eye contact. Even at full volume, his speech patterns follow
those of conversation, not proclamation . . . He talks to us in terms of our needs, our experiences, our
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feelings, our desires.

5. Preach to answer questions – why?, who?, what?, when?, where?, and how?.

The parts of a good introduction

1. Announce the text.
2. Briefly contextualize the text.
3. Read the text.
4. Capture attention with an illustration.

Every counselor knows how much easier it is to interest a person in a biblical passage when its
message bears on a recognized problem in his life. That is why the wise preacher creates an
event for the members of his congregation at the outset . . . The ‘event’ I am talking about is
not an objective event occurring in time and space. Rather, it is subjective, occurring in the
mind, creating a mental milieu [setting]…Your job is to so describe the problems that people
face and the solutions that Scripture gives that listening to God’s Word becomes important –
nothing less than an event!
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5. Explain your subject.
6. Make it personal to your people.
7. Briefly tie your subject back to the text.
8. Give your proposition and question that is then answered with your main points.

Creating a Decision Opportunity – Attractive Conclusions

The planning of a good conclusion

1. Your conclusion preparation should begin when you begin your sermon preparation.

The conclusion should be in mind all the way through the preparation process. A pertinent
question is, ‘As a result of this message, what changes does God want in my life and the lives
of those who hear it?’ Then as ‘processing and principlizing' ends, the conclusion should start
to take shape in your thinking. As you pull the message together, continue to sharpen and
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focus the pointedness of your conclusion.

2. Your conclusion should usually avoid adding new ideas to the message.

It is one thing to drive through miles of country to reach a place in the city. It is something else
on approaching the city to change your mind and go to some different destination
altogether.
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75 Delnay, 71.
76 Adams, Jay E., Truth Applied, (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990), 70-72.
77 Mayhue, 253.
78 Delnay, 150.
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