THE SERMON
By Ken Blue
The sermon is never an end in itself, but rather, the means to an end. The question that should be asked concerning every sermon is, “what end do I want to achieve?” I am confident that the only goal of many pastors is to preach another sermon, because that is expected of him. Their only purpose is to promulgate the truth with no other objective in mind.
We must ask the question of ourselves, what do I want people to know, be, or do as a result of this message? The sermon should be developed in such a manner that the above will be achieved. The proposition, ( the point to be discussed or maintained in argument usually stated in sentence form near the outset), should be stated somewhere at the beginning of the sermon. Everything thereafter must support that purpose. Avoid making the sub-points little sermons. Each point must support the title of your sermon. The minor points under these should consist of supportive text and illustrations to illuminate the sermon purpose.
The five major parts of a sermon are:
1. The title of the message.
2. The text supporting the message.
3. The introduction to the message.
4. The body or argument of the message. (The argument will have from two to seven sub-points.)
5. The conclusion of the message.
If one is preaching through a book of the Bible, it will help if he finds a Bible with paragraph markings, and then develop the topic within the paragraph. Don’t assume that the more Scripture one has in a sermon, the more effective it will be. It is best to have one objective to accomplish, and then convince the people to accept it. A running commentary from verse to verse gives more information than one can digest.
Sermons fall into several categories. Most pastors use a computer today. I suggest that they create a sermon folder, and then create folders within it for each book study, topics, series, etc. Save your work for future use. You could also create a template, as below, with the five parts of a sermon, and then use it for each sermon you develop. I hope these thoughts help someone.
Date:
Subject:
Topic:
Title:
Text:
Introduction:
OUTLINE:
I.
A.
B.
II.
A.
B.
III.
A.
B.
Conclusion:
Pastor Ken Blue was born in Boswell, Ark. In 1955 he accepted Christ as his Savior. He and his wife Joyce were married in 1955. They have 5 children. He graduated from Midwestern Baptist Bible College in 1969 and started the Open Door Baptist Church in Lynnwood, Wa. where he pastored for 39 years. Because of health issues (ALS) he was forced to resign as pastor. It is his desire to continue to be used of God to help pastors and believers through this ministry.