Stage 1 – Passage Selection

Passage Selection – Stage 1

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A little milestone was reached yesterday as the hit counter passed 100k. So I thought I’d take some days to offer a brief summary of the 8 steps of sermon preparation, suggesting some links back to posts that are particularly relevant to each step. Remember, you can see all the posts related to stage 1 by clicking on the “Stage 1 – Passage Selection” button in the menu. Thanks for visiting this site!

Step 1 – Passage Selection

Before you can design a message, you need to have studied at least one passage on which to base the message. Before you can study, you have to select the passage. There are two issues to bear in mind at this step:

Issue 1 – Which passage will you preach? If you are mid-series, then the next passage is already chosen. If you are preaching a stand-alone message, then you have to pick a passage to preach on (perhaps influenced by the occasion, the needs of the congregation or even your personal motivation). So sometimes selecting a passage is not an issue at all, but issue 2 always matters . . .

Issue 2 – Are you studying a complete unit of thought? This is always important to double check. Once you have you passage, you need to make sure it is a complete unit of thought. It is often possible to study and preach two or more units of thought that stand together (for example, two gospel stories presented together, or multiple paragraphs in an epistle), but it is very risky to try and study or preach half a unit (half a psalm, half a proverb, half a speech, half a story, half a paragraph . . . half a thought!) So for each passage you decide to study and preach, be sure to give thought to the true beginning and end of the unit of thought.

Previously – Concerning the first issue, selecting a passage, here’s some advice on how to select a passage, and another one. This post suggests preaching series, and in some churches there’s the practical issue of multi-speaker series, see also part 2.

Now concerning issue 2, the complete unit of thought. Here’s a post in which I point out that we can’t simply rely on the chapter and verse divisions, we have to select our passage personally. There is some helpful advice here in a post on longer narratives. And the issue of preaching several passage is addressed in this post on topical preaching. Finally, two posts on why I suggest generally sticking in one passage: A low fence and part 2.

Texts Only Bend So Far

/ Peter Mead / 1 Comment

Be honest, sometimes you find yourself trying to make a text do something it doesn’t do.  Perhaps you have an illustration you want to use, or a visual aid that would be powerful, or some other motivation.  But when it comes to the text, it doesn’t quite work.  You know the order is backwards, you know you don’t want to admit it, but we’re being honest here.

This happened to me last week.  I’m not one for creative visual aids, but one came to mind.  One that would be perfect and impressive and effective and so on.  But then I went back to the only real text that would work with that visual aid.  It didn’t work.  I was trying to conform the text to the sermon, rather than derive the sermon from the text.  The text wasn’t boss, and I wasn’t happy.

But I felt that the integrity move at that point was to drop the illustration and switch texts.  Let’s be preachers of integrity, people who represent the text well and don’t injure the text trying to fit it into our sermon box.

Sensible Solo Sermon Selection

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There are times when we can select a single passage to preach, a stand-alone sermon.  Some people only ever preach this way.  Others rarely preach this way.  So how do we select the passage?  Well, it’s a good idea to pick a passage you want to study and preach.  It’s a good idea to pick a passage that appears straightforward in terms of relevance and application (all Scripture is useful, but let’s face it, some take much more work to “land” on this side of the gap!)  Here are a couple of other things to bear in mind:

The time required for preparation should not be underestimated – If the time available is likely to be limited, then it is usually worth building on a foundation already laid, i.e. preach from a book you’ve studied well and fairly recently.  Before jumping into a Bible book you haven’t studied much, make sure you have the time to study the whole, as well as the particular part.  Make sure there is time to get the resources you might need (commentaries, for example).  Make sure there is time to go through that process of wrestling with the details in order to arrive at the idea of the text.

The macro-context should not be underestimated – In order for your “chunk” of text to make sense, you will usually need to give some explanation of the broader context.  Without the benefit of a series in that book, it may take longer to set the scene than you thought.  Often a brief contextual set-up is sufficient, but not always.  Some texts may be better left to a series so that the reinforcing of key themes can occur “naturally.”

The time required for explanation should not be underestimated – For instance, telling a biblical story can take a lot of effort and sometimes it can take a lot of time.  Be aware of how long you have to preach and how long it will take to tell the story, or explain the content sufficiently.

There are plenty of other factors to take into account when selecting a passage for a stand-alone sermon, but these three shouldn’t be ignored.

Taking Series Seriously – Part 2

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For a series to work well, it is important to recognize the role of the Spirit and have flexibility in scheduling.  Here are two more important issues to consider:

Avoiding the sameness – A long series in the same book can get old.  There are several ways to avoid this.  Vary the message structure (include a first-person sermon, a more narrative sermon, a good old clear deductive sermon, etc.)  Vary the text length (some weeks you may need to cover only a few verses, but other weeks it would be possible to cover a chapter or two).  Perhaps sameness can be avoided by having another speaker involved (make sure all speakers in a series are on the same page regarding the books overall idea, structure, etc.).  And, of course, a long series in the same book can get old, so . . .

Length of series – Think through the length of the series.  The old days of seven years verse-by-verse through one book are the old days.  Today some advocate that a series should not go longer than 8 weeks.  Others say  4 or 5.  I say you have to think through the situation – who is preaching, to whom, what are they used to, what is the preacher capable of doing effectively, what is the subject matter, etc.  No hard and fast rules, but several months will probably get old for some.  Cover ground more quickly, or break the series and then return to it.

It is a good idea to usually preach sermons in series.  It is a good idea to think through your series seriously.

Taking Series Seriously

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Yesterday I shared a few reasons why I think sermon series are generally the way to go.  However, for series to work well, several issues need to be addressed.  Rob’s comment yesterday raised several key issues.  Today I’ll mention two, then the next day two more:

Role of the Spirit – Does a series quench the Holy Spirit?  Does preparing a sermon quench the Spirit?  It is amazing how a series can be scheduled many months ahead of time, then when a particular Sunday comes, the text and its application fit as if the Spirit Himself had faxed you the plan.  However, this does not remove the fact that we need to allow flexibility in our schedules . . .

Flexibility in scheduling – It is unhelpful to pack the schedule so tight that the preacher feels under pressure from the schedule.  Consider leaving “buffer zones” in the schedule, a week or two here and there.  You will have no problem filling them when the time arrives, either with a visiting missionary, a one-off message on a text you’re dying to preach, or a one-off for one of the preachers you are mentoring in the church.  Or, if there is an issue to address, you have the space in the schedule to do so (and if the issue happens three weeks too soon, then just shift everything back a week).

Why Preach a Series?

/ Peter Mead / 5 Comments

Some may ask, why do so many of us preach in series?  There are many reasons, but here are a handful to start with:

A series of sermons has greater leverage than a solo sermon. By reinforcing and reviewing a Bible book, the series allows for the lessons to sink in and be applied.  We often are too naïve in what we expect from a single sermon, but underestimate what can be achieved over time.

A series of sermons can create momentum beyond the moment. As well as the preacher reviewing what has gone before, the listeners also know what is coming and are more likely to engage with the Bible book in advance of future messages.

A series of sermons allows messages to balance each other. If a message stands alone, then its distinctives will often need to be balanced within the message, which potentially reduces the applicational impact of it.  Knowing (and if necessary, stating), that a future sermon will present another side of this issue allows the present message to be preached without excessive balancing.

A series of sermons allows for longer lead time in preparation. Knowing what is coming up allows me to channel my preparation weeks or months in advance of the sermon.  This is much healthier than a brief preparation phase which does not allow the sermon to work in me before it comes from me.

A series of sermons allows for overlapped or deeper exegetical work. If I have a series in one book, or in one section of a book, I can use my preparation time to really grapple with that part of the Bible. A series of six sermons in Hebrews allows me more time in studying Hebrews as a whole than six sermons from all over the canon.

This is not to suggest that series are the only way to go, or are the way to go without thought.  There is much to take into account when planning a series and sermons within a series, but these are five of the reasons why I affirm the practice of preaching series of sermons.

Preaching Longer Narratives

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Nathan asked about preaching longer narratives, such as the narratives of Daniel.  Last week I preached Daniel chapter 2 and the book of Esther (10 chapters!), so I’ve been thinking about this recently.  Here are my thoughts, I’d love to hear anything you would add:

Even if it is long, preach a literary unit. Longer narratives can stretch through many verses and multiple scenes.  Unless the scenes are really sub-plots that can stand on their own, I would suggest trying to preach the whole narrative.  While this may create some challenges, it is still better to deal with an entire narrative than risk misunderstanding and misapplying a part-narrative.

Tell the whole story, but perhaps read selectively. In the case of the Daniel 2 message, the leader of the service had a major chunk of the passage read before I got up to preach.  In the case of Esther, I read certain paragraphs and verses as I told the story.  While we want to honor the text and certainly encourage people to read it through later, the weakness in extended reading is actually our reading rather than the text itself.

The challenge is actually the same as for any passage. The challenge we face in preaching a longer narrative is, in one respect, no different than any other passage.  Which details will receive in-depth attention, and which elements or sections can be summarized to maintain flow and unity?  A longer narrative calls on our skill in big picture exegesis and compelling story-telling, but in many ways the process remains the same – study the passage, determine the main idea and purpose, define purpose and main idea for the sermon and shape it strategically, etc.

If You Could Preach Any Passage

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Just imagine you weren’t in the middle of a series.  Imagine you could free up two or three days to study any passage and then prepare a message just because you want to.  What passage would it be?  Would it be an old favorite that you haven’t looked at in a while?  Perhaps Psalm 23 or John 3 or maybe 1Corinthians 13?  Would it be something more obscure you’ve always wanted to study, but haven’t had the opportunity?  Perhaps a minor prophet, a story from Kings or the final few verses of an epistle?

If you could study and preach any passage right now, which would it be?  I’d love to hear.

Oh, and one more question – when are you going to do it?  Either in your church, create a gap and preach something just because you want to.  Or maybe find a small local church and offer to speak in their midweek service if they have one.  Or maybe get creative in some other way.  However you do it, just do it.  Every now and then it is good to preach something just because you have the desire.

When Discourse Sits in Narrative

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Discourse text often sits within a narrative.  Consider the teaching sections of the Gospels, how a Jesus sermon is set in the context of the story of His ministry or passion.  Consider the speeches in Acts as they move the story forward time and again.  Consider the direct communication of God to Joshua at the key transition point in Israel’s leadership, or the direct communication of the prophets as they address a specific issue at a specific point in Israel’s history.  Whatever form the book may take generally, these specific instances are essentially discourse Scripture.

When a discourse text sits in the midst of a broader narrative, what do we do?  We should analyze the broader plot to see the function of the discourse within it.  The narrative plot then serves as context for the details of the discourse.  Of course we could choose to preach the text in some kind of narrative form, but equally we can choose to keep that plot-work at the level of context and purpose analysis.  A discourse type text can yield clear and effective outlines through careful analysis.  By giving time in our study to the plot within which the discourse sits, we can add tension and interest to the preaching of the discourse.

This applies to epistles too, incidentally.  Just because an epistle may consist entirely of discourse, we should not lose sight of the broader narrative of history in which it sits.  An epistle is a point in time, a point on the plot line of the story of that particular church or individual.  At a key juncture in the story of the church at Rome, or in Colossae, Paul wrote to them.  We have his discourse, but we can also trace the tension of the church’s history to that point, and be left with the tension of how they would respond to his instruction in the letter.  Awareness of the broader narrative can always add tension and interest to the preaching of a discourse.

Discourse usually sits within a broader narrative framework.  Awareness of that helps our interpretation of the passage. It can also help our preaching by adding more life to the living words!

Discourse is Not Just Epistles

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When I teach preaching courses, I tend to refer to the three types of Scripture: discourse, narrative and poetry. The various genre fit within these categories and so they give a good overview of different Biblical text types. So the principles of narrative interpretation would apply in the Gospels, Acts, historical books and so on. The principles of poetry would apply in Psalms, of course, but also other wisdom literature and poems found in historical books (eg.Exodus 15). The principles of discourse interpretation naturally work in the epistles, but that is not the only place we find discourse.

As direct communication, discourse is often the easiest type of passage to interpret, and it is usually one of the easier ones to preach. While narrative and poetry have real advantages for sermon formulation (for instance we could mention tension and imagery respectively), discourse tends to be direct instruction. With a sensitivity to the original context and audience, appropriate progression through exegetical, theological and recontextualization stages of sermon preparation, the preacher is able to formulate an attractive preaching plan for the text.

Other New Testament Discourse – Obviously the Epistles tend to be the preacher’s favorite in the Bible churches of the western world. But consider the other discourse possibilities in the New Testament. In each of the Gospels we have recorded speeches by Jesus – direct instructional communication. His Sermon on the Mount, or Olivet Discourse, or instructions to the seventy-two, etc., can all make for great preaching. Then in the book of Acts we have the speeches of Peter on Pentecost, Stephen on his promotion day, Paul in Athens and so on. In Acts it seems that the speeches do not supplement the action, but actually are the action, moving the broader narrative forward time and again.

Old Testament Disourse – Consider Joshua 1, for instance. God’s instructions to Joshua at that key moment of transition. It is part of history, part of a broad narrative, but actually those first nine verses are not a plot to trace, they are a discourse. Then you’ll find discourse in the wisdom literature, such as Job and Ecclesiastes, but arguably in poetic form throughout.  Likewise many of the oracles in the prophets bear features of discourse-driven communication, along with poetic structuring.

As preachers we may easily fall into the trap of thinking anything outside the epistles will be either narrative or poetry. This is not true, and tomorrow we’ll consider what this means in our preparation.