THS-05-5. Structure of a Sermon (Continued)

5. Structure of a Sermon (Continued)

Preaching is an intensely personal art. Every man with a soul on fire, and a message to deliver, will have his own way of presenting the truth. Preaching should be the enthusiastic and joyous utterance of a living experience. To the extent that it is so it is difficult to confine it within rules.

Technique

Like every other art, however, preaching has a technique, the knowledge of which helps to clarify expression and correct faults of workmanship. The musician studies the rules of expression and harmony; the painter studies the mechanism of his art--the composition of paints, the making of brushes and the forms he is to portray. So, too, does the preacher need to study the art of sermon construction, the psychology of an audience and the principles of delivery.

We have emphasized the value of an outline, and have studied the place and value of the theme. We are now to study more definitely the construction of sermon divisions. An outline consists of main divisions, subdivisions, and perhaps further divisions which we may identify as sub-subdivisions. Study the following example carefully. Introduction and conclusion are omitted.

Conversion of a Preacher. Acts 18:24-28.

You will realize, afresh, the value of an outline. When you have sorted out the ideas in this passage of Scripture, and kindred passages, you will see the force of the statement in Chapter II. that divisions supply sources of invention. When you have made yourself familiar with the details as thus outlined, you will see that you could enlarge a little on each point, and even if it were only a sentence or two, you would have the material for a substantial address.

I suggest that you memorize this outline, so that you have fixed indelibly in your mind the form of a good outline. (I usually learn my outlines by heart, and when I am preaching I do not need to make much use of notes. The more attention you give to notes, the less you have for your audience, and the less interesting your message becomes.)

You will notice that in the outline there are three main divisions. They are indicated by Roman numerals, and written in capitals. Main divisions, need not be just three. One of the be-whiskered jokes perennially made in the presence of preachers is about the "firstly, secondly and thirdly" of a sermon. They are always made, of course, by people who do not know anything about homiletics, and who apparently never listen very carefully to sermons. Main divisions may be only two, or they may be four or five, as the subject requires. It is wise not to have too many, for the sake of people’s memories. Perhaps the reason why some people think that sermons always have three main divisions is that this is the kind most easily remembered.

Main Divisions

Now note a very important thing about these main divisions--they cover the whole of the material. There is nothing in the sub-divisions, etc., which is not included in the main divisions. All the facts about Apollos that are mentioned in the sub-divisions rightly come under the main division: "I. THE PREACHER." A primary rule about main divisions, then, is that they should include or cover all the text, or all the subject to be discussed.

Another rule is, the main divisions should not contain what is not included in the text or subject. To illustrate, in chapter 19:1-6 is the story of twelve men who knew the baptism of John, but lacked complete knowledge of the gospel. Paul instructed them, and re-baptized them. Their case was in some respects similar to that of Apollos. But we are not told that Apollos was re-baptized. Was he? That is an interesting question. You might like to discuss it a little in your sermon. Only a little though! You must not let a speculative subject like that crowd out the essential parts of the sermon. If you did include it in Your sermon, it could not be made a main division, because it is not really included in the subject; it is just an interesting question that comes up incidentally, because the two narratives are consecutive, and concern the same sort of people. Its proper place would really be in the sub-sub-divisions, under III,2, and between (a) and (b).

Another rule is, avoid using subordinate ideas in the text or subject as main headings. For instance, in the sermon outlined, the seven sub-divisions dealing with Apollos are all subordinate, and are included under the main heading, "I. THE PREACHER." It would not be good construction work to use one of these sub-divisions, such as No. 4, "Mighty in the Scriptures," important though it is, as a main division.

Finally, keep your main divisions unified in design. In this outline they are all titles, as follows I. The Preacher;

II. Personal Workers;

III. Conversion of Apollos.

They could have been expressed thus I. The Preacher;

II. Priscilla and Aquila were good personal workers;

III. How was Apollos brought into fuller light? But that is clumsy. One is a title, the second a statement, and the third a question. As far as possible make them all alike--all titles, or all statements, or all questions. It is quite a good thing sometimes to use the statement or propositional form, or the question form, if the one form is used throughout.

Perhaps even more important than the main divisions of the sermon are the sub-divisions. The main divisions indicate the general order of the discussion, but the sub-divisions deal with the subject matter directly. The main divisions are the picture frame; the sub-divisions are the picture itself. When you have sketched out the main divisions you have only begun the work of preparation; the essential work of preparation is yet to be done. Sub-divisions are the parts into which the main divisions naturally divide themselves. Look again at our outline. Even though you have learned it, it will help you to see the set-out again. Very naturally the sub-divisions of the first main division, The Preacher, will consist of the facts that are recorded about the preacher. You will see that while the main headings are important as covering the range of study to be followed in the sermon, the substance of the sermon is in the sub-divisions. The same thing is true of the sub-sub-divisions, when the separate points of the subdivisions need to be indicated. There are a number of things that a clear working out of the subdivisions will do for you:

Sub-divisions Where shall we find our sub-divisions? This is important, for it is where the secret of successful development of the sermon material lies. There are various sources of sub-divisions. In the outline we are studying you will see that all the sub-divisions under Main Division I. are from the passage of scripture used as a text (Acts 18:24-28). The same thing is true of Main Division III. But the sub-divisions under Main Division II. are from other passage of Scripture which deal with these personal workers. You may also notice that the sub-sub-divisions (a) and (b) under I, 4, are not really stated in the Scripture at all, but are matters that are implied in or inferred from the text. Here, then, in this one outline are indicated at least three sources of sub-divisions. In the next chapter we shall study them more fully.

One other thing you should notice about our outline-the way the different divisions are indicated on the page. The main divisions are in capitals and are numbered with Roman numerals, and they all begin the same distance from the margin. The sub-divisions are numbered with ordinary figures, and all begin at the same distance from the margin, too, but further in than the main headings. The sub-sub-divisions are further in again, and are numbered with letters in brackets.

You may, of course, use your own method, but make it uniform, so that you know at a glance just what part you are dealing with. Such a system will also greatly help your memory--it is easy to get a clear visual picture of the outline. For Review:

1. Reproduce the outline of the sermon "Conversion of a Preacher."

2. State the rules governing the use of main headings.

3. Discuss the importance of sub-divisions.

4. What sources of sub-divisions have been indicated?