Over the years I’ve taught preaching in university courses and mentored a number of preaching apprentices and preachers-in-training. This series summarizes some of the most basic yet most useful preaching points I’ve emphasized in these settings.
Preaching Point #7: Summarize the sermon in a short sentence.
Before I write out my sermon (I write word-for-word manuscripts) I summarize the sermon in a brief sentence. The sentence then becomes a filter. Whatever ideas and issues don’t tie directly to that sentence do not get to stay in the sermon. No matter how good or how clever, they don’t make the cut if they don’t tie back to that sentence.
Almost weekly the importance of this habit is impressed on me. I’m in planning meetings and other environments during the week when our worship leader, media coordinator, or someone else will ask, “What’s this week’s sermon about?” I need to be able to answer that question in as simple and concise a way as possible. At times, when I’ve not yet written the sentence or the sermon, I’ll stumble and fumble through an answer and I’ll realize that if I preach what I just summarized verbally, the sermon’s going to crash and burn. This practice of writing a summary sentence before writing the rest of the sermon has rescued my listeners from overly-complicated and convoluted sermons.
I want listeners to be able to walk away on Sunday morning with a crystal clear understanding of what we just talked about and why it matters to their lives. I can’t think of a preaching point that makes this more possible than the summary statement.
How about you? What habit do you cultivate to keep your sermons clear and focused?
