Transcript CrossTrain Preaching Webinar

CrossTrain
Preaching Webinar
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Get your Christmas back
Preaching the Word of God is a great privilege.
“As the rain and the snow come down from
heaven, and do not return to it without watering
the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it
yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will
not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I
desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
- Isaiah 55:10-12
It is also a great challenge.
Goals
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Make your sermon better this Sunday
Make your sermons stickier
Develop a plan
Take back your Christmas
Why this is worth the price of your attention
There’s very little in your ministry that will have more
impact than your preaching
 It’s a sacred privilege and responsibility to speak the
words of God
 Most of us were not born as great communicators
 Most of us can learn to become one

Goals
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4.
Make your sermon better this Sunday
Make your sermons stickier
Develop a plan
Take back your Christmas
To say things that are true?
 To balance law truth and gospel truth?
 To feed the sheep?

What is the purpose of a sermon?
Repent
What is the purpose of a sermon?
How to approach a sermon
Stage One:
Prayer and Text Study
Stage Two:
Getting Started
Stage Two:
Getting Started
“I only write when inspiration strikes. Fortunately, it
strikes every morning at nine o’clock sharp.”
- Somerset Maugham
Stage Two:
Getting Started
1. What is my sermon about?
Stage Two:
Getting Started
1. What is my sermon about?
Begin by identifying your central theme or main
subject.
Stage Two:
Getting Started
2. Why is this important?
Stage Two:
Getting Started
2. Why is this important?
You know why it’s important. Why is it important
to the person in the back row? What’s at stake?
Stage Two:
Getting Started
3. What do I want people to do?
Stage Two:
Getting Started
3. What do I want people to do?
Great sermons don’t just present true content.
They have a specific goal. Do you have a specific
next step? Don’t be content to just make a point.
Make a difference.
Stage Two:
Getting Started
4. What’s the bottom line?
Stage Two:
Getting Started
4. What’s the bottom line?
You have a topic. Do you have a point? If you
can’t say your sermon in a sentence, you aren’t
ready to write the sermon yet.
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
“Your idea’s perceived value will be judged not so
much on the idea itself but on how well you can
communicate it.” – Nancy Duarte
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part one: Introduction
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part one: Introduction
1) Find common ground
2) Uncover inner conflict
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part one: Introduction
How to make a bad introduction:
1) Apologize
2) Banter
3) Fill time
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part one: Introduction
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Why is this important (hint: not for you, for them)?
How can I create tension around this topic?
“If we don’t get this, we will miss out on ________.”
Convince the listener that this sermon is worthy of
their attention.
• Tell a story (personal, not a generic illustration)
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part two: The Answer
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part two: The Answer
• Use the text to resolve the problem and answer the
questions
• Say and return to your bottom line
• Make sure the text, not the pastor is the authority
• Be so enthralled with the text that people will want
to go home and read it
• Make sure Jesus is the hero, not you
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part three: Imagine the future
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part three: Imagine the future
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“Imagine if this became our new normal”
Illustrate
Repeat the bottom line
Let grace motivate and empower
Stage Three:
Sermon Framework
Part one: Introduction
Part two: The Answer
Part three: Imagine the future
“A presentation’s quality will not exceed the
quality of the planning process that precedes it.”
– Nancy Duarte
Framework for your week
Monday: Answer the four questions
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4)
What is my sermon about?
Why is this important?
What do I want people to do?
What’s the bottom line?
Framework for your week
Tuesday: Build the framework
1) Introduction
2) The Answer
3) Imagine the future
Framework for your week
Wednesday: Write a draft
Framework for your week
Thursday: Make it better
Great editing makes great sermons. Ruthlessly cut
any material that doesn’t directly support your
bottom line.
Framework for your week
Friday: Say it out loud
Framework for your week
Saturday: Let it rest
Framework for your week
Sunday: Wake up excited to preach
Framework for your week
Making Sermons Memorable
Creating the bottom line
What’s a bottom line?
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It’s your sermon in a sentence
It’s the main point
It’s a sticky statement
It’s the phrase that pays
Benefits of a bottom line:
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Preparation
Clarity
Rememberability
Portability
“Jaws in space.”
Alien
Creating the bottom line
Picture
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“A thousand songs in your pocket.”
“The LORD is my shepherd.”
“Words tell a story.”
“Relationships > Money.”
Creating the bottom line
Rhyme
• “The pursuit of happiness leads us to emptiness.”
• “There is a gap between your real and your ideal family.”
• Resource: www.rhymezone.com
Creating the bottom line
Echo
• “Forgiven people forgive people.”
• “The Water of life thirsted so you will never thirst again.”
• “When God becomes part of your family’s routine, God
becomes part of your family’s reality.”
Creating the bottom line
Alliteration
• “Doing makes the difference.”
• “Your soul is more important than your stuff.”
• “Your decisions determine your destination.”
Creating the bottom line
Contrast
• “Big faith grows in small circles.”
• “You can make a point or you can make a difference.”
• “If you really want to live, you really have to die.”
Creating the bottom line
Hook
• “Being a sinner does not disqualify you from following
Jesus. It’s a prerequisite.?
Creating the bottom line
Picture
Rhyme
Echo
Alliteration
Contrast
Hook
Creating the bottom line
How to craft the bottom line
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Mine the text
Write out the text
Ten minute creative burst
Don’t be cheesy (unless it makes it more rememberable)
Creating the bottom line
Creating the bottom line