Maurice Roberts

Let it not be supposed that the subject of preparing sermons is of importance only to ministers. The preaching of the sermon is the highest point in gospel worship and is of concern to those who listen as well as to those who preach. The souls of converted and unconverted are both alike affected for good or ill by the sermons which are preached in the house of God. Not only is this present generation being shaped in part by the quality of the sermons preached (we speak here, of course, of those who hear any sort of sermons at all, not of those who hear none), but the generations to come are going to be influenced for good or ill by the sermons listened to in this age. We are all of us the product, more or less, of the religious influences which are brought to bear on our lives; and what we are today our children are likely to be tomorrow - either for better or for worse. The subject of the preparation of sermons therefore must rank as one of the top priorities. The whole tone of the Christian church rises or falls with the quality of the preaching which it hears. A moment's thought will reassure us that this must be so. Any age of history proves the truth of what we say. The church never rises high except when God gives her exceptionally faithful preachers. When preaching falls to the level of mediocrity, or worse, the church quickly falls with it. The Middle Ages are a witness to this. So is the period which we refer to as the Moderate Age in the eighteenth century. So, alas, is the present age for the most part, although there are wonderfully bright exceptions to the general tone of mediocrity.

No method, of course, can produce genius. To give guidance on the subject of sermon preparation cannot confer those extraordinary and almost perfect talents in the pulpit which God gives to some men. Those who can stand beside a Whitefield, a Spurgeon or a Dr Lloyd-Jones will benefit nothing from the sort of guidance which is offered here. Such men have a divine instinct for preaching and are raised up to be an inspiration to thousands of other men who must be content with their lesser talents. But whilst this is true, we believe firmly that a preacher may improve by paying attention to the method of his sermon preparation. If study and dili-gence do not confer genius, they can raise the level of a preacher's sermons very considerably. Attention to method can lift the standard of a man's preaching to that of being habitually good, and occasionally excellent. On the other hand, a man of talent may weaken the whole of his ministry by following a poor method of sermon preparation.

Basic assumptions

What we have said so far involves a number of important assumptions, one or two of which need to be made a little clearer here. For one thing, we take it for granted that the sermon is to be regarded as the highest point in the worship of God. It is an absolute certainty that the preaching of God's Word is represented in the New Testament as the highest priority. The apostles and early preachers devoted themselves to this. No-thing was allowed to displace the centrality of preaching in the apostolic church, and it should be so always in the life of the Christian church.

If this is so, then the preacher must see to it that when he goes into the pulpit he carries a sermon with him, whether in the form of a carefully thought-out message in the mind and memory or else a skeleton, or sermon outline, which he takes with him in his pocket. Most preachers will opt for the latter, since few of us have a memory good enough to hold accurately all the points of a detailed argument. And this is what a sermon should be: a well-studied argument why men should believe certain things and live in a certain way.

A preacher should never (normally) enter the pulpit without having his sermon outline with him, whether in a written or a memorised form. We take into the pulpit a well-prepared and well-studied argument which, in the forty or so minutes allocated to the sermon time, we proceed to deliver with all the clarity, force and skill we possess.

It is utterly wrong to go into a pulpit habitually expecting God to place a sermon in our minds there and then. Every once in a thousand times it may, for exceptional reasons, be necessary for us to go into the pulpit with minimal preparation. But this is the exception which proves the rule. The rule is that in the week before we preach we labour to compose our sermons with reasonable thoroughness.

A second assumption which we make is that the preacher's calling is to lift the congregation to the highest point of spirituality and obedience of which he is capable. The task of the preacher is not to be a man pleaser or merely an entertainer. Of course, good preaching is entertainment in the highest sense of the word. It is sublimely entertaining.

What was it that drew the thousands to hear Whitefield and Wesley, but that they found more delight in their preaching than could be had anywhere else on earth. But our meaning is that the preacher does not aim to amuse his hearers, but to turn them, as far as he can, into a congregation of saints fit for service on earth and in heaven.

Making a sermon outline

Our concern here is to suggest how the preacher should proceed to prepare the sort of sermon outline we have earlier referred to. How does he begin? Where does he get his message from? What is he to say? What form should his sermon have? The composing of sermons is an art rather than an exact science, but our hope is that the following suggestions may help those who would value a little help in this matter, either for themselves - or for those who have to listen to them!

1. The text

A sermon must be an exposition of some passage of Scripture, which we commonly refer to as the 'text' of the sermon. It might be a paragraph or chapter of Scripture. But most often it will probably be no more than a verse or part of a verse.

The preacher will get his text in one of several ways: either he will make it the more or less conscious prayer and concern of the whole week before he preaches it; or else he will follow a theme; or, as so many of the Puritans did, he will preach consecutively through a whole section of Scripture. Whatever the method chosen, the preacher, having determined on his text, must give prior thought to the message which he intends to convey by this text. A sermon is not just a Bible study on a verse or two of Scripture but, as we indicated earlier, is an argument, which, like a lever, is to be used to 'lift' the people to higher knowledge and higher levels of grace. For that reason, the sermon does not simply explain the words of a text, but it draws atten-tion to its central meaning and message. This done, the sermon proceeds to enforce the message with arguments, proofs, illustrations and applications. The power of sermons is related to their clarity and to their application. Great sermons have terrific effect on their hearers and can move them to great heights of joy, or else rouse to intense feelings of repentance. The preacher is aiming intentionally at this. He is called to 'change' people and to reform and enliven them. He has but one means of doing this: the Word of God presented in the Spirit.

2. The divisions of the text

The text chosen requires to be 'rightly divided' (2 Tim. 2:15). Its component parts (or some of them) must be stated in a clear and orderly way. These should not be too many. Three is usually enough. With most audiences, four or five is as much as can be taken in at one sitting. The divisions of a text should not be artificial, nor should they impose a false sense on the text but should flow naturally from it. The theme is one, but the divisions are the related aspects of the one theme. They are the branches which emerge from the main trunk, like the branches of a great tree.

The divisions should be determined by the preacher before he does any detailed work on the introduction (best written last) or on any other sub-ordinate part of the sermon.

3. Exposition and development

The preacher has now his text, and he has written on his paper the three (let us say) main headings which he draws from it. What is he to do next? He proceeds to develop each of his main headings by listing under each one the chief subordinate points which he intends to make from them. The exposition of a heading includes some or all of the following: (1) Clarification of what is meant: 'Not this but that'; (2) Illustration: 'Sin is a chain that binds, a beast that tears, a fire that rages . . .' Most of us think in pictures and will remember ideas best when they are put into a concrete form of expression; (3) Proof: 'What we find in this text is a truth affirmed all through God's Word.' 'It is in this passage and in that' (quote four or five such texts - our aim is to get people to know God's Word as accurately as possible).

4. Application and exhortation

A sermon is not a lecture but an address to men's minds and consciences. The sermon is punctuated therefore with direct applications to the hearers in the same way that the Epistle to the Hebrews is punctuated with powerful appeals to the conscience every so often.

The classic method of preaching is: state the doctrine; illustrate and prove it; then apply it. This movement in thought from mind, to imagination, to conscience should characterise the sermon throughout. Most young preachers spend too long on the statement of doctrine and too little time on application to the conscience. This is a weakness and is a common cause of boredom in the hearer. The remedy is: State the point clearly and then come close to the consciences of the hearers with some such approach as: 'Well, is this true of you? Do people say this of your life? Is this evidence of grace visible in you?' (Say 'you', not 'us' as a rule).

5. Concluding address

The last few minutes (at least) of the sermon are to be normally devoted to an address to the listeners. The doctrine has been stated, illustrated, clarified and proved. Now is the time to thrust the truth home. The poker is now red-hot and must be brought near to the wood on which the craftsman is about to write an indelible message. Let the preacher be fervent and fiery in bearing home the great doctrine preached upon men's souls. The truths of God are not to be delivered like peas from a pea-shooter but like cannon-balls from the mouth of the cannon.

Let the preacher strive in his application to feel for the lost state of many of his hearers and to remember how soon he and they are to meet at the Great White Throne of Christ himself. Let him not be ashamed if his tears flow freely, if his voice is choked with sobs, if his ardour impels him to smite the pulpit, if he feels it necessary to prolong a little beyond expectation his compassionate appeal to sinners to flee from the wrath to come. Too much preaching has too little passion in it and therefore leaves too shallow an impression on the hearers. The impact of preaching is greatest at the time when it is heard, not in recollection afterwards.

6. The introduction

This is normally written last, not first. The point of an introduction is that it must capture the interest of the audience and put them into a mood to listen to the rest of what we are going to say. A good introduction welcomes the hearers into the entire discourse and conveys to them the feeling that we have something to say which they will not want to miss. It must never be long but, like a handshake, establishes the relationship between the preacher and the audience before the meat of the sermon is served to them

7. Illustrating our points

Too many preachers are afraid to illustrate their points, with the result that their message is only dimly understood and remembered by the hearers. The wrong use of illustration or story is to bring it in for its own sake; the correct use is to bring it in to enforce some point of teaching. Throughout the sermon there may be a series of smaller illustrations so that people, especially children, can follow more easily. Often it will be desirable to have one larger illustration to finish with. This will be the finale of our address and will draw the main points together into a vivid and memorable picture. We are to rouse the emotions of our hearers. If some of them are roused to tears, so much the better. If they are stunned with the force of the truths we have preached to the point of amazement and wonder, we shall not have preached in vain. O Holy Ghost, come down upon our pulpits till this whole nation is once more turned upside down!