People in churches today are hungry for a word from God. Preachers need to prepare and deliver sound biblical sermons that connect with their audience in a meaningful way. Whether you are a student new to preaching or a veteran looking to brush up your preaching skills, here is a valuable resource.

Terry G. Carter (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is chair of the Department of Christian Ministries and W. O. Vaught Professor of Christian History and Ministry in the Pruet School of Christian Studies at Ouachita Baptist University J. Scott Duvall (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is dean of the Pruet School of Christian Studies and professor of New Testament at Ouachita Baptist University where he teaches New Testament and spiritual formation J. Daniel Hays (PhD, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Elma Cobb Professor of Biblical Studies and chair of the Department of Biblical Studies at Ouachita Baptist University, where his educational specialty is Old Testament and biblical interpretation

Acknowledgments

9

(2)

Preface

11

(4)

Introduction

15

(6)

PART 1: Developing and Preaching a Biblical Sermon

Preaching a Biblical Sermon

21

(20)

Discovering Biblical Truth: The Interpretive Journey

41

(28)

Preaching the Meaning in Their Town

69

(15)

Exegeting the Audience

84

(15)

Communicating the Meaning in Our Town

99

(17)

Applying the Message

116

(17)

Illustrating Biblical Truth

133

(17)

Delivering a Biblical Sermon

150

(21)

PART 2: Preaching the New Testament

Preaching Letters

171

(16)

Preaching the Gospels and Acts

187

(17)

Preaching Revelation

204

(19)

PART 3: Preaching the Old Testament

Preaching Old Testament Narrative

223

(14)

Preaching the Law

237

(14)

Preaching the Prophets

251

(17)

Preaching Psalms and Wisdom Literature

268

(21)

Conclusion

289

(2)

Scripture Index

291

(4)

Subject Index

295

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Part 1 Developing and Preaching a Biblical Sermon
Step 1 Grasp the Meaning of the Text in Their Town
Step 2 Measure the Width of the Interpretive River
Step 3 Cross the Principlizing Bridge
Step 4 Grasp the Text in Our Town
Step 5 Exegete Your Congregation
Step 6 Determine How Much Background Material
to Include
Step 7 Determine the Sermon Thesis and Main Points
Step 8 Develop Text-Centered Applications
Step 9 Find Illustrations
Step 10 Write Out the Sermon and Practice Delivery
Preaching a Biblical Sermon
1
Have you ever experienced the preaching of John R. W. Stott or
Eugene Lowery or Tony Campolo? Stott is calm in presentation and
fills sermons with background information from biblical times. He
is intentional in his outline and lays out the truths clearly. Lowery is
free in his approach and fills his sermon with narrative and colorful
language to lead the audience in discovering the truth from the text.
Campolo is a whirl of activity and excitement, filling his sermons with
stories of exploits of radical ministry. In our homiletics classes we
want our students to be exposed to preachers like these. Each of these
preachers possesses a style of preaching so different from the other
two that one wonders how in the world what each does in the pulpit
can be called preaching in the same sense. And yet each continues to
enthrall audiences with unique presentations of God’s Word.
How can these three men be so different and yet so effective with
their preaching ministries? What common feature in their sermons
endears them to congregations and continues to place them in the
category of great preachers? For that matter, what will it take for you
with your own unique style to establish an effective preaching ministry?
We think we have an answer to those questions, and that is the
purpose of this textbook on preaching.We believe all three of these
men, and many more like them, exhibit an understanding of biblical
preaching. They approach it in different ways and present sermons
their own way, but in the end they all arrive at the same place.
Good preaching is biblical preaching.You are now probably asking
yourself what that means.What is biblical preaching and how can
I imitate great preachers? This textbook seeks to show you the way—
or at least a way to that kind of preaching. Our goal is to help you
develop a process that will allow you to preach biblical sermons week
in and week out in your own way—sermons that challenge and
encourage growth in your congregation. So where do we start?
Defining a Biblical Sermon
In the 1960s, in A Quest for Reformation in Preaching, H. C. Brown
declared that Protestant preaching in America was in a crisis because
too many ministers held to “inadequate and inferior concepts about the
ministry in general and preaching in particular.” Unfortunately this
“inadequate and inferior concept” of preaching has probably plagued
the church throughout much of its history. Until preachers grasp the
goal of the preaching event and come to a clear understanding of how
structure and content contribute to that goal, the people in our churches
will continue to suffer under weak and ineffective preaching.Therefore,
it is imperative in a textbook on homiletics that we come to grips with
the most basic building blocks of biblical preaching—how to develop
an effective biblical sermon.
Obviously a biblical sermon is necessary for biblical preaching.
But what exactly is a biblical sermon? One way to define it is to connect
the sermon to the concept of biblical authority. In other words,
a biblical sermon is one that carries with it high biblical authority. In
such a sermon the biblical text serves as the basis of the sermon, and
the message communicated through the sermon follows closely the
intended meaning of the biblical text, thus drawing its authority from
that text.
Brown classifies sermons according to how well they reflect the
intended meaning of the text. Direct biblical sermons are the best, for
they “employ the natural and logical meaning of the text in a direct,
straightforward fashion.” Indirect biblical sermons tend to depart from
the intended meaning of the text and stray from the central idea in
the scriptural passage. Casual biblical sermons, continues Brown, utilize
Scripture in a rather “free and loose”way. The combination biblical
sermon attempts to combine all of the above categories, while the
corrupted biblical sermon intentionally or unintentionally abuses the
Scripture.
The direct biblical sermon carries the highest level of biblical
authority. If our goal is to preach with the authority of “thus says the
Lord,” then it is critical that we ground our sermons firmly and
directly in the Bible. That is, we should endeavor to develop and
preach direct biblical sermons.
Beginning the Sermon Process
A biblical sermon first requires a text. The Latin term for text (textus)
comes from a root word connected to the concept of weaving a
fabric. As the original inspired human authors of the Scriptures wove
together the words of God to declare his message, so we, too, strive to
declare this same message. In biblical preaching the text becomes the
material or fabric to be woven into the sermon.When we declare a
text from the pulpit, the sermon to follow should reflect that biblical
passage in its points, theme, and message. It should be clear to the
audience that the scriptural passage is the foundation and material
of the sermon.
A sermon is not a biblical sermon if a passage is merely read and
then ignored while the preacher tells funny stories or deals with other
unrelated issues. As we discuss in this book, there are different effective
styles or types of preaching, but all of them must be grounded in
God’s Word, and their message must flow from that Word if we are
to preach with biblical authority.
A few weeks ago I visited a church and sat through two sermons.
In both cases the preacher set up a text and stated clearly to the audience
that he intended to use that text as a basis for the sermon. After
reading it, he began to ramble through a series of subjects from
morality to ethics to church.Not once did he ever refer us back to the
text, make a point from it, explain it, or even give us cause to look at
the Bible again. In other words,we could just close our Bibles and listen,
which is what several of us did after a while.Neither sermon possessed
a text. Neither showed evidence of the weaving of biblical
information or truth. They were not biblical sermons.He missed the
idea of a sermon text.We don’t want that to happen to you or your
audience.
But how do you get the meaning of the text? The details of this
process appear in the next chapter of this book, but some preliminary
considerations are necessary here. In order to utilize a Scripture
passage as the text and foundation of a biblical sermon, an exegesis of
the text is necessary. To exegete means to work through the text sufficiently
to “bring out” the meaning. The fruit of good exegesis provides
more than enough fascinating and relevant material to fill any

Excerpted from Preaching Gods Word: A Hands-on Approach to Preparing, Developing and Delivering the Sermon by Terry G. Carter, J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays
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