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* * T H E P R E A C H E R ' S
S T U D Y E Z I N E * * First Tuesday of September, 2000 Subscribe free on the web at: Published on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Back Issues available at: *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* Editor's note: The material in this Ezine is copyrighted. Reprint by author's permission only. You may forward it in its entirety to friends and associates. Please do not cut the articles out and paste them into other documents or publications. *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* VISIT THE PREACHER’S STUDY WEBSITE! A wealth of sermons, lessons, and other items pertaining to preaching are available by subscription. An extensive free area is also available. Sermons are full-text and illustration filled. To see what some of our subscribers are saying, click on the link below: http://preacherstudy.com/testimonials.htm Or go to the home page at: http://preacherstudy.com *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* IN THIS ISSUE: [1] Greetings from the Editor [2] Featured Article: CRAFTING ATTENTION-GRABBING SERMON INTRODUCTIONS (Part 2 of 2 - Final) [3] Preacher’s Study Website Updates [4] On Subscribing to Our Website [5] Contact Info [6] Subscribe to this Ezine [7] Copyright Info *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* [1] *=*Greetings from the Editor Hello everyone. A special welcome to new subscribers. This issue is being delivered exactly one week after the last one. This effectively puts me back on our predetermined publishing schedule. Feels good to be caught up! In this issue I will finish the article begun last time about sermon introductions. If you missed that issue, or just need to refresh your mind about the topic at hand, it is available at: http://ww.preacherstudy.com/ezine22.htm I hope you benefit from this effort. God bless. Dave Redick, Editor
[2] *=*Featured Article CRAFTING ATTENTION-GRABBING SERMON INTRODUCTIONS (Part 2 of 2 - Final) By Dave Redick (If URLs below "wrap," they won't work by clicking. You must cut and paste them into your browser.) [Author's Note: In the first half of this article I discussed the importance of grabbing our hearers attention early on in our messages – even from the first sentence. This second half takes us onward from there, discussing both the body of the intro and the transition.] Continued from last issue… **The Body The body of the introduction is its main content. Below are four possibilities for this content. There is more that could be said. These are simply my favorite ones. 1. Narrative Introduction Everyone loves to hear a story, so narrative introductions will nearly always heighten attention. If the preaching portion for your sermon is a narrative, tell a small but exciting part of the story. If your text isn't a narrative portion, borrow a story from another passage that brings the point of your sermon to the front. Don't say, "We all know the story of Daniel in the lion's den..." Rather, just start telling a portion of it and make the story live. Perhaps you could describe that first hour of that night when Daniel was with the lions. Speak of the smells, the pacing of the lions back and forth, the fierce predator look in their eyes as they sized up their intended prey, mingled with their looks of puzzlement when they couldn't get their mouths open. Such a story could introduce a message on confidence or faith. It could be used to introduce a message on the effectiveness of answered prayer or God's deliverance. 2. Context Introduction An introduction from the context "sets up" the subject of the passage that your sermon will deal with. It's the story behind the text. Don't tell it in dry, bookish "commentary" fashion. Make it live as you help your hearers enter into the situation of your text. Though too long to reproduce it here, an example can be found in a message on my website called "The Church of the Living Dead." Use the link below to go there: http://preacherstudy.com/premium/apathy.html 3. Text Introduction The idea here is to utilize certain issues regarding a particular text to heighten interest. The actual text is talked about in the intro when there are interesting things to say about it that are commonly known. Here is an example from a message on judging others. The text was Matthew 7:1-5. "It's probably the leading contender for the 'Most Often Quoted Bible Passage Of All Time': 'Judge not, lest you be judged yourselves.' Perhaps it is second only to 'Take a little wine for your stomach's sake' or 'Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved.' 'Judge not, lest you be judged.' So often it is quoted ignorantly, out of context, and applied to situations where it doesn't belong. Further, it is seldom quoted in its entirety. The result? Many Christian people are troubled by it. How far are we to go in judging others? Is it permissible at all? If not, how can we discern right and wrong? Is it better not to judge at all? In this morning's message I want to examine this highly misused passage and clear up at least some of the misunderstanding about it." This intro promises answers to a common question. Such a widely used passage would provoke interest even among those who have little regard for the Bible. This kind of intro works best with the well-known passages of the Bible. 4. Theme Introduction This is my personal favorite introduction type since it allows the use of a great variety of material. Tell a story or give an account related to the theme of your sermon. Nothing but the common theme needs to correspond as it will quickly be left behind once the main part of your message is underway. It serves only two purposes: It catches attention because it is interesting and it focuses attention on theme of your sermon. The following example comes from a message I wrote from the book of Philemon called "What It Means to Be Converted": "According to the Grand Rapids Press, 'Conversion to the Hindu Faith Is Tortuous.' An article in that newspaper stated: 'A West German businessman has completed his conversion to the Hindu faith. He has pierced himself through the cheeks with a 1/4-inch thick, 4-foot-long steel rod, and pulled a chariot for 2 miles by ropes attached to his back and chest by steel hooks. Others walk through 20-foot-long pits of fire, don shoes with soles made of nails, or hang in the air spread-eagle from hooks embedded in their backs.' Aren’t you glad that conversion to Christianity isn’t that way? What does it mean to be converted to Christ, anyway?" Thematic introductions can come from newspaper stories, portions of novels, stories taken out of your own experiences or those of others, or even a series of well-told jokes (if you're careful not to fall into the common trap of letting your jokes overpower your message.) I once told a series of "Saint Peter" jokes to introduce a message called "Saint Peter at the Gate" based on Acts 2. (Peter at the gate of the Church Kingdom letting in the first converts.) The jokes had nothing in common with my text except that they served to focus attention on Peter and a common misunderstanding about him. **The Transition The transition is a sentence or two that serves to focus attention on the specifics of the message at hand. Often it tells your hearers what the sermon is about. It plugs the attention you have just arrested in your introduction into the main part of your sermon. It needs to be concise, crystal clear, and sharply focused. If it isn't, your sermon will seem unrelated to your interesting introduction. If the first sentence and body of your introduction were a lasso thrown around your hearers to get them to slow down and pay attention, the transition would be the equivalent of pulling them to your side. In a thematic introduction, the transition is where we tell them precisely what we are going to talk about related to the theme we've just introduced. In the example under number 4 above, the transitional sentence is "Aren't you glad that conversion to Christianity isn't that way? What does it mean to be converted to Christ, anyway?" In this particular transition, the incredible account of Hindu conversion is compared to Christian conversion. The contrast brings the image of what you wish to say into sharp focus. The sermon went on to answer the question posed. In the introduction about judging under number 3 above, the transition is "How far are we to go in judging others? Is it permissible at all? If not, how can we discern right and wrong? Is it better not to judge at all?" These questions relate the attention you have just grabbed to the hearers curiosity and promise that the answers will be contained in the sermon. The transition is highly important because it describes what your sermon is about. It gathers the light that your introduction gathered and focuses it with laser beam sharpness onto your sermon. Work to improve the introductions to your sermons. The time you spend will yield rich dividends in your preaching and in the results. Copyright (c) Dave Redick, The Preacher's Study, 2000. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission only. Please do not cut articles out of this ezine and paste them anywhere else without permission. You may, however, forward this entire Ezine to friends freely.
[3] *=*Preacher’s Study Website Updates New messages added to the Premium section of our website include the following titles. Note: You must have a Premium access password to view these. More info about getting a password is at: http://www.preacherstudy.com/subinfo.htm "Big Enough to Overlook the Offenses of Others" based on 2 Samuel
16:5-14;19:16-23 For more recent additions, see the last issue of this ezine. New material is added weekly. For a recently updated list of all titles available, send email to: titles@preacherstudy.com?subject=Send Title List
[4] *=*On Subscribing to Our Website This ezine, The Preacher's Study Ezine, is actually an extension of our website, The Preacher's Study. The two entities work hand-in-hand to promote what is unashamedly our greatest passion: promoting accurate, interesting, relevant preaching of God's Word. If you enjoy these articles, please do visit the website. You'll find the same quality of material there. Yes, there is a modest subscription fee for access to part of it, namely the Premium area, but we believe that, as our current subscribers testify again and again, you'll find good value there. All of us purchase books and commentaries to enhance our understanding of the Bible and improve our preaching. Some of these simply become inert additions to already crowded bookshelves. We believe a subscription to The Preacher's Study will not become shelfware. Come see for yourself at:
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[6] *=*Easy Subscribe/Unsubscribe Instructions To subscribe or unsubscribe, go to the following web page and follow the simple instructions: http://preacherstudy.com/maillist.htm [Your email address will be kept fully confidential and will never be sold or given to anyone.]
[7] *=*Copyright Info The material in this Ezine is copyright (c) 2000 by The Preacher's Study. Reprint articles by permission only. Please do not cut and paste this material into any other documents. You may, however, forward the email version to friends and associates. |
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