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* * T H E P R E A C H E R ' S
S T U D Y First Tuesday of January, 2001 Subscribe free on the web at: Back Issues available at: *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* 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 To view sample sermons: http://preacherstudy.com/sample.htm Or go to the home page at: *=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=* IN THIS ISSUE: [1] Greetings from the Editor [2] Featured Article: "What's Your Angle?" (Part 2) [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 Happy New Year! Welcome to this edition of the Ezine. A special welcome to new subscribers. As you may already know, I decided to skip the second regular issue in December, due to circumstances occurring in my local ministry. I'm happy to say that things have subsided somewhat so that I can be back at the keyboard, hoping to make the most of a bright new year as God gives opportunity. This issue contains a second installment of my most recent article on sermon angle. It expanded as I wrote (surprise!) beyond what I had expected, so I will split it into yet another part, yielding three in all. I'm writing these in "real time" and not pulling them from an archive somewhere so that will necessarily be reflected in the final product. The last installment on this topic will be in the next issue. God bless. --Dave [2] *=*Featured Article WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?" (Part 2) By Dave Redick [Continued from last issue] In the last issue I discussed the subject of the angle of a sermon and its importance in writing interesting messages. If you haven't read that part, I encourage you to do so now at the following address: http://www.preacherstudy.com/ezine29.htm There are as many interesting angles as your imagination and the passage you're preaching permit. To prime the pump, here are some tried and true angles that come from the field of journalism. These ideas are not original with me. I'm not a journalist, nor the son of one. I just find their ways of looking at things helpful in writing my sermons. I think you will, too. Each of these is fairly easily adapted to preaching. (By the way, with this approach, you'll find that once you have discovered an angle, you have often discovered your title.) 1. Numbers and Lists. Lists promise simplicity and manageability. Witness the popularity of the so called "Twelve Step" programs. I'd be willing to bet that you already have some three point sermons, right? You make my point. Visit a magazine rack and read the covers. You'll probably be amazed at the prominence of the numbers angle. Here are some angles that could be used in preaching: "Seven Things God Hates" (Proverbs 6:16-19) "Five Ways to Change Your Prayer Life" "Seven Things the Devil Wishes You Wouldn't Do" (Pray, sing praises, resist evil, etc.) "Four Things the Devil Wishes You Would Do." (Stay home from church, harbor resentment, run your life by your feelings, etc.) "Nine Great Ways to Start the New Year." (Forgiven, reconciled, disciplined, etc.) The numbers angle lends itself to single passages that contain lists. It can also be used with topical sermons where a theme is chosen, then that theme is pursued in various passages throughout the Bible. 2. Secrets and Little Known Facts. Who doesn't want to discover secrets? The idea that we might learn something that others don't know is tantalizing. Being on the cutting edge, the prospect of getting to things before others, etc. causes us to stop and take notice. Here are a few examples. Build some sermons with this angle and you'll find interested hearers. "The Secret Life of an Effective Interceder" (Matthew 6:5-15, prayer done in secret.) "Forgotten Qualities of Effective Leadership" (Humility, Approachability, Courage, Honesty, Consistency, etc. are things many leaders have abandoned for the flashier things spawned by Madison Avenue.) "Secrets of Spiritual Steadiness" (Go through a concordance and find passages dealing with steadfastness. Distill out a list of things people often overlook and need to be reminded of.) 3. How to. Early in my ministry I discovered that many of the sermons I heard told me what I should do but very few told how to do it. I soon learned that other Christians had noticed the same deficit. Promise to tell someone how to pray or how to study the Bible or how to resolve matters with estranged family members and you'll have a crowd of listeners ready to tune in to your message. Of course if you promise to tell them how, be sure that you know God's word well enough to deliver! Here are a few examples: "How to Spend a Day with God in Prayer" "How to Be at Peace with Your Enemies" (Romans 12:17-21) "How to Keep From Stumbling in the Christian Life" (2 Peter 1:5-11) 4. Size, importance, order. This angle is concerned with the biggest, best, most, worst, first, last, closest, farthest, ultimate, etc. Such a message promises out-of-the-ordinary content or something being delivered that has long been sought. Of course, many such passages are already well known. You are simply repackaging them with your angle. Don't claim what is untrue here. In other words, be sure that the content either really is the biggest, best, etc., or your angle is justifiable in some other way. To give you an example of the pull of this angle, the other day I was surfing the Web and I came upon a link with these words: "The End of the Internet? The Internet, one might think, is vast, limitless, unending. Yet it turns out that the Internet is finite after all ..." Note the angle of "The (ultimate) End" of the Internet? There the words sat on my browser screen. What could they mean? Would this seemingly endless new phenomenon really come to an end? Was there some technical limitation I didn't know about? What should I do? Surf on and ignore the link? Yeah, right. What would you do? Of course. I clicked the link! Here is what popped up on the screen: Attention: No, it isn't a sermon. It's a joke. But my curiosity would have killed me had I surfed on. I couldn't resist the call of the author's "ultimate end" angle. Here are some size, importance, order angles as they pertain to sermons: "The Weakest Strong Man in the Bible" (Samson) "The Most Important Command in the Bible" (Love God) "Top Ten Reasons for Living a Christian Life" (Done in reverse order after the fashion of a popular comedian) "The Biggest Lie in all the Bible" ("You surely won't die!) "The Beginning of Your New Life with Christ" (1 Peter 2:2) "The Last Words of Jesus on the Cross" "Mankind's Dirtiest Little Secret." (Sin) [To be continued] Copyright (c) Dave Redick, The Preacher's Study, 2000-2001. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission only (which will probably be granted if you just ask.) 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 Four new items were added to the Premium Area of our website since the last issue. These may be viewed only if you are a Premium Subscriber. From the "Abraham the Believer"Series: "There He Goes Again" based on Genesis 20:1-21:7. "Reaping the Results of Bad Choices" based on Genesis 21:8-21. For the New Year: "Twelve Goals for a Happy New Year" based on a "Happy New Year" acrostic. In the Discussion Lesson Section: "Strength in Times of Trouble" based on King David's response to the troubles in his life. New material is added weekly. If we miss a week, we double the material on the following week. [4] *=*On Subscribing to Our Website This ezine, The Preacher's Study Ezine, is actually an extension of my website, The Preacher's Study. The two entities work hand-in-hand to promote what is unashamedly my 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 I 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. A subscription to The Preacher's Study will not likely become shelfware. Come see for yourself at: [5] *=*Contact Info The Preacher's Study Website & Ezine [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 copyrighted (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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