One of the most important rules for preachers is to have one major point. Now if you preach the three points and a poem, what this means is that each of your points should be connected in some way to the main point. If you preach a narrative, it means that you have a major point in mind as you preach the sermon. That way, the people can remember the sermon.
Month: December 2008
I am a planter. This means that I not only extract and re-arrange, but I deposit. We do not leave the soil empty, disturbed, and void. Far from it, we leave the ground altered by adding to it. We plant seeds! We plant seeds of hope, that hope that is in Christ and His gospel. That hope that shows the more excellent way of being and doing. We plant seeds! The seeds of self reliance and mutuality. We plant seeds! The seeds of community, and communal interdependence. We plant seeds!
We have talked about this method on a few times. Some might call this extemporaneous preaching in that the preacher does not necessarily know what will be preached or how. The preacher prepares by immersing his or herself in the scripture. You take a walk around the scriptural area and simply look around.
I am a planter which means that I have the duty of tilling the soil. I literally have to break the soil, and turn what was up, over so that it is down. They reverse things when necessary. Likewise, I have the task of placing what was down and under the earth up and on top. Likewise, I have to take that which is up and put it down.
When people ask me about preaching without notes, many assume that you must write out the whole sermon and then memorize the sermon. These preachers are looking for a method that will help them memorize such a large amount of material.