Need some advice on preparing a sermon

Well there are differant ways to do it.

You can write the whole thing out, word for word and read it.

You can make notes of the scripture, and then trust God to give you the right words, as you read each verse and expound on it.

My favorite way is to mark my scripture with sticky notes with the edge sticking out of my bible, and number them in the order I want to go to them. On each sticky is a little note to myself about what I wanted to say.

OR, you can pray ask God to give you the whole thing as you speak. This is best, and the most refreshing if you feel comfortable doing it that way.

However you choose to do it, God Bless you!!

Working for Jesus,

Tam

 

~ChurchBoy,
I noticed that you said your in a preaching class.....the teacher didn't cover the different formulas? If this is the first time to preach.... I suggest the chicken formula.....you see there was this chicken and she wanted to lay an egg out in the middle of a busy freeway. So the chicken goes to the head rooster and tells him what she wants to do, but doesn't know exsactly how the best way to go about it. Well....the head rooster crows a little and tells her......"get out there quick and lay it on the line"! Thats all you gotta do....arn't you glad you asked.

But seriously.... Get a topic (which you already got a good one) then get out the concordance and search out more scripure that might help get the importance of studying the Word across to the congragation. You might have a few tips of how to study......you might make some flyers with the how to's of studing the word. Jusr remember to put God first and I bet you'll do great!

FYI,I was at a preachers website yesterday who said that he would print out his sermon and pass it out to the congragation so they could follow along. Wow! Thats confidence huh?

BTW, are you gonna let us know how it goes?

Best wishes,
Music4Him

 

I would start with the scripture and then allow that to determine the topic with which you will preach. Your scripture Acts 17:11 is a fine, questions I would ask.

What brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas out in the first place?

It mentions the Jews being more noble, why were they more noble, because the studied the word or because they born to the right family?

What scriptures did they examine?

What is the significance, if any, of mentioning the Jews that believed as well as the Greek women
and men?

Why did the Jews from Thessalonica bother Paul but seem to leave Silas and Timothy alone until they left?

How does this event recorded in the 1st Century apply to someone living in the 21st Century?

Just a starting place, leave the concordance on the self for a while, you generally end up with a better sermon and avoid proof-texting. It has a place in the study, just not at the beginning of writing a sermon, in my opinion.

 

The first thing you should do is study both the verse and it's context. Read the entire chapter of Acts 17. Pray about it... try to 'hear from God' when reading the verses. The best sermons are people talking about what God has shown them regarding a particular subject.

Next, you may want to go to a website like www.blueletterbible.org. Look up the verse there. You will be able to view the verse in several different translations. But also... and more importantly, you will be able to use the online concordance. You can look up significant words, see where else they were used in the scripture to define the meaning of the verse. Always let the Word define the Word.

For example:

Act 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

They recieved the word with readiness of mind. If you click the C (for conconrdance) on the blueletterbible.org site, you will see that it is the Greek word prothumia {proth-oo-mee'-ah}. This word is found in other scripture as well. According to the strongs it is found 4 other times in scripture - 3 times in 2Cor 8, and once in 2Cor 9. Clearly, 2Cor 8 & 9 are very significant to defining and clarifying - expounding upon - the concept of 'readiness of mind'. Go there and read those chapters. Remember... let the Word define the Word.

Next, you might look at another significant word... such as "they recieved the WORD ...". The Greek word LOGOS is used for WORD in Acts 17:11. Looking again at the concordance you will see that the first time logos is used in the Greek NT is in Matt 5:32.

Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Where is logos in that? It is the word CAUSE! Saving for the CAUSE of fornication. This use of the word can give you insight into Acts 17:11. Primarily, in the NT, logos is used to mean speech or sayings.

What does Romans 10 say? Rom 10:17 So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

So Acts 10:17 can be linked directly to Romans 10:17 as well. Faith comes by hearing... and Acts 10:17 tells you to examine the preaching you are hearing to see that it lines up with scripture. Why then is it important to study the word? Because our faith is CAUSED by hearing the word. So you need to make sure you are lining up what you hear with what you see in the Scriptures.

I have noticed others here have recommended you leave the 'concordance on the shelf'... however, I would recommend the opposite. You will get a much more thorough understanding and insight to what is meant by the scripture if you let the Word define itself - the corcordances will be a very good tool in linking scripture. There are very few (if any) concepts in scripture that are only mentioned once... to fully understand you should investigate multiple reference scriptures. Link concepts to concepts, scripture to scripture.

Finally, a good speaker will always link what the Bible says to practical every-day life. Anyone can be a christian on Sunday mornings, but effective christianity is lived daily. Figure out how the message relates to every day life and relate that to your audience.

 

BTW - just went to look at 2Cor 8 & 9 and it talks about how the 'readiness of mind' is for the purpose of performing that which you have heard.

Framing Acts 17:11 in this way can lead you right into giving your audience practical ways to do the word on a day to day basis.

You might even link to other verses that describe this concept... such as James 1:

Jam 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jam 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth [therein], he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

Explaining the PURPOSE behind Acts 17:11 can be a most powerful message. It's one thing to hear WHAT to do... but knowing WHY we do WHAT we do leads to understanding the topic. Understanding keeps us from dead and dry tradition. Following the WHAT without the why is what I call 'religious ritual' rather than relationship living.

 

Good questions. That is to me the key to studying and sharing a passage of scripture. Work up good questions that address the key issues in the passage and then - work out the answers. There is the meat of your sermon.

 

For example: When they started studying the scriptures to compare whether these things are true, what scriptures do you suppose they looked at?