The Proposition or the Main Point of the Sermon (MPS) is the sermon reduced to one sentence. If one of your members were asked by a friend at work on Monday, “What did your pastor preach about yesterday?” Your church member ought to be able to reply, without hardly thinking, what your MPS was or your sermon reduced to one sentence. “Our pastor preached, ‘You must be born again from John 3.'”
Some homileticans call this one sentence the
The big idea
The theme
The thesis
The proposition
Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddox call this essential sentence CIT (Central Idea of the Text). They contemporize the proposition (Vines, Jerry. Power in the Pulpit (p. 386). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition).
Haddon Robinson calls the MPT the “exegetical idea” and the proposition or the MPS the “Homiletical idea” (Haddon W. Robinson, Biblical Preaching, 66)
Curtis Akin, Bill Curtis, and Stephen Rummage call it the “main idea of the text” (Daniel L. Akin, Bill Curtis, and Stephen Rummage, Engaging Exposition [Nashville: B&H, 2011], 114–15)
Harold T. Bryson calls it the “essence of the text in a sentence” (Building Sermons to Meet People’s Needs, 61)
Stephen Olford calls it the “dominating theme” (Stephen Olford, Anointed Expository Preaching [Nashville: B&H, 2003], 75) (Vines, Jerry. Power in the Pulpit (p. 171).
Tony Merida calls the proposition the Main Point of the Sermon (M.P.S.): "The main point of the sermon is referred to often as the proposition or the essence of the sermon in a sentence. I like the simplified language. I actually use this phrase when preaching" (Faithful Preaching, page 80).
One of England’s finest preachers, J. H. Jowett, said this about the importance of the MPS: “I have the conviction that no sermon is ready for preaching, not ready for writing out until we can express its theme in a short, pregnant sentence as clear as crystal. I find the getting of that sentence is the hardest, the most exacting, and the most fruitful labor in my study …. I do not think any sermon ought to be preached, or even written until that sentence has emerged, clear and lucid as a cloudless moon” (J. H. Jowett, The Preacher: His Life and Work. New York: Harper, 1912, 133-34).
I personally like Tony Merida’s Main Point of the Sermon (MPS) better than the more traditional proposition. When I am preaching, it is more helpful to my audience if I say, “The main point of my message this morning is ‘You must be born again’ rather than announcing my proposition. For that reason, I will be using MPS throughout this step. Also, because I use MPS, the main point of the sermon, I refer to the major divisions of the sermon as Main Divisions rather than points. That would get confusing if you refer to the main point of the sermon and then refer to point one, point two, etc.
Four Different Kinds of MPS
James Braga identifies four different kinds of MPS, which the preacher could use to avoid monotony in presenting the timeless truth of the MPS.
The Declarative Form: This MPS is a simple declaration of the subject a preacher intends to discuss, develop, prove, or explain in a sermon (James Braga, How To Prepare Bible Messages. Oregon: Multnomah, 2005, 129). For example: “Jesus demands the new birth for all people in John 3.”
The Interrogative Form: This MPS is a question instead of a declaration (Braga, 150). The above declarative form could, for variety's sake, be stated as a question: “Why must all people be born again?” or “How can a person be born again?” Use your interrogative statement as your MPS. Which would look like this:
Introduction:
1. Attention Step
2. Interest Step
3. Lead into the Subject Step
A. Give the theme of the book:
B. Give the development of the theme of the book
Replace the Main Point of Sermon (MPS) with the Interrogative Statement
Transitional Sentence
I. Main Division One
The Hortatory Form: This is what we call a Demand MPS. The declaration is converted into a demand (Braga, 151). “You must be born again according to Jesus.” The demand MPS helps our listeners to be “doers of the Word and not hearers only” (James 1:22). The demand MPS is the decision for which you are preaching. The Demand MPS for Mark 1:21-35 is “Disciples must establish priorities for ministry.” How would a Declaration MPS be written? ____________________________
The Exclamatory Form: This MPS is an exclamation of praise (Braga, 151). This form is appropriate for Psalms of praise where the Psalmist is declaring God’s praise as in Psalm 103. For example: “Praise the Lord for what He has done and who He is.” Obviously, this is very similar to the Demand MPS.
Some General Principles Concerning The MPS
1. The MPS should just include one demand, not two.
F. B. Meyer made this point when he said, "In a sermon, we don't talk about seven different things, but we talk about one thing seven different ways."
One MPS enables the preacher to focus his sermon on the one piercing truth to which he seeks his congregation to respond. You would not preach this MPS: “You must be born again and take up your cross and follow Jesus.” Robert Delnay expressed this point very well: “In the military museum of the Invalides in Paris is a memorable relic of the Napoleonic wars. It is a polished brass breastplate, apparently taken from the body of a dead horseman. The man must have died of a single cannonball through the middle of the chest” (Robert Delnay, Fire in Your Pulpit. Schaumburg: Regular Baptist Press, 1990, 44).
We want our sermons to be like a single rifle shot aimed at the heart rather than shotgun blasts that pepper our listeners but do not penetrate their consciences.
“The sermon is not like a Chinese firecracker to be fired off for the noise it makes. It is a hunter’s gun, and at every discharge, he should look to see his game fall” said Henry Ward Beecher (Bruce Mawhinney. Preaching with Freshness, p. 205).
2. The MPS needs a complete sentence with a subject, ought word, and action verb.
We would not say to our congregation, “Today I am preaching on Prayer.”
A. The MPS should have an action verb rather than a state-of-being verb.
B. The MPS should be in the active voice rather than the passive.
C. The MPS should be in the affirmative rather than the negative.
With these three points in mind, the above MPS would be better stated: “You must pray effectively for powerful results.” Convert the following negative MPS into positives:
“Christians must not abuse their bodies” ____________________________________.
“It is a sin for Christians to worry” ______________________________________.
"The sinner must stop rejecting Christ as Savior" _______________________________.
3. The MPS addresses your current audience, not the original audience.
Southern evangelist Maze Jackson was preaching on left-handed Israelite judge, Ehud stabbing obese king Eglon and his theme was: “When lefty let fattie have it.” That was humorous but not relevant. Later in this lesson, we show how to convert the exegetical idea, what the passage meant to the original audience, to a homiletical idea, or what the passage means to your modern audience or as Merida would put it: How to convert the Main point of the text (MPT) into the main point of the sermons (MPS). Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix write about converting the Central Idea of the Text (CIT) into the MPS in chapter five of Power in the Pulpit.
4. The MPS must be concise not including all the main divisions or what you are going to say about the MPS.
For example, recently I preached on “The Need to Pray For Spiritual Needs” from Ephesians 1:15-23. My MPS did not include the four spiritual needs Paul prayed for in the text. This robs the sermon of suspense. This is, however, in opposition to the teaching adage: “Tell them what you are going to tell them. Tell them. Tell them what you just told them.” For variety's sake, you can follow the adage.
Here are some of the thoughts John R. W. Stott shared on How to Prepare a Sermon in an interview. The point, I want to highlight is his insight on the importance of the MPS or step 4.
1. Choose your text and meditate on it
2. Ask questions of the text
3. Combine diligent study with fervent prayer
4. Isolate the Dominant Thought of the Text
Every text has a main theme, an overriding thrust. A sermon is not a lecture, it aims to convey only one major message. The congregation will forget the details of the message, but they should remember the dominant thought because all the sermon's details should be marshaled to help them grasp its message and feel its power. Once the text's principle meaning has been determined, express it in a 'categorical proposition.' Ian Pitt-Watson: "Every sermon should be ruthlessly unitary in its theme."
The Method for Developing the MPS
1. Exegete the passage using the grammatical/historical hermeneutic
2. State the exegetical idea (Merida’s MPT) of the passage (What did the passage mean to the original audience) which is a summary statement
3. Convert the exegetical idea (MPT) into the homiletical idea or MPS (What does the passage mean to my audience) which is a timeless principle
1. Exegete the passage using the grammatical/historical hermeneutic
The first step is to identify the theme of the book from which you are preaching. If you are preaching Ephesians 1:3-14, first identify the theme of Ephesians and how the theme is developed, and where your passage is located in the development of the theme of the book.
1) The theme of Ephesians is The Unity That Love Can Bring. Harold W. Hoehner convincingly proves this theme (See Harold W. Hoehner’s Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary).
2 ) The development of the theme in Ephesians is the two-fold division of the book: Doctrinal unity in chapters 1-3 and Practical unity in chapters 4-6.
There are two doctrinal examples of unity in Ephesians chapters 1-3: (1) The Trinity in chapter 1 and (2) the Church in chapters 2-3. In the Trinity, there is perfect harmony among the three members of the Godhead in heaven. There has never been a disagreement between these three persons. No person of the Trinity has ever gotten mad and stomped off. In the Church, there is also perfect unity among the members of the Body of Christ on earth. Jews and Gentiles are “one” in Christ. My passage is 1:3-14 or the Trinity example of unity.
In the next step, I must find the theme of this pericope or text or preaching unit and the development of the theme. Reading these verses in Ephesians chapter one, I discover a threefold division because of the repetition of the phrase in verses 6, 12, and 14: “To the praise of the glory of His grace.” So I divide this passage into three sections. I also observe that in each section one person of the Trinity is praised, which also substantiates the three-fold division.
I. In verses 3-6, God the Father Choosing Believers in Eternity Past is praised.
II. In verses 7-12, God the Son Providing Redemption in the Historical Past is praised.
III. Lastly, in verses 13-14, God the Spirit Sealing Believers until the Day of Redemption is praised.
The grammatical/historical method of interpretation has helped me discover the theme of my passage and the development of the theme. The theme, “We must praise each Person of the Trinity for His part in our salvation,” is my MPS and the three-fold development of the theme are my three main divisions.
1) The theme of Mark is Jesus Christ is the Son of God who makes disciples (See Factual Data Sheet on the Gospel of Mark).
2) The theme of Mark is developed with what R. T. France calls three acts. Those three acts are
Act one: In Galilee, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with the Multitudes (1:14- 8:21)
Act two: On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with His Disciples (8:22-10:52)
Act three: In Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples in the World (11-16)
Example from Mark 1:21-35
MPT: Jesus had the right priorities for ministry
MPS: Disciples must establish the right priorities
Interrogative statement: How?
Transitional Statement: By following the example of Christ
1. By Going to the place of worship (1:21)
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean? This was Jesus’ custom according to Luke 4:16.
B. Argumentation: Answers the listener’s question: How do you know this is the meaning? (This is where we insert systematic theology or cross-references). There has been a central place of worship beginning with the Tabernacle. The writer of Hebrews in 10:24 and 25 exhorts us to consider one another and provoke to love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of themselves together.
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like? My mom got four boys ready for church three times a week without any help from Dad.
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses have to do with my life? I spoke to one young father about the need of taking his family to church. His response was that he read the Bible each evening to his family and prayed with them. That was better than going and sitting in a building for an hour each week. My response was that what he was doing was great but obeying God’s Word and attending worship was even better and spiritually beneficial for himself and his family.
2. By Teaching and Preaching God’s Word (1:22)
3. By Helping needy people (1:23-34)
4. By Spending time alone with God (1:35)
Conclusion:
Summarizes the MPS and main divisions
Here we exhort our listeners one last time to practice the MPS.
Dr. Wayne McDill devotes three helpful chapters to exegeting the passage of what he calls Text Analysis in his 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching.
2. State the MPT (or the exegetical idea) of the passage (What did the passage mean to the original audience)
Merida calls the exegetical idea the Main Point of the Text (MPT) which will next become the MPS.
What did this passage mean to the original audience? This is based on the hermeneutical principle of authorial intention or one interpretation for each text. For Ephesians 1:3-14, the exegetical idea for the original audience could be stated like this: “The Ephesian believers must praise each person of the Trinity because of His unique contribution to their salvation.” Because there are many commonalities between the original audience and my modern audience in Ephesians the MPS doesn’t have to be adapted much. The MPS is: Believers must praise each person of the Trinity for His unique contribution to their salvation.
The following examples show where more adaptation is necessary.
Haddon Robinson’s exegetical idea combines the subject and the complement. Subject: About what does the verse talks about? Complement: What does the verse say about the subject? For our sermon style, the subject is the MPS and the compliment is the main divisions.
MPT or Exegetical idea (including subject and complement) of Mark 16:1-4: “The women who came to the empty tomb to anoint the body of Jesus worried about a problem that was too big for them, but it was resolved before they ever had to face it.”
This is what Tony Merida calls the main point of the text (MPT) and what his mentor Jim Shaddix calls the central idea of the text (CIT). Shaddix and Jerry Vines have a helpful chapter entitled Unifying the Theme in their Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons (Chapter Five).
Tony Merida in chapter six discusses this process in Step 2: Unify the Redemptive Theme (Merida, Tony. Faithful Preaching (p. 76). B&H Publishing. Kindle Edition).
3. Convert the exegetical idea (MPT) into the homiletical idea or MPS (What does the passage mean to my audience)
The MPS (Main Point of Sermon) or the Homiletical idea of the above exegetical idea in Mark 16:1-4 is the following: “The Lord’s people are sometimes confronted with problems that are too big for them.” This declarative MPS can be converted into this demand MPS: “We must trust God to solve our problems.”
The MPT or the Exegetical idea for Ezra 7:10: “Ezra purposed in his heart to exposit the Scriptures.”
The declarative MPS or the Homiletical idea: “God uses the preacher who dedicates himself to Biblical preaching.”
Convert this declarative MPS into a demand MPS: __________________________.
How to Move from MPS to The First Main Division
The MPS is followed by the interrogative statement using one of the five interrogative adverbs (why, how, what, when, and where). After you exegete the passage, list both how and why (the more common interrogative adverbs used) that can develop the MPS. One instead of two interrogatives will develop the MPS better. Again, this rule can be broken when a "why" and "how" interrogative statement will fit the passage better.
The interrogative sentence is followed by the transitional sentence, with a keyword, which connects the MPS to the first main point of the sermon.
Example:
The first sermon that I preached after I got started in Homiletics with Mr. LeGrand was from Ephesians 2:8-9.
My MPS was: You must be saved by grace through faith
Interrogative sentence: How can you be saved by grace?
Transitional sentence: By taking these steps in Ephesians 2:8-9. “Steps” is the keyword (Jim Shaddix and Jerry Vines have a helpful section on the importance of the keyword on pages 154-157).
I. By faith in Jesus Christ
II. By grace and not works
Here is an alternative using why as the interrogative.
MPS: You must be saved by grace through faith
Interrogative sentence: Why must you be saved through faith?
Transitional sentence: Because of the following reasons. “Reasons” is the keyword.
I. Because Salvation is by faith
II. Because Salvation is by grace and not works
I will never forget the relief I experienced in preaching that sermon on Ephesians 2:8-9 when I learned in my first Homiletic class the steps to take and follow in preaching. This model is not the only model for preaching but is one, to begin with and master before we move on to more advanced models.