Here is a basic homiletical or sermon outline that many homileticians teach, such as Tony Merdia in his book Faithful Preaching. My version has argumentation whereas his does not. For background information see Factual Data Sheet for Narratives (click to view). A more advanced book on homiletics is by Donald Sunikijan (click to view).
Scripture:
Title:
Introduction: (See ppt on Jared Wilson)
1. Attention Step: This is the first thing you say in your sermon that grabs their attention in reference to the proposition or the Main Point of the Sermon (MPS). For example, on Sunday I preached on First (perfect) Baptist Church. I quoted the old saying, “If you ever find a perfect church, don’t join it.” Then, I asked our church the reason for that advice.
2. Interest Step: This creates or taps an interest in your listeners for your sermon. As the interest step Sunday, I told the church my experience of preaching at a church that had a great reputation and being infatuated with this church. But the longer I stayed, however, the more imperfections I found.
3. Lead into the Subject Step:
A. Give the Theme of the Book of the Bible from which you are preaching: (Mark: Jesus Christ is the Son of God who makes disciples)
B. Give the development of the theme (Show how your sermon or Bible study fits in the development)**
In Mark (See Extended Outline on Mark) click to open
1) In Galilee, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with the Multitudes (1:14-8:21)
2) On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with His Disciples (8:22-10:52)
3) In Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples in the World (11-16)
Proposition or MPS (Main Point of the Sermon):
1. MPT (Main Point of the Text or what did it mean to the original audience. This is a summary statement for the original audience to whom Mark was writing) (The MPT does not go in your sermon)
2. MPS (Main Point of the Sermon or what does it mean to my audience. This is a timeless principle for my contemporary audience)
In Mark: We must make disciples (This is a DEMAND MPS which is a timeless principle)
Consistently Use the Same Key Language or Phrasing
(What three places does this principle show up in your sermon?)
1) MPS: “disciple’
2) Interrogative statement “disciple”
3) Transitional sentence “disciple”
Interrogative statement:
In Mark: HOW can we make disciples? or WHY should we make disciples?
Transitional statement:
a. If How is the interrogative the transitional statement is: We can make disciples BY following these steps (keyword is “steps”)
b. If Why is the interrogative the transitional statement is: We should make disciples BECAUSE of the following reasons (keyword is “reasons”).
If you use WHY and your main divisions begin with BECAUSE you can still have timeless principles. See the example from Mark 16:9-20 below and if you use HOW see the example from Mark 15:21-41 *
Main divisions and sub-points or rhetorical processes (Explanation, Argumentation, Illustration, and Application). The rhetorical processes answer questions the listeners of our sermons are asking.
I. Main Division (There must be more than one main division) NEED TO BE TIMELESS PRINCIPLES (Give verses covered in each main division) (Don’t read in advance)
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean? ARE MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE
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) This is not more explanation.
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like? ARE NOT MORE EXPLANATION. ILLUSTRATIONS NEED SPECIFICS AND TO BE PERSONAL WHEN POSSIBLE. (Write out word for word)
This is one of our student’s illustrations:
For example, my mother-in-law is a phenomenal cook and it’s one of the things I am thankful she has passed on to her daughter (my wife.) I know that when I go to her house to eat, I’m going to get an incredible meal. When my wife and I were dating, I went over for dinner one night at her parent’s home. As the meal was placed on the table, I noticed that she put something down that I never had before, pear halves with a dollop of cream, yellow shredded cheese, and a cherry on top. I was pretty happy about this and took a big bite out of this dessert. Instead of tasting the sweetness of the white cream on top, I was completely thrown off guard and disgusted by the fact that what was on this pear wasn’t cream, it was mayonnaise! Pear salad! I was expecting one thing and got something completely different!
Here is another illustration from one of our students:
I liken this to when I was confronted by the Deacon Emeritus of my current church. He stopped at my house one Sunday between services when I was cutting my grass. He told me “as the pastor of the church I shouldn’t be cutting my grass on a Sunday because it’s the Lord’s Day.” I told Him as a Bi-Vocational pastor and father of six children between services was the only time I had during the week to cut my grass, and furthermore, Jesus and His disciples picked corn on the Sabbath and healed those in need, so I was confident my Father in Heaven was not displeased with my actions.
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life? APPLICATIONS NEED SPECIFICS AND TO BE PERSONAL WHEN POSSIBLE.
D. Application: Of course, Jesus himself exhorts to be a servant of everyone and that is what we should do. How can we be a servant of everyone? Examples of serving everyone include handing out water to people when it’s hot, bringing food to people when they are grieving the loss of a family member, serving in a soup kitchen, or volunteering to help out with the children’s ministry in the church. This final example is what will lead us into the next part of this sermon: welcoming the least significant.
D. Application: Some great applications for us to implement are serving in children’s church or the nursery. Helping out with an orphanage is another great application of this principle and mission trips to help third world countries who want their children to be able to attend school and have food to eat.
II. Main Division
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean?
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)
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like?
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life?
Conclusion: Here we exhort our listeners one last time to practice the MPS (So repeat the MPS). In the conclusion, we don’t answer any more questions because hopefully, we have answered them through the rhetorical processes. Now, we ratchet up our persuasion with one more strong exhortation to practice the MPS.
*EXAMPLE FROM MARK 1:21-38 (One day of service in the life of Jesus)*
Introduction:
1. Attention Step
2. Interest Step
3. Lead into the Subject Step
A. Give the theme of the book: Jesus Christ is the Son of God who makes disciples
B. Give the development of the theme of the book
1) In Galilee, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with the Multitudes (1:14-8:21)
2) In order to reach the multitudes, Jesus established the right priorities.
Main Point of Sermon (MPS): We disciples also must establish the right priorities (This is the timeless principle that goes in your sermon)
Interrogative: How must disciples establish the right priorities?
Transitional Sentence: : We disciples also must establish the right priorities by following the example of Christ (“example” is the keyword instead of “steps”)
1. Main Division One: By Going to the Place of Worship (1:21) (The verses that should be included in each main division follow the flow of the text. Start at the beginning and end at the end. (There must be more than one main division)
A. Explanation (Include the word Explanation in your outline): Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean? This is where we get our paragraphs for our manuscript sermon)
B. Argumentation (Include the word Argumentation in your outline): Answers the listener’s question: How do you know this is the meaning? (This is where we insert systematic theology or cross-references) (Luke 4:16). This is not more explanation.
C. Illustration: (Include the word Illustration in your outline): Answers the listener’s question: What does look like? I talked to one young father about the importance of taking his family to church. He said that he read the Bible and prayed with his family each night and that was better than going and sitting in a building for an hour.
D. Application (Include the word Application in your outline): Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life? God’s Word commands us to not forsake assembling with God’s people (Heb 10:25).
Transitional sentence to the next main division: Next, we disciples also must establish the right priorities
2. Main Division Two: By Teaching and Preaching God’s Word (1:22)
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean?
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) (Over 30 references to teaching in the Pastoral Epistles)
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like?
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life?
Transitional sentence to the next main division: We disciples also must establish the right priorities, not only by going to the place of worship, by teaching and preaching God’s Word but also by helping needy people.
3. Main Division Three: By Helping needy people (1:23-34)
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean?
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)
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like?
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life?
Transitional sentence to the next main division: We disciples also must establish the right priorities, by spending time alone with God.
4. Main Division Four: By Spending time alone with God (1:35)
A. Explanation: Answers the listener’s question: What do these verses mean?
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)
C. Illustration: Answers the listener’s question: What does look like?
D. Application: Answers the listener’s question: What does this have to do with my life?
Transitional sentence to the next main division: We disciples also must establish the right priorities, by going to the place of worship, by teaching and preaching God’s Word, by helping needy people, by spending time alone with God, and lastly by letting God set our schedule.
5. Main Division Five: By Letting God set our schedule, not man (1:36-38)
A. Explanation:
B. Argumentation:
C. Illustration:
D. Application:
Conclusion:
1) Summation
2) Exhortation to respond to the MPS
** Example from Mark 8:1-9
(How to help the transition from the Lead into the Subject Step to the MPS BEFORE the three-fold development of the book’s theme)
Introduction:
1. The Attention Step
2. The Interest Step
3. Lead into the Subject Step:
A. The theme of the book of Mark is Jesus Christ, the Son of God who makes disciples
B. There is a natural three-fold division of the book of Mark largely based on the major geographical locations of Jesus’ ministry.
Since the MPS is We must embrace Jesus’ compassion toward us, you could state that Jesus shows compassion throughout his ministry as seen in the threefold development of Mark’s theme.
1. In Galilee, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with the Multitudes (1:14-8:21) and shows compassion on the multitudes
2. On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with His Disciples (8:22-10:52) and shows compassion on His disciples
3. In Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples in the World (11-16) and shows compassion on the world
Our passage today is Mark 8:1-9, and as you can see, it falls within the first main division of the book - Jesus the Son of God is in the region of Galilee teaching, making disciples, and displaying His compassion on the multitudes.
MPS: We must embrace Jesus’ compassion toward us.
**EXAMPLE FROM MARK 16:9-20
John D. Grassmick in Bible Knowledge Commentary explains his view on the longer ending in Mark 16:9-20: purposely ended his Gospel with verse 8 and (b) verses 9–20, though written or compiled by an anonymous Christian writer, are historically authentic and are part of the New Testament canon (cf. similarly the last chapter of Deut.). In this view, very early in the transmission of Mark’s Gospel (perhaps shortly after A.D. 100) verses 9–20 were added to verse 8 without any attempt to match Mark’s vocabulary and style.
(How to help the transition from the Lead into the Subject Step to the MPS AFTER the three-fold development)
Introduction:
1. Attention Step:
2. Interest Step:
3. Lead into the Subject Step:
A. Give the Theme of the Book of the Bible from which you are preaching: (Mark: Jesus Christ is the Son of God who makes disciples)
B. Give the development of the theme (Show how your sermon or Bible study fits in the development)
In Mark (See Extended Outline on Mark) click to open
1) In Galilee, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with the Multitudes (1:14-8:21)
2) On the way to Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples with His Disciples (8:22-10:52)
3) In Jerusalem, Jesus the Son of God Makes Disciples in the World (11-16).
My passage is in the last section. Jesus the Son of God disciples the world by dying, being buried, and resurrecting from the dead for our sins. Now He is preparing his disciples to go into all the world with this message. If we are going to take this message we must believe it
*EXAMPLE FROM MARK 16:9-20
(On how to include timeless principles in main divisions with some WHY? interrogatives)
MPS: Christians must believe that Jesus is the Son of God (The word “believe” is used six times in 16:11, 13, 14, 16, and 17)
Interrogative statement: Why should Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God
Transitional sentence: Christians believe that Jesus is the Son of God for the following reason
I. Because of Jesus’ Miracles (Mark 16:9-11). This main division is identified by the time change in 16:9)
This is still a timeless principle. Christians should believe Jesus is the Son of God because of His Miracles
II. Because of Jesus’ Appearances (Mark 16:12-13) (This main division is identified because of a location change in the appearance of Jesus to the disciples on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24)
Christians should believe Jesus is the Son of God because of His Appearances
III. Because of Jesus’ Evidences (Mark 16:14-18) (This main division is identified because of another location change to Jesus. with the disciples in John 20)
Christians should believe Jesus is the Son of God because of His Evidences
IV. Because of Jesus’ Transformation of Disciples (Mark 16:19-20) (This main division is identified by a time change)
Christians should believe Jesus is the Son of God because of His Transformation
Conclusion: Here we exhort our listeners one last time to practice the MPS. In the conclusion, we don’t answer any more questions because hopefully, we have answered them through the rhetorical processes. Now, we ratchet up our persuasion with one more strong exhortation to practice the MPS.
*EXAMPLE FROM Mark 15:21-41
(On how to include timeless principles in main divisions with some HOW? interrogatives)
MPS: Jesus’s disciples must endure suffering.
Interrogative statement: How can disciples endure suffering?
Transitional Statement: By following the example of Jesus
I. The Example of Jesus in His Crucifixion (15:21-41)
How can this include a timeless principle:
I. By following the example of Jesus in His crucifixion by suffering in a pagan culture (This idea comes from the Application)