HOMILETICS: THE ART OF PREACHING
I.
INTRODUCTION
Methods for preparing sermons:
Inspiration vs. Daily Bible Study
II.
SPIRITUAL CULTIVATION
A.
What is the relationship between spiritual
cultivation and homiletics?
Receiving from God and giving to
people
B.
Why do we need to cultivate ourselves?
1.
To receive God’s message
2.
Serving God without cultivation will lead to
dangers
C.
What kind of attitudes do we need to have?
1.
Humility toward believers
2.
Humility toward coworkers
3.
Humility toward God
4.
Love toward men
5.
Self-discipline
III.
WORD STUDY
A.
Why do we study the words?
1.
To clearly understand the message
2.
It is the smallest unit of Bible study
B.
How do we conduct word study?
1.
Utilize concordance to search for a word or
passage
2.
Study the definition and function of the word
3.
Know the metaphorical meaning to understand the
teachings of that passage
IV.
TEXT ANALYSIS
A.
What is text analysis?
Text analysis involves
dissecting, asking questions, finding answers, counting, categorizing, and
comparing
B.
Why do we need it?
1.
To thoroughly understand what the passage is
saying
2.
To correctly interpret the passage
C.
How do we do text analysis?
1.
Divide chapters into sections
2.
Ask questions in each section: Who, what, when,
where, why, how, how many—Find the answers within the text
3.
Find out what the pronouns refer to: He, she,
it, they, them, things, both
4.
Find the key words and main points
5.
Compare similarities and differences and grasp
the “big picture”
6.
Structure analysis
V.
INTERPRETATION
A.
What are the principles of Bible interpretation?
1.
Do not subtract or add (Deut 4:2, ; -19)
2.
Do not force or twist interpretations (2 Pet
3:16; Mt 23:15; 2 Cor 4:2; Gal 1:6-9)
3.
Interpretations cannot contradict (2 Cor 2:17; Eph 2:19-20)
4.
To edify (2 Tim 3:15-17), and not to destroy our
faith (2 Tim 2:17-18)
5.
Use the Bible to explain the Bible (Lk 24:25-27,
44-46; Acts 18:28)
B.
How do we interpret?
1.
Be familiar with Bible passages
2.
Having completed word study
3.
Having completed text analysis
4.
Interpret according to context—especially the
Pauline letters (2 Pet 3:16; 1 Cor 14)
C.
Examples of misinterpretations
1.
2 Cor 4:7
2.
Eph 2:14-16
3.
Eph 2:20
4.
Phil 3:13
VI.
APPLICATION
A.
How do we apply what we’ve learned on ourselves
and others?
Meditate—Take some time to
understand and to apply what we’ve learned:
1.
Put ourselves in their shoes
2.
Change “they” to “we”; “he” to “I” in the
questions
3.
Think about how to apply each teaching in our
lives
4.
Think of similar situations in the Bible, and
how the biblical characters overcame their challenges
5.
Think of similar situations we or someone else
have encountered—learn from others and the way they resolve the issues
6.
Think about how it applies to different aspects
of our lives
7.
Think about what we should do the next time we
encounter the problem
8.
Pray for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation
(Eph 1:17-18)
VII.
SERMON OUTLINE
A.
Pray and meditate during the entire preparation
process
B.
Establish a theme and direction so people would
not be lost in what we preach
C.
Know the goal and purpose—the points mentioned
and what was talked about
D.
Gather the text
E.
Organize the outline:
1.
Prologue (“appetizer”)
2.
Main body
(“main entrée”)
3.
Epilogue (“dessert”)
F.
Hermeneutic and exegesis
G.
Revision
1.
Induction
2.
Deduction
3.
Analogy
4.
Witness
5.
Life applications
H.
Memorize
I.
Review
J.
Go back to step A.
VIII.
HOMILETICS
A.
What are the things we need to be aware of?
There are at least 21 things
B.
Pay attention to dynamics vs. teaching
IX.
CONCLUSION
Summarize and questions
