“The traditional way to plan the form of any oral communication—a sermon or a speech or a lecture—is to create an orderly and logical outline, a schematic diagram of the parts and sequence of the message.” p.138
“Many homiletical textbooks of past generations enthusiastically endorsed the outlining process as the most efficient method for designing sermon structure. Developing an outline in advance, it is said, forces the preacher to make choices, not only about what will be said when but also about the logical connections among the various pieces of the sermon. Once a good outline has been produced, the preacher can simply fill out the parts to create the final sermon.” p. 138
Example of outline:
“How is a good outline created? Let us examine a typical sermon outline and see how it was made.”
Imagine that the text for the sermon is Psalm 19.
Psalm 19:
The heavens are telling the glory of God;and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.Day to day pours forth speech,and night to night declares knowledge.There is no speech, nor are there wor<^;their voice is not heard; yet their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.In the heavens he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy.
Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover by them is your servant warned in keeping them there is great reward. But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. Keep back your servant also from the insolent; do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
“After exegeting this psalm, the preacher, to use the language of the previous chapter, fashions these focus and function statements:”
Focus: God speaks to people in the wonders of nature, through Scripture and proclamation, and in everyday experience.
Function: To enable the hearers to discover and name the variety of ways in which God is speaking to them. p.138
“And then, on the basis of the focus and function statements, the preacher creates this outline:
Title: How Does God Speak to Us?
I. God Speaks through Nature {Psalm 19:1-6)
A. In the silent processes of life
B. In the cosmic wonder of the universe
II. God Speaks through the Divine Word {Psalm 19:7-10)
A. In the Bible
B. In the preaching and teaching of God’s people
III. God Speaks in our Life Experiences {Psalm 19:11-14)
A. In our sense of failure and sin
B. In our hunger to be faithful” p. 139
How did the preacher come up with this?
“In this case, it seems likely that the biblical text itself guided the preacher. In the exegesis, the preacher saw that the psalm seems to be composed of three parts, each part with its own main theme: verses 1-6 are about nature, verses 7-10 are about Scripture and proclamation, and verses 11—14 are about personal experience. So the preacher developed focus and function statements around that insight, and expanded the focus and function into the main points and subpoints of the outline; the result is a three-point sermon plan that matches the divisions the preacher saw in the text.” p. 140
But is it a good outline? How can we know? The outline looks fine on paper, but do we know whether or not the sermon that will grow out of it will have a good form? Classical homileticians were quite concerned about this question, and over the years they developed a catalog of virtues for outlines, a series of tests to check the quality of the sermon outline.
Here is a fairly typical checklist: p.141
Unity: Each major point should support the main proposition.
Order: The major divisions should be of equal importance.
Movement: Each major division should carry the thought forward by saying something distinguishable from what has gone before.
Proportion: The major divisions should be stated in parallel construction.
Climax: The major divisions should be arranged in an ascendingscale of impact.
“Sermon structure is an act of pastoral care. It is about shaping communication, not merely about organizing information. A sermon form is a plan for the experience of listening, not just an arrangement of data, and it is the listeners who are missing from the typical process of outlining.” p. 143