Someone with Seminary Experience wrote:
Please accept my compliments on today's sermon. I've listened to it twice so far. Perhaps one day you will walk me through your sermon-writing process.
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GJ - I will write down some basics, in case they help anyone.
I work on doctrinal and Scriptural issues all week, so often something is on my mind when I am writing the sermon.
We use the KJV for readings and The Lutheran Hymnal for hymns. I use a wide variety of hymns from TLH, with an emphasis on Luther and Reformation hymns.
We only use the historic one-year pericopes, because we grow from repetition of the Word, which was always the idea. Luther's sermons, Lenker edition, follow the same set of readings.
If I preached on the Epistle lesson last year, I normally use the Gospel for the current sermon. And vice versa.
I used to simply quote from Luther's sermon for that reading, but I realized that more people will read Luther if I post one or more of the sermons each week. I try to get it posted Saturday and linked on Facebook. I read through it again before I start.
I often open Lenski for that passage and quote Lenski.
Two things are very important:
- The sermon must be written out completely, because writing makes a precise mind. In this Internet age, we owe people a form they can easily share with others via email, etc. We also save the Ustream file. If everyone published the written sermon, the plagiarism would jump up and do jumping jacks because of those buying or sharing sermons.
- The sermon is almost always preached without any manuscript available. The notes are the text. Eye contact, even with a camera, is important. Classroom experience has taught me that reading a text to someone is not effective.
- It is always a new sermon, never borrowed from the past, though I have a deep barrel - this blog.
This works for me because I finish writing the sermon early on Sunday morning. then it is fresh for me. Others may want to vary this, but completing it early has not worked for me.
The Content
The purpose of the text is to teach faith in Christ. It is not for political action, fund-raising, joke telling, or adoration of the synod.
People visit with me all week, by FB, email, even by phone. I also visit our neighborhood twice a day and see local people. People give me ideas about what bothers them. That definitely becomes part of the mix.
Ministers are obliged to teach the truth of the text and nothing else. In many cases, the Biblical text alone has enough in it to write a small book.
If there is a miracle, I ask what lesson is being taught by the miracle. Sometimes there is a major lesson and a minor one. Parables offer a lot variety because so much is said in a few words.
I will go back to Luther, Lenski, and some classic passages in theology when I am getting stuck, such as on the robbery of Philippians 2:5ff.
I also feel obliged to mention false doctrine, often from rationalism, that is applied to texts. I was blessed with three great Biblical professors at Yale. They emphasized the text above all else, but they also knew the theories and discussed them. Today I dealt with "the mind of Christ" as if Jesus did not consider Himself the Messiah. I also dismissed the idea that Paul never wrote about the Virgin Birth when this Philippians passage exalted His Incarnation. I suppose Moses never mentioned the Virgin Birth either, though the Burning Bush illustrates the Two Natures, just as Romans 1 does.
So I go through the Biblical text and teach what that is teaching. I try to be clear and plain. I tend to omit things preaching that were written down, but they are there for people to study. Sometimes I link material that cannot be discussed at length in a sermon.
I continue to be astonished and inspired by Luther's sermons. I have copied hundreds of his statements into a database and worked on the Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons. In short, I am saturated with Luther's thought and also admire Melanchthon and Chemnitz as well.
Stories
True to life stories are good in a sermon. Borrowing stories is not a good idea. A story is a verbal graphic. The abstract idea sticks to a narrative because the story is more personal.
The Gracious Nature of Christ
There should always be a clear emphasis on the gracious nature of Christ and forgiveness through faith in Him. Jesus was very clear about this. The Holy Spirit's work in the church is convicting the world of sin - because they believe not on Me. That is the foundational sin. That continues to be shocking for many. Carnal sin is still sin, but making that primary is not in harmony with Jesus' farewell sermon in John 16.
Ministers should also have complete confidence through Isaiah 55:8ff and Romans 10. The Sower and the Seed should guide us in abundant sowing - as many ways as possible. We share the written sermons freely over the Net and serve a large group of people stuck under snow or keeping their flu to themselves at home.
I never finish a sermon feeling great confidence in what I said, but I do have endless confidence in the Word itself reaching people. Therefore, the sermon should quote other Scripture or refer to other Biblical passages as appropriate.
