Awake Nations

In Day 1 of our Breakthrough: Possessing the Promise challenge, we explored how to discern what God is doing when life doesn’t unfold as expected. Not every closed door means spiritual opposition, and not every open door means God’s approval. Sometimes we need to persevere through resistance, sometimes we need to pause and prepare, and other times God is redirecting us toward a new assignment.

Drawing from Paul’s missionary journeys, Jeremiah’s encounter with the remnant of Judah, and personal experiences, we examined five essential witnesses for discerning God’s direction: Scripture, the peace of Christ, godly counsel, circumstances, and fruit over time.

The central challenge was to surrender our preferred outcomes and become genuinely willing to follow God’s will, even when it differs from our plans. Participants were encouraged to complete the Door Diagnostic in their workbooks, identify whether they need to persevere, pause, or pivot, and determine one practical step of obedience.

Key takeaway: Don’t allow fear, disappointment, or circumstances alone to interpret your future. Seek God’s wisdom, discern His direction, and move forward one faithful step at a time. What looks like rejection may actually be God’s redirection for your protection.

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The Invasion of the Age to Come

What if the gospel Jesus preached is far bigger than the message many Christians have heard?

For many believers, the gospel has been reduced to forgiveness of sins, personal salvation, and the promise of heaven after death. While these are essential truths, Jesus proclaimed something even more expansive: the arrival of the Kingdom of God.

In this inaugural episode of The Sent Ones Podcast, we explore the introduction to Glenn Bleakney’s forthcoming book, The Invasion: Recovering the Gospel Jesus Preached, scheduled for release in January 2027.

Through an engaging, Scripture-rich conversation, we examine the revolutionary announcement that God’s promised future has broken into the present through the life, death, resurrection, and reign of Jesus Christ.

The Kingdom is not merely a future destination. It is a present reality that transforms how we live, pray, serve, and participate in God’s redemptive mission.

In This Episode

* Beyond Fire Insurance: Why the gospel is more than escaping judgment and securing eternity.

* The Gospel Jesus Preached: Understanding Mark 1:15 and the announcement that God’s Kingdom has drawn near.

* The Invasion of the Age to Come: How God’s future Kingdom has entered the present through Jesus.

* Restoring Humanity’s Original Calling: Rediscovering our purpose as image-bearers entrusted with delegated authority.

* The Already and Not Yet: Why the Kingdom is genuinely present while suffering, sickness, and death remain.

* Miracles as Kingdom Demonstrations: How Jesus’ healings and deliverances reveal the power and character of God’s reign.

* Living as Kingdom Witnesses: Three essential practices—praying, proclaiming, and embodying the culture of the Kingdom.

* Authority Through Servanthood: Why Kingdom advancement must never be confused with coercion, political domination, or human power.

* The Mission Continues: How the book of Acts reveals the ongoing proclamation of the Kingdom through the Holy Spirit.

Key Scriptures

Mark 1:15; Matthew 4:23; Isaiah 9:7; Luke 19:10; Romans 5:17; Matthew 6:10; Matthew 12:28–29; Matthew 24:14; Acts 1:3–8; Acts 28:31; 1 Corinthians 15:26; 2 Peter 3:11–13; Revelation 21:3–4.

Key Takeaway

Jesus did not come merely to prepare people for heaven. He came announcing the reign of God, defeating the powers of darkness, restoring humanity’s calling, and inaugurating the new creation.

The Church’s mission is not to manufacture the Kingdom through political power or human effort, but to bear faithful witness to the crucified and risen King through the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit, and lives shaped by His character.

Questions for Reflection

* Have I understood salvation primarily as a future escape, or as an invitation to live under the reign of Jesus today?

* How should the reality of God’s Kingdom transform my relationships, priorities, and daily decisions?

* What would it look like to demonstrate the Kingdom through compassion, service, prayer, and Spirit-empowered witness?

* How can I hold together bold faith for miracles with compassion for those experiencing ongoing suffering?

About The Sent Ones Podcast

The Sent Ones Podcast is presented by Awake Nations Ministries and Sent College.

Exploring biblical theology, the Gospel of the Kingdom, discipleship, the supernatural ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the mission of the Church, the podcast equips believers to rediscover the message Jesus preached and live as faithful witnesses of His reign.

Explore Sent College:

https://sentcollege.com

Awake Nations Ministries:

https://awakeaus.com

Coming January 2027: The Invasion: Recovering the Gospel Jesus Preached by Glenn Bleakney.

Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with someone ready to rediscover the Gospel of the Kingdom.

#TheSentOnesPodcast #GospelOfTheKingdom #KingdomOfGod #GlennBleakney #SentCollege #AwakeNations #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalTheology #HolySpirit #Discipleship

Glenn Bleakney is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Can a church of 50 people help change a city? Glenn Bleakney talks with Dr. Brian Beattie, founder of Freedom House, about how kindness, community partnerships, and faith helped transform downtown Brantford, Ontario. Hear what they learned about revival, reformation, and bringing lasting Kingdom impact to your community.

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Sid Roth joins Glenn Bleakney on Awake Nations TV to share his remarkable journey from the occult to a life-changing encounter with Jesus that restored his mind, marriage, and future.

Sid reveals how It’s Supernatural! began, explains how to distinguish God’s supernatural power from the counterfeit, and shares why he believes we are approaching the greatest move of God in history.

Discover the true meaning of God’s glory and how you can prepare for what is coming.

Pre-order Sid Roth’s new book, The Glory Story, at https://sidroth.org/glorystory

Thanks for reading The Making of a Prophet ! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The Making of a Prophet is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Imagine yourself standing at a crossroads, facing a critical decision that will shape the future of your organization, your team, or perhaps your family. Traditional wisdom might suggest gathering more data, consulting experts, or weighing pros and cons. These approaches certainly have their place. But what if there exists a source of wisdom so profound, so transcendent, that it could illuminate your path with perfect clarity? This isn’t speculation about some future artificial intelligence breakthrough—it’s the extraordinary reality of accessing the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation, the very mind of Christ that Elohim, the Creator God, has made available since the dawn of humanity.

In our contemporary world where technological solutions promise to solve our most pressing problems, we often overlook the most sophisticated intelligence system ever conceived—the wisdom of Jehovah God Himself, the Eternal Father. This divine intelligence didn’t merely analyze creation; the Spirit of Jesus Christ authored it. The Holy One of Israel didn’t simply process the complexities of human nature; He designed them with perfect wisdom. And remarkably, this all-encompassing wisdom from the Ancient of Days is accessible to you on a deeply personal level through the indwelling Spirit of Christ, waiting to transform not just your leadership, but your entire approach to life.

The Garden Paradigm: Understanding Our Original Design in Elohim

To comprehend the fullness of this concept, we must journey back to humanity’s beginning—to the Garden of Eden, where we find our first glimpse of how humans were designed by Elohim to interact with the very Spirit of God, the divine intelligence that pervades all creation.

Genesis 3:8 tells us that Adam and Eve heard the qol of Yahweh Elohim walking in the garden. This Hebrew word qolcarries dual meaning as both “sound” and “voice,” revealing something profound about our original spiritual capacity. They weren’t merely detecting auditory vibrations; they were experiencing a multi-dimensional communion with Adonai, their Creator. Their spiritual senses were fully activated by the indwelling Ruach HaKodesh (Holy Spirit), allowing them to perceive the Father’s presence in ways our modern minds struggle to comprehend.

Consider for a moment what this means. Before the fracturing of this relationship through sin, humans naturally operated with access to the perfect wisdom of El Shaddai (God Almighty). Adam and Eve didn’t need to struggle with uncertainty or confusion—they walked and talked directly with Jehovah Jireh, the Source of all knowledge and provision. This wasn’t a special dispensation for exceptional individuals; it was humanity’s default operating system, designed by the Master Architect of the universe.

When we understand this historical reality, we recognize that our current limitations aren’t our original design. We were created for unhindered communion with divine intelligence.

Solomon’s Wisdom Request: A Case Study in the Spirit of Wisdom

The story of Solomon provides us with perhaps the most illuminating biblical example of someone who recognized the supreme value of the Spirit of Wisdom that comes from Yahweh Elohim, our Heavenly Father.

In 1 Kings 3:5-9, we witness a pivotal moment: Adonai appears to the young king and offers him anything he desires. Faced with this extraordinary opportunity from the Most High God, Solomon doesn’t request wealth, power, or long life—all logical choices for a new monarch facing the daunting task of governance. Instead, he asks for something far more fundamental: “Give Your servant an understanding heart,” essentially requesting the impartation of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation from Elohim.

The Hebrew phrase used here, lev shomea, literally translates to “hearing heart.” This linguistic insight reveals that Solomon wasn’t merely requesting intellectual capacity or human wisdom. He was asking for the restoration of humanity’s original spiritual perception—the ability to hear and discern in the spiritual realm.

God’s response to this request is telling. He was so pleased with Solomon’s priorities that He granted him not only the wisdom he requested but also everything he didn’t ask for—riches, honor, and potential longevity. This illustrates a profound spiritual principle: when we prioritize connection with divine intelligence above all else, everything else tends to naturally align.

Solomon’s wisdom became legendary not because he was inherently smarter than others, but because he tapped into a source of understanding that transcended human limitations. His judgments, insights, and governance flowed from this divine connection.

The Nature of Divine Intelligence: The Mind of Christ Beyond Human Understanding

To grasp what we’re talking about when we refer to “divine intelligence”—the very mind of Christ and the wisdom of El Olam (the Everlasting God)—we need to understand how it fundamentally differs from human reasoning.

The Apostle Paul addresses this distinction directly in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, writing that “eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.” This passage highlights a crucial truth: the wisdom of Jehovah operates on a completely different plane than human wisdom. The Spirit of Jesus Christ offers intelligence that is not just quantitatively superior (knowing more facts); it’s qualitatively different (operating from an entirely different dimension of the Kingdom of God).

Human intelligence, even at its most brilliant, is limited by our finite nature. We can only process what we’ve experienced, learned, or reasoned through. Divine intelligence, however, encompasses the beginning and end of all things simultaneously. It sees connections, patterns, and possibilities invisible to the natural mind.

Jesus Christ perfectly demonstrated this access to divine intelligence throughout His earthly ministry. In John 5:19-20, He made the remarkable statement that He could do nothing on His own but only what He saw the Father doing. His healing miracles, teachings, and interactions weren’t the product of exceptional human intuition; they flowed from constant communion with divine intelligence. He operated with perfect timing and precision because He remained connected to the Father’s perfect wisdom.

This same access is promised to believers—not just as a theoretical concept, but as a practical, experiential reality.

Our Spiritual Identity in Christ: Born for Divine Perception

Understanding our capacity for the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation requires recognizing our true spiritual identity as children of Elohim, born of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.

When Jesus discussed being “born again” with Nicodemus in John 3:3, He used the Greek term anothen, which carries the dual meaning of “again” and “from above.” This wasn’t merely about a religious conversion experience; it was about accessing a completely different realm of existence—being born into a dimension where divine perception becomes our natural inheritance.

First John 3:9 further illuminates this reality, stating that God’s seed (or nature) abides in believers. This isn’t metaphorical language; it’s describing a genuine spiritual reality—believers carry divine DNA within their spiritual makeup. Second Peter 1:4 reinforces this by declaring that we are “partakers of the divine nature.” These aren’t just poetic expressions but profound theological truths about our spiritual composition.

When we truly grasp this aspect of our identity in Christ, we understand that accessing divine intelligence isn’t about acquiring something external to us. Rather, it’s about activating something that already exists within us through our spiritual rebirth. Just as a radio doesn’t create radio waves but simply tunes into frequencies already present in the atmosphere, we don’t create divine wisdom but learn to attune our spirits to the divine …

Have you ever felt unsettled, stuck between where you’ve been and where God is calling you next? Seasons of transition can be disorienting, but they are often deeply connected to God’s work of formation, preparation, and purpose in our lives. The challenge is learning to recognise His ways, not simply His acts, so we can discern what He is doing when the path ahead is unclear.

In this teaching, Glenn Bleakney explores what it means to keep moving forward with God rather than settling at the boundary. Drawing from Romans 8, the journey of Abraham, and other biblical examples, he reveals why willingness often precedes clarity, how God uses transition to enlarge us, and why there is both an obedience that leaves and an obedience that enters. Sometimes the issue is not our ability, but our availability to say an unequivocal yes to God.

You’ll also discover how to distinguish between spiritual resistance and divine redirection, release what belongs to a previous season, reconnect with the right people, and take the next responsible step. God did not bring you out simply to leave you in the wilderness. He is faithful to lead you forward into His purposes. Don’t settle in Haran. Don’t stop at the boundary. Lift your eyes, put your yes on the altar again, and keep moving with God.

The Making of a Prophet is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

A deep-dive conversation on Glenn Bleakney’s new book, Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes (releasing August 17th). Hosts explore why divine disruption—closed doors, dried-up resources, and dissolved relationships—is not a sign of abandonment, but a masterful redirection into something greater.

In this episode, you’ll discover the psychology of spiritual transition, the agony of “hell in the hallway,” and the difference between fighting demonic resistance and resisting the Father’s insistence. Through vivid biblical stories—from Paul’s blocked journey to Asia, to Elijah’s brook drying up, to David’s mighty men gathering in a cave—Bleakney reveals how God uses the wilderness to forge the character required for your next season.

If you’re navigating a season of intense uncertainty, this conversation is a lifeline: learn why true rest isn’t found in a location or circumstance, but in the realization that home is a person.

🔗 Learn more and pre-order at unsettledbook.com🎙 Explore more at makingofaprophet.org

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In this video teaching, Glenn Bleakney unpacks what it means to step into God’s purpose and discover the destiny He has prepared for you. Drawing from Ephesians 2:10 and insights from his new book Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes, Glenn reveals why seasons of uncertainty are often God’s preparation for breakthrough.

If you’ve been praying for direction, wrestling with disappointment, or longing to know God’s will, this message will encourage, equip, and challenge you to move forward in faith.

📖 Only $4.99 USD! Pre-order the book: Unsettled: The Unexpected Path to God’s Purposes👉 https://unsettledbook.com

The Making of a Prophet is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Takeaways:

• The podcast emphasizes the belief that God often disrupts our plans to guide us towards a greater purpose, which can initially feel unsettling.
• It introduces the concept that periods of upheaval in our lives may serve as divine redirection rather than punishment or failure.
• The speaker shares personal experiences of navigating transitions and highlights the importance of discerning God's voice during times of uncertainty.
• The discussion revolves around the idea that what seems like a loss can actually be a preparation for a new beginning in alignment with God's will.

Companies mentioned in this episode:

• Awake Nations
• Nations TV
• Awakenations TV

Think about the last sermon, presentation, or teaching you heard.

Can you remember the central message?

You may recall a story, an illustration, or perhaps a Scripture that was quoted. But can you clearly state the main point in one sentence?

If you cannot, you are not alone.

As communicators, we often assume that giving people more information will produce greater impact. We fill our messages with numerous insights, Scriptures, stories, quotations, and applications. Everything may be true, but when too many ideas compete for attention, listeners can leave carrying very little.

The problem is not necessarily a lack of good content. The problem is often a lack of clarity.

Effective preaching is not measured by how much information we present. It is measured by whether people can understand, remember, and respond to the truth we have communicated.

That is the power of one Big Idea.

When Everything Is Important

One of the greatest challenges in preaching is deciding what to leave out.

During preparation, we may uncover numerous fascinating details. We discover historical background, theological connections, word studies, illustrations, and related passages. Because these discoveries were meaningful to us, we naturally want to share all of them.

But a sermon is not a public display of everything we discovered in private study.

Our responsibility is to discern the central truth of the passage and communicate it with clarity and conviction.

When everything is treated as equally important, nothing remains memorable.

Human memory needs an anchor. When listeners receive several disconnected ideas, the mind must work hard to organise and retain them. As the cognitive load increases, people may not choose the most important point. They may simply release all of them.

One clear truth, however, gives the listener something to hold.

The aim is not to make Scripture shallow or simplistic. It is to communicate its depth with enough clarity that people can carry its truth into their lives.

The Head Thought

Haddon Robinson’s approach to preaching is commonly known as the Big Idea method.

At the heart of this method is the conviction that every sermon should be governed by one central proposition. The biblical term kephalion can be understood as the “head thought”—the ruling concept under which everything else is organised.

Imagine trying to hand someone three heavy coats without giving them a rack. They may hold them for a short time, but eventually something will be dropped.

The Big Idea is the coat rack.

Every explanation, supporting point, illustration, argument, and application should hang upon that one controlling truth.

A sermon is not simply a collection of good observations. It is one unified act of communication. Every element must help the listener understand, believe, feel, remember, or practise the central message.

This requires discipline. A compelling story may still need to be removed. An interesting fact may belong in another sermon. A theological insight may be true without serving the particular emphasis of the passage before us.

Good preaching involves both addition and subtraction.

The Big Idea Formula

A complete Big Idea contains two essential elements: a subject and a complement.

The subject asks a question

The subject identifies what the biblical passage is addressing. It should normally be phrased as an open question rather than a general topic.

For example:

Weak subject: Faith.

Better subject: What does Mark 4:35–41 reveal about trusting Jesus during a storm?

“Faith” is a broad topic. It could lead in a hundred different directions. A carefully defined subject narrows our attention to the particular issue addressed by the passage.

The complement answers the question

The complement completes the thought by providing the precise answer found within the text.

For example:

Subject: What does the calming of the storm reveal about Jesus?

Complement: Jesus is Lord over everything His disciples fear.

When the subject and complement are brought together, they form one complete thought:

Because Jesus is Lord over everything we fear, we can trust Him in the storms we cannot control.

A topic is not yet a sermon idea.

“Prayer,” “faith,” “the Kingdom,” “discipleship,” or “spiritual warfare” may identify the territory of the message, but the Big Idea makes a definite claim about that territory.

It communicates something that can be explained, demonstrated from Scripture, remembered, and obeyed.

Accuracy Must Come Before Relevance

A short, memorable sentence is not automatically a faithful sermon.

It is possible to create an attractive slogan that the biblical passage never intended to teach. This is why Big Idea preaching requires movement through two distinct stages: the exegetical idea and the homiletical idea.

The exegetical idea

The exegetical idea states what the biblical author communicated to the original audience in its original context.

It emerges from careful attention to the passage’s grammar, historical setting, literary structure, theological purpose, and surrounding context.

Because it focuses on what the text communicated then, the exegetical idea is often expressed in the past tense.

For example:

Jesus demonstrated to His frightened disciples that He possessed sovereign authority over creation.

This statement keeps us anchored to what occurred within the passage.

The homiletical idea

The homiletical idea expresses the enduring truth of the passage in clear, present-tense language for today’s listeners.

For example:

Jesus is Lord over the circumstances that awaken our deepest fears.

The homiletical idea does not replace the original meaning. It carries that meaning across the bridge from the biblical world into our present reality.

Both stages are essential.

If we skip the exegetical idea, we risk imposing our preferred message upon the passage. We may use the Bible as a launching point for something we already wanted to say.

If we skip the homiletical idea, we may explain the history of the text without confronting the lives of our listeners.

Faithful preaching must be both accurate and relevant. It must be rooted in what the text meant then and expressed as truth that addresses us now.

The Listener’s Silent Questions

Listeners are never completely passive.

Even when they appear attentive and say nothing, an internal conversation is taking place. They are evaluating what they hear through their experiences, assumptions, disappointments, questions, and previous understanding.

A thoughtful sermon anticipates this internal conversation by answering three questions.

1. What Does This Mean?

This is the demand for explanation.

We must define important words, clarify the author’s logic, provide necessary context, and remove avoidable confusion.

We should never assume that familiar Christian language is understood by everyone. Words such as grace, righteousness, redemption, anointing, covenant, Kingdom, and sanctification may be familiar without being clearly understood.

Our goal is not merely to repeat biblical vocabulary. We must help listeners understand the truth accurately enough to express it in ordinary language.

Before moving on, ask:

* Have I explained the passage clearly?

* Have I defined the important concepts?

* Could a listener restate the truth in their own words?

Clarity is not the enemy of depth. Clarity is what enables people to enter into depth.

2. Is This Really True?

This is the demand for proof.

Listeners bring real questions into the room. Some have prayed without seeing the answer they expected. Others have experienced suffering, disappointment, betrayal, or loss. They may agree with a statement intellectually while resisting it internally.

Somewhere within them, they may be thinking, “Yes, but what about this?”

A responsible preacher should identify the strongest reasonable objection and bring it into the open.

For example:

“Yes, Jesus is Lord over the storm, but what happens when the storm does not immediately stop?”

“God provides, but what about seasons when resources diminish?”

“God is faithful, but what do we do when His faithfulness looks different from what we expected?”

Voicing these questions does not weaken our authority. It demonstrates pastoral awareness, compassion, and intellectual honesty.

If we never address the listener’s “yes, but,” we may only persuade those who already agree with us.

We must establish the truth from Scripture while treating people’s questions with dignity. Biblical conviction and pastoral sensitivity belong together.

3. What Difference Does It Make?

This is the demand for application.

Truth is intended to produce transformation. The sermon must show how the central idea reshapes our beliefs, affections, decisions, relationships, priorities, habits, courage, worship, and obedience.

A sermon purpose such as “I want people to trust Jesus more” may sound spiritual, but it remains difficult to practise or evaluate.

A checkable purpose is more concrete.

For example:

This week, identify one specific fear, read Mark 4:35–41 aloud, and consciously surrender that fear to the lordship of Jesus in prayer.

Specificity does not reduce the work of the Holy Spirit to a list of tasks. It gives obedience a doorway.

The Holy Spirit may lead each listener into a deeper and more personal response, but the preacher has still made faithful application visible.

To remember the listener’s three questions, think:

Meaning. Truth. Response.

* What does it mean?

* Why should I believe it?

* How should I respond?

Or, even more simply:

Explain it. Establish it. Embody it.

Does This Eliminate Three-Point Sermons?

The Big Idea method does not prohibit three-point sermons.

It challenges us to stop preaching three unrelated mini-sermons during one session.

A sermon may contain three points, but those points should function as movements serving the same central truth.

Each movement may perform a particular task:

* Explain the idea.

* Establish the idea.

* Apply the idea.

The movements may also follow the natural development of the biblical passage.

The issue is not how many headings appear in the notes. The issue is whether every heading advances the same governing proposition.

A message that moves from prayer to forgiveness and then to evangelism may contain three biblical truths, but unless the preacher demonstrates their unity, the listener has been given three different sermons.

Three points are not the problem. Three competing ideas are.

Deductive and Inductive Preaching

The Big Idea may be communicated through either a deductive or inductive structure.

Deductive preaching

In a deductive sermon, the preacher states the central idea near the beginning and then explains, supports, proves, and applies it.

The basic movement is:

This is the truth. Now let us understand why it matters.

This approach offers immediate clarity and can be especially effective when teaching complex concepts or giving direct biblical instruction.

Inductive preaching

In an inductive sermon, the preacher allows questions, tension, narrative, or evidence to build before clearly stating the Big Idea.

The basic movement is:

Let us follow the passage and discover the truth together.

This can be particularly powerful when preaching biblical narratives.

In Mark 4, for example, listeners can enter the boat with the disciples, feel the violence of the storm, experience the apparent silence of Jesus, hear the disciples’ accusation, and witness Christ’s authority before the central truth is stated.

The preacher may then declare:

When Jesus appears silent, He is still Lord over the storm.

Induction must never become confusion. The preacher still knows the destination. Every movement is deliberately leading the listener towards the controlling truth.

Withholding the final sentence is not the same as withholding coherence.

Remember the Word ONE

The entire Big Idea process can be remembered through one simple word: ONE.

O — One governing truth

Identify the subject and complement.

Write one complete sentence that governs the entire sermon. Every major point, story, explanation, and application should serve that sentence.

N — Now, rooted in then

First establish the exegetical idea: what the text communicated then.

Next form the homiletical idea: how that enduring truth confronts us now.

We do not sacrifice accuracy for relevance, nor relevance for accuracy. We bring the ancient truth faithfully into the present.

E — Explain, establish, embody

Answer the listener’s three questions.

Explain what the central idea means.

Establish why it is true.

Show how it should be embodied through concrete faith and obedience.

Remember it this way:

ONE: One governing truth. Now, rooted in then. Explain, establish, embody.

A Practical Preparation Process

Here is a simple workflow you can use when preparing your next message.

1. Study the passage in context

Observe its structure, repeated words, tension, development, historical setting, and theological emphasis.

Do not begin by asking, “What do I want to preach?” Begin by asking, “What is this passage actually saying?”

2. Ask the subject question

What precisely is the biblical author addressing in this passage?

Avoid broad topics. Form a focused question that emerges naturally from the text.

3. Write the complement

What exact answer does the passage give to your subject question?

The answer should complete the thought rather than merely restating the topic.

4. State the exegetical idea

Express the central claim of the passage within its original historical and literary setting.

5. Form the homiletical idea

Translate the enduring truth into one clear, compelling, present-tense statement.

6. Establish a checkable purpose

What should listeners understand, believe, feel, or do because they have heard this message?

Make the desired response concrete enough to recognise.

7. Choose your structure

Will you state the central truth near the beginning, or will you allow the listeners to discover it as the passage unfolds?

8. Build movements, not mini-sermons

Let every point explain, establish, apply, or advance the same controlling idea.

9. Anticipate resistance

What is the strongest honest objection a thoughtful listener may raise?

Say it aloud and answer it biblically, compassionately, and convincingly.

10. Remove what does not serve the message

A good illustration, quotation, insight, or story may still need to be omitted.

Do not ask only, “Is this material good?”

Ask, “Does this material serve the Big Idea?”

A Worked Example From Mark 4

Consider the account of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35–41.

The passage develops through several movements:

* Jesus directs the disciples to cross the lake.

* A violent storm threatens the boat.

* Jesus appears to be asleep and inactive.

* The disciples accuse Him of not caring.

* Jesus rebukes the wind and the sea.

* Jesus confronts the disciples’ fear.

* The disciples ask, “Who then is this?”

From this passage, we can develop the following:

Subject: What does Jesus’ calming of the storm reveal to fearful disciples?

Complement: The One who appears silent in the storm remains sovereign over it.

Exegetical idea: Jesus revealed to His fearful disciples that His apparent inactivity did not diminish His sovereign authority over creation.

Homiletical idea: When Jesus appears silent, He is still Lord over the storm.

Purpose: The listener will identify one present fear and consciously surrender it to the lordship of Christ through prayer.

The sermon could then develop through three movements:

* The storm exposes what we believe about Christ’s care.

* Christ’s apparent silence does not mean His absence.

* The authority of Jesus is greater than the force we fear.

These are not three unrelated truths. Each movement develops the same passage and serves the same Big Idea.

Test Your Big Idea

Before preaching, ask the following questions.

The sentence test

Can I state the message in one complete sentence?

The text test

Can I demonstrate that this idea arises from the passage rather than from my own preferences?

The unity test

Does every major movement serve the central idea?

The clarity test

Could a listener repeat the main truth without looking at my notes?

The resistance test

Have I answered the strongest reasonable objection?

The response test

Have I shown what faithful obedience looks like?

The removal test

What could I delete without weakening the message?

Finally, imagine your listeners completing this sentence after the sermon:

Today I learned that...

Would they express substantially the same truth?

If every person leaves with a different answer, the sermon may have contained many good observations but lacked one clear governing message.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Confusing a topic with an idea

“Faith in storms” is a topic.

“When Jesus appears silent, He is still Lord over the storm” is an idea.

Making the idea too broad

If the sentence could summarise the entire Bible, it may not express the particular emphasis of the passage.

Forcing relevance before doing exegesis

Present application must grow from original meaning. We must not use the text merely to support something we already wanted to say.

Choosing cleverness over clarity

Memorable wording is valuable, but accuracy and understanding are more important than producing a polished slogan.

Including material because it is interesting

Interesting content can still distract from the message. The discipline of omission is part of faithful preparation.

Ending with vague inspiration

The goal is not merely to make people admire the truth. We must invite them to respond to it.

From Information to Transformation

The task of preaching is not to display everything we discovered during our study.

It is to discern and communicate the truth God has placed at the centre of the passage.

This requires the discipline to identify the ruling thought, move faithfully from then to now, anticipate the listener’s questions, and remove anything that competes with the message.

One clear biblical truth, faithfully explained and courageously applied, can remain within a listener long after the sermon has ended.

We are not merely transferring information. We are seeking, by the grace of God and the work of the Holy Spirit, to communicate truth so clearly that it can be remembered, embraced, and embodied.

Do not try to make your listeners carry everything.

Give them one clear, biblical, transformative truth—and build the entire message around it.