I, honestly, was a little scared starting the sermon with, “giving God the middle finger.” Yet, I believe that was an accurate picture that the Bible was painting of the Assyrian King, Sennacherib. Furthermore, I made this decision by my preaching professor’s, Dr. Charles, recommendation.
Here were his three recommendations:
1. Use a poignant imagery to start the sermon.
2. Have one short phrase that captures the heart of the entire sermon.
3. End the sermon with hope.
Furthermore, by Dr. Charles’ recommendation, I’ve been reading a book called, “The Four Pages of the Sermon” by Paul Scott Wilson. This book talks about how there are four pages to writing a sermon:
1. First page: Problem in the text.
2. Second page: Problem in the world.
3. Third page: Grace in the text.
4. Fourth page: Grace in the world.
So here’s how I applied my Charles’ recommendations:
1. I started with the imagery of the middle finger to paint the picture of Assyrians’ attitude toward God.
2. My short phrase was, “God in the Nook and Crannies: Inviting Him to sanctify every detail of our lives.”
3. I ended the sermon with the hope that even if, many times, we feel like enemies of God, “nothing could separate us from the love of Christ.”
So, here’s how I applied “The Four Pages of the Sermon”:
1. First page: The problem in the text was the Assyrians, being an enemy of God, trying to conquer the Kingdom of Judah.
2. Second page: We, too, are in many ways enemies of God due to our idolatry and self-sufficiency.
3. Third page: Hezekiah spread the letter by king Sennacherib in the presence of God, asking Him to not miss a single detail of the letter.
4. Fourth page: We, too, are to invite God into every little detail of our lives.
Though I was doing many of the things I’ve listed here for years, I was doing so unintentionally and could not put into words why I was doing so. However, I can finally articulate my decisions because what I have learned through “The Four Pages of the Sermon” and Dr. Charles’ recommendation. I felt much more clarity and flow when writing my sermons and much more relaxed when preaching this week.
Even if you are not a preacher but have to lead small groups, teach Bible study, or serving in any ministry context, I highly recommend going through “The Four Pages of the Sermon,” even if it is a summary, and keep Dr. Charles’ recommendations in the back of your mind. And I believe it will dramatically increase your effectiveness with the Word.
I am very much looking forward to write my next sermon with all of this in mind and will share it once I do :)
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