A traditional outline is a series of topics derived from the text, each topic pointing back to a central topic, idea, or question. Such outlines usually fail to achieve either unity of purpose or sense of progress and movement within a sermon.

The best way to work toward and preserve unity and progress within your sermon is to develop a sequential outline leading the congregation into an active understanding of your sermon point.

So that our sermons have unity of purpose and progress toward a single end, we must determine the main point of our text and then formulate a sermon point applying the text. This lesson uses Psalm 110 as an example finding the point of a text and deriving the sermon point.

Determine your sermon point by applying the main point of the text to the congregation. Expository preaching involves both explaining and applying texts of Scripture. -Without explanation, it is not expository- without application is is not preaching- -T. H. L. Parker-.

Every text has one main point. Sermons apply the main point of their sermon texts. And so, every sermon should have one main point. Homileticians and good preachers agree, as I seek to show in my preaching book, So Pastor, What's Your Point-

Every text of Scripture has one main point. Yes, there are sub-points and ancillary point. However, a good preaching text has one main point. Determining this point gives you a lens through which you can properly view all the details of the text.

In studying your text, determine the overall structure of your text whether a poem, a narrative , or piece of an epistle. Structure helps understand meaning.

When selecting your text for an expository sermon, find the complete thought or argument expressed by a text. I use Romans 4-1-8 as an example.

In selecting your text, know the type of sermon you are going to preach, topical, textual, or expository.

This lesson gives a summary of my basic approach to Sermon Preparation. The details of this approach are given in my book, -So Pastor, What's Your Point--