From Text to Sermon Essay

Introduction

Text to sermon preaching is another name for expository preaching given the fact that the contents of the sermon are heavily based on the Biblical text being used. The logical path followed in the development of these sermons is the selection of a Biblical passage, the analysis of the selected passage, deciding on a teaching that will be used as the focus of the sermon, relating the teaching to the experiences of the members of the congregation and finally presentation via the actual sermon (Robinson, 2001). The process of relating the situation depicted in the Bible to everyday situations that the congregation experiences is a clear In instances when the cultural background of the listeners makes it difficult for them to relate to whatever is being discussed in the Biblical passage, the preacher can come to their aid by explaining the situation in a manner that the listeners will relate to without necessarily diluting its meaning (Johnson, 2009). At times the preacher will take the audience through the whole passage but focus on a small part of it.

In this document, three Biblical passages will be selected and used in the development of a sermon. Three passages from the books of Genesis 19, Song of Solomon 4 and Acts 17 will be used to illustrate how ‘text to sermon’ sermons are prepared.

Genesis 19

This scripture discusses God’s destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah as well as the saving of Lot and family, including his wife’s turning into a pillar of salt.

The first stage will be to contextualize this passage. This means talking about how the people in these cities had completely turned away from God and instead replaced him with their desires of the flesh and this included orgies with unnatural sexual acts coupled with many other excesses. The term sodomy for instance comes from the acts documented to have took place in this place. God then sent angels in the form of men to go and lead Lot and his family out of the city to a safe place. They were clearly instructed not to look back or stop to rest. As they fled Lot’s wife made the mistake of looking back and as a result she turned into a pillar of salt.

The key spiritual message that is captured by this story is about being steadfast in our repentance from sin. The act of Lot and his family fleeing from the city is symbolic of our flight from sin whereby we are supposed to move without being worried about what we have left behind. Focusing on the sin that one should be turning from leads to total destruction of a believer’s spiritual life much in the same way that Lot’s wife turned into a pillar of salt. The fact that the city was destroyed demonstrates God’s anger at man’s fall into sin.

The second passage to be analyzed comes from the book of Song of Solomon 4. This scripture features a couples that is going through courtship and exchanging sweet words, in this particular scripture we see the man comparing his bride to the different aesthetically appealing things in his life. These are things that may have been of great value to a Hebrew living in that age.

This should mainly be used in a sermon that is addressing a congregation of people who are married or headed in that direction. The key spiritual message that is seen here is the deep commitment that needs to exist between those who are in a romantic relationship. The unconditional love is something that should be highly exemplified by those who are believers so as to show the rest of the world a good example. This passage also demonstrates the perfection of God’s creation work here on earth and the need for us to acknowledge and appreciate His work. The third passage to be considered is Acts 17: 10-12 Which talks about the Bereans who Paul found to be of more noble character than other groups that they had preached to. This is because after Paul and the others preached to them, they went back to the scriptures to confirm that what Paul had preached to them was actually true. At the same time they were ever eager to hear more and more of God’s word. In the wider context of Act 11 we see that there are places where those who spread the gospel were met with open opposition.

The key spiritual message here is quite straight forward since it calls believers to maintain a healthy love and appreciation for God’s word and at the same time sacrifice their time to analyze whatever they have been taught. In a world as busy as ours it is very easy for the average believer to read his or her Bible only on days when the entire congregation meets. This is not a healthy approach to spirituality since God expects us to always meditate on his word as the Bereans did.

References

Robinson, H. W. (2001). Biblical preaching: The development and delivery of expository messages (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic.

Johnson, D. W. (2009). The glory of preaching: Participating in God’s transformation of the world. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic.