Recently I had the opportunity to travel to Cork, Ireland on a ministry trip with a few other pastors. Our friend Mike Neglia has been pastoring a great church called Calvary Cork for the past 21 years, and he invited us to participate in a gathering to equip and encourage pastors and ministry leaders from Ireland, England, and Spain.
While I was there, I had the opportunity to record a podcast episode for the Expositors Collective Podcast about my approach to expository preaching.
Starting in 2020, I have gotten in the practice of distilling a “big idea” or thesis statement for the passage, and then using that sentence as my outline for the message.
For example, this coming Sunday’s sermon will be on Joshua 8:1-35. The title of the message is: “Moving Forward After Failure” and the summary statement is: “By God’s grace, our failures can become turning points toward renewed faithfulness and fellowship with Him.” I will use that sentence as my outline in this way:
- By God’s grace, our failures can become turning points… (Joshua 8:1-2)
- The failure at Ai (ch 7), God’s grace in times of our failure, and how our failures can be catalysts for good things if we respond rightly.
- …toward renewed faithfulness… (Joshua 8:3-29)
- The people of Israel did exactly what God called them to do, and it led to victory as they obeyed by faith
- …and fellowship with Him. (Joshua 8:30-35)
- The people of Israel renewed their covenant with the Lord and do what God called them to do back in Deuteronomy 27.
I developed this method of sermon preparation and presentation both out of frustration, and wanting people to remember my messages more – and by listening to others do it, and reading Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson and Preaching and Preachers by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones.
In this podcast episode, Mike and I talk about my sermon writing process, what it looks like step-by-step, and lessons I have learned along my journey of seeking to improve as a preacher.
Check it out on Spotify here, or on YouTube here (or in the embedded player below).
Here are some more photos from my trip:
