THS-08-8. Methods of Sermon Division.

8. Methods of Sermon Division.

Earlier in this discussion we comforted our hearts with the admission of a critic that never in the world before was there a class commanding such a vast hearing as preachers enjoy. When, however, we compare the present state of affairs with that of an earlier day, we are bound to admit that we have lost ground terribly. Plenty of sermons are preached, but for the most part they are delivered to small groups of people. Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick, who is one of the outstanding preachers of our day, and regularly enjoys the experience of preaching to multitudes, couples himself with his less eminent brethren, and says we need not be surprised at the present revulsion against preaching, because we have richly deserved it. We have preached too much and not well enough. Without doubt the preacher’s task is taken too lightly by most preachers. Not many preachers will take their pulpit work seriously enough to build good sermons. A few years ago a "Colyum Conductor" in "The Churchman" (America) directed his shafts at the professional patter and stereotyped talk that so often passes for modern preaching. To illustrate the depths to which preachers may fall, this journalist offered to take any text and any topic that might be suggested, and fit them together in a sort of homily that passes muster in many a pulpit. His challenge was accepted, and he was given for a text, "He (Benaiah) went down and slew a lion in a pit in a snowy day" (1 Chronicles 11:22), and a topic, "The Dangers of Mah Jong." He submitted the following outline: "Intro.: Modern generation seeks easy way. Follows fashion, like this silly one of Chinese game. It leads to gambling. Getting something for nothing. Bad principle. Benaiah a different sort. Lived in a heroic age. Had to fight for everything he got. Did not look for easy time. Actually went down into a pit. Fight not forced upon him. Notice that he fought: (I.) A lion. Smaller man would have chosen a dog or a cat. King of beasts. See encyclopedia. Quote poem with ’tawny mane’, which we have forgotten. Choose hardest tasks. (II.) In a pit. No escape. Back to wall. Now or never. Do or die. This parish at a crisis. (III.) In a snowy day. We would have waited for the sunshine. The right time to do a worthwhile job is when everything is against us. Conclusion: Instead of wasting time in this silly fashion, and being led into the dangerous vice of gambling, be a fighter, select a worthy antagonist, be willing to meet him under the most unfavorable conditions and at the least favorable time. This parish needs you. Join the Parish Aid, which has been reduced to three members, and help them to raise money for the parish house sink. Join the Men’s Club, now reduced to one, and help shingle the rectory garage. Take a Sunday School class, etc." (From "The Christian Century.") This homiletic squib, while it reveals a lively imagination in its composer--an indispensable factor in good preaching--illustrates the sort of twaddle that sometimes has to do service when preachers shirk the work involved in great preaching. A willingness to work, and to master the technique of sermon building, are essential. Whatever course of sermon preparation men of genius are able to follow, and however much capable men of large experience may seem to ignore the fundamentals of homiletics, it is essential for men of the rank and file, where you and I belong, to pay the necessary price by stern attention to the principles which underlie good preaching.

Methods of Sermon Division

Strictly speaking, there are only two methods of sermon division--the textual and the topical. In the textual method a text is taken and analyzed; in the topical a topic or subject is discussed. Expository sermons, which will be discussed later, are in reality textual in nature, because they deal more or less with the text of Scripture. The textual method is one of analysis. That is to say, the text is analyzed, or separated, into its parts, so that they may be studied in relation to one another. If you analyze a flower, you may destroy it. Its beauty may all disappear when it is dissected. A text, like a flower, may appear very beautiful when seen as a whole. But, unlike a flower, a text when analyzed may be made to yield its truest beauty. The outline presented in Chapter III. on the Parable of the Hidden Treasure, was a textual one. Each main division was drawn from the text, and the main divisions covered all the text. The completed outline in Chapter VII. is still more completely textual, because both the main divisions and, the sub-divisions were drawn from the text. The topical method is the opposite of analysis. It is synthetical in its treatment. That is to say, it brings together from various sources any material that may aid in the presentation of the subject. There may be a text used, but often it is merely a motto text which suggests a topic. The outline on "The Meaning of Sin" in Chapter III., p. 33, is a topical one. A text was not taken and analyzed, but several texts on the subject of sin were brought together, and the outline developed from a comparison of them all. In order to make the process of preparing textual and topical sermons quite clear, and also to illustrate the difference between the two, let us develop the two kinds of outline, using the same text for both. The text is Romans 14:17 : "For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." We shall use the textual or analytical method first. We notice, that the text falls naturally into two parts, each with a definite statement. We notice that each half is divisible into separate ideas. The Kingdom of God. "What is meant by that? "Not eating and drinking." That clearly is a reference to the physical life. "Righteousness and peace and joy." These are qualities of mind and character. " In the Holy Spirit." The qualities are not simply those that belong to a natural development but are developed in relation to the spirit of God.

Analysis--Textual Method

We take the two parts of the text as the bases of our main divisions. We use the subsidiary ideas in the text as bases for sub-divisions. It may be necessary for adequate treatment to introduce other sources for sub-divisions. Analyzing the text, and setting it out in outline, we arrive at this result:

I. A WARNING AGAINST FALSE IDEAS OF THE KINGDOM.

"The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking."

1. The Kingdom of God

2. Not eating and drinking.

It is not primarily physical. See Matthew 4:4.

II. THE NATURE OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

"But righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit."

1. The characteristics of the Kingdom.

2. The Source of Kingdom qualities In the Holy Spirit." An excellent introduction to this sermon would be a reference to the discussion about the eating of meats, of which the text is a part. A good conclusion would be an exhortation to seek to be filled with the Spirit, that the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) might be seen in our lives, and the kingdom of God thus be extended.

Synthesis--Topical Method

Now let us treat the text by the topical method, instead of the textual or analytical method. Instead of dissecting the text and examining it minutely, we treat it as a topic. The topic suggested by the text is. "The Kingdom of God is concerned with qualities of character." Stated thus, it becomes a theme (Cf. Chapter IV., p. 40), and we may use the text in introducing that subject. In a topical sermon we may have no further use for the text. It has introduced our topic, and we are now free to gather from any source material that will help to develop our theme. The text may indeed be useful as an introduction, if we explain why the apostle made this suggestive statement. But we are not bound now to follow the text any further, as this is not a textual sermon.

If you have any acquaintance with the subject of the kingdom of God as presented in the New Testament, you might easily build up an entirely different outline on the same topic, for the Scripture is rich and full in its discussion of the reign of God in the hearts of men. Here, however, is a topical outline:

Text:Romans 14:17.

Introduction: As above, or if you prefer, a general statement of the varied aspects of the kingdom in the New Testament.

I. THE KINGDOM OF GOD.

II. THE KINGDOM CALLS, FOR PERSONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.

III. THE SOCIAL DEMANDS OF THE KINGDOM.

Conclusion: A call to repentance. (See Matthew 3:2; Matthew 4:17.)

You will find that a textual sermon, while it must be textual in that the text is analyzed, and its main headings, at least, are all drawn from the text, may use the topical method for sub-divisions, if the text does not provide them, or for illustrations and other material for development. For example, a short text, 1 Timothy 1:15, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" is used for a textual sermon. An analysis reveals three parts:

As an outline that meets the needs of a textual sermon--it is wholly from the text, and contains nothing that is not in the text. But when you come to supply the sub-divisions, and to develop the subject, you must gather the materials from other sources, and thus you introduce something of the topical method. For Review:

1. Supply sub-divisions for the above outline on 1 Timothy 1:15.

2. Use 1 Timothy 1:15 as a theme, and find main divisions for a topical sermon on that subject.