Development

Once one has the sermon topic, there is the hard work of developing the sermon itself. Here Rev. Ingersoll gives three great pieces of advice:

• Have a clear “destination” for the sermon.
• Know why this sermon matters – its purpose.
• Proceed in clear steps to the destination.

Clear Destination

What is the point of the sermon? Where is it going? If you can’t capture the point of the sermon in a sentence or two, then your congregation is going to struggle too. What was that all about? Many a sermon wanders from here to there and never really gets anywhere. 

Clear Purpose

Sometimes a congregation will leave church asking themselves, “What am I supposed to do with that?” Why does the sermon matter? Why does it matter in the lives of the congregation? If there is no application to the sermon, is it really a sermon or a lecture?

Clear Steps to the Destination

Rev. Ingersoll likens a sermon to a driver taking the listeners for a drive on the back of a flatbed truck. You don’t want them falling off. You don’t want to brake too hard. A smooth ride is optimal for their safety. 

Are they nervous about your driving? Are they ever going to want to get on the back of that truck again? Are they excited about the trip? And did you actually get them there?