God is the Great Missionary (Study Page)

TITLE: God is the Great Missionary

TEXT: Romans 10:18-21

STAGE I (Tuesday) - STUDY THE PASSAGE AND GATHER NOTES –

A. Read, Observe, Write Down Questions – 15-20 mins

Start with translation you preach from then read some others. The textual differences may catch your attention. What bothers you will bother your listeners. Things you wonder about or need clarified are things they will wonder about or need clarified.

B. Consult Commentaries - 60 mins

Start with author’s intent. Don’t just find something that preaches well and then struggle to make it match the text. “I have had many good sermons ruined by studying.”

1. Exegetical or grammatical, basic hard language tools, exegetical guide in Logos

2. Expositional, ones that try to “put it together,” passage guide in Logos

3. Sermonic last

STAGE II (Tuesday) - OUTLINE THE BIBLICAL PASSAGE

The outline will progress through three stages.

A. Passage/Exegetical Outline – “historical”

The passage outline uses historical statements to show the concepts and structure of the verses in terms of the original author and recipients.

Flow of author's thought

Sense of purpose will come from understanding the author’s intent.

Know the text and then get the idea

Main idea is capable of being stated as an imperative.

1. What are the major movements or chunks?

Helps with ‘chunking material’

2. Follow correct outlining procedure

main points/sub-points

aim for mutually exclusive, jointly exhaustive

there is no such thing as just 1 sub-point

3. The sub-points will most likely be inductive in nature, leading up to the main point

4. Deal with ideas, not fragments

Make each point a grammatically complete sentence, not just a title or phrase

No content-less sentences. “Paul discusses the work of God” vs. “The work of God being when . . . .”

5. Each point should be a declarative or imperative statement

6. Each point should be a single idea

B. Theological Outline – timelessness and simplicity of the passage

Change the passage outline into a theological outline

1. Turn the statements into timeless, universal principles – “principlize,” move up the ladder of abstraction. “Meats offered to idols” becomes “questionable things”

2. Make the language shorter and simpler.

3. Put the sub-points in logical order to reflect the author’s intent

Passage:

I. Paul constantly prays that the Colossians might be able to spiritually discern God’s will.

II. The result of being able to spiritually discern God’s will is that the Colossians will live a life worthy of and pleasing to the Lord.

Theological:

I. We ought to constantly pray for other believers that they may be able to

discern God’s will

II. When believers discern God’s will, they will live worthy of and pleasing to the Lord.

STAGE III (Wednesday) - STATE CENTRAL TRUTH IN A SINGLE SENTENCE

Our goal is to present the truths of a passage in a way that shows their connectedness and relationship to each other.

The goal is to arrive at a single idea or point or truth. It’s what you want the listener to remember even if he forgets everything else. The listener is looking for some overall unity.

Subject: This what you are talking about, the theme, topic or question you are asking.

Compliment: This is what you are saying about what you are talking about.

MI: The subject must be sufficiently narrowed. Determine what the author is talking

about. There is some need to know in every passage.

Subject: Reasons why God sometimes leads us into difficult situations.

Compliment: To show us how really powerful He is.

MI: God sometimes deliberately leads us into difficult situations in order to show

us how really powerful He is.

STAGE IV (Wednesday) - SUBMIT THE OUTLINE POINTS AND THE OVERALL MAIN IDEA

TO THE THREE DEVELOPMENTAL QUESTIONS

Understanding - What Do I Need to Explain?

Keep it to “need to explain.” (Need to know, nice to know, where to go)

Belief - Do My Listeners Buy It?

May not see the connection or understand the rationale. Does it really lead to that?

May seem contrary to real life so don’t really believe the statement.

We will only act if we are convinced.

May not buy if something else is more important. Competing belief or desire

Behavior - Where Does it Show Up in Real Life?

Goal in speaking is not knowledge but godly behavior.

The speaker must make the application. Listeners typically do not.

Think of where it would show up in your life.

Run it through a grid of situations – a man at work, a family at home, stages of marriage, life challenges

Develop specific applications that are concrete, in detail, actions, a picture.

Some illustrations clarify but this should be ones that apply the concept, applies the exact thing the biblical author is talking about.

Sequence is important.

To buy, must understand.

To act, must buy

STAGE V (Thursday)- STATE SERMONIC IDEA IN AN EXACT AND MEMORABLE

SENTENCE

STAGE VI (Thursday)- DEVELOP FINAL SERMONIC OUTLINE

STAGE VII (Friday)- FILL IN THE OUTLINE WITH SUPPORTING MATERIAL

STAGE VIII (Friday) - PREPARE THE INTRODUCTION AND CONCLUSION