Titus 3:3-8 NAC 2026

Titus 3:3-8

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

Author

Recipients

Occasion

Culture

Summary of Findings

LITERARY CONTEXT

Themes

Outline

Study of Surrounding Passages

BEFORE MY PASSAGE

AFTER MY PASSAGE

Summary of Findings

Examine the Words of the Text

Questions and insights from Text Comparison and Initial Examination

Questions

Insights

Observations from word-by-word and syntactical study

Translation/paraphrase

Word Study

Updated translation/paraphrase

Exegetical outline: The Major statements, commands, or questions

Verify & Amplify

Commentary check

My Response

Exegetical Conclusions

Central Idea of the Text (CIT)

Summary Statement of the Text (SST)

Major Emphases of the Text

Theological Reflection

The Story Question – Where does it fit in God’s story?

Chronologically – Where does this text occur in the overall plot of the Scriptures?

Theologically – What does it reveal about God, who he is, what he has done, what he is doing/will do?

Experientially – How do we encounter this truth in the course of our own encounter/exp with God, and/or in the course of living in his world?

The Brokenness Question – What area of human brokenness does it address?

The Redemption Question – How does it point to, or anticipate, Jesus as the solution?

Gospel-driven application: How does this text invite us into God’s story?

Truth:

Reward:

Command:

Homiletical Conclusions

Central Idea of the Text (CIT) – A word or phrase that describes what the text is about. The “subject” of the text.

Title: A phrase, between two and six words in length, expressing the subject of the sermon in a concise, contemporary and attention-grabbing manner.

Must be: Accurate, Clear and Creative

1) Answer the q – Why should I come? Why does this matter?

2) Use street lang - when Christians talk in church code, the only people to whom they can appeal is other Christians.

3) Think through the key words

4) Make it personal – ppl care about themselves

5) Don’t tell it all – don’t include the conclusion in your title

CIT:

TITLE:

Summary Statement of the Text (SST) – A complete sentence, stated in historical terms and in the past tense, summarizing what the text says about the CIT, without itemizing individual parts. A statement of the meaning of the passage in its original context

Controlling Idea/Big Idea of the Sermon: A complete sentence, stated in the present tense and in contemporary terms, summarizing the meaning of the sermon for contemporary hearers, without listing its individual parts.

Must be: Clear, concise, engaging and memorable

Use the Movement statements through the act two movements!

SST:

BIG IDEA:

Major Emphases of the Text (ME’s) – The key concepts or statements that the passage makes about the CIT, stated in complete sentences.

Movement Statements/Supporting Ideas of the Sermon: Concise, present tense, parallel sentences that present the supporting ideas of the sermon in a memorable way (correspond to Supporting ideas of the Text).

Must be: Contemporary, memorable statements, Stated in a parallel way (so you can tell these statements go together), and tied to the title and controlling idea

ME’S:

MS’S:

Objective/Target for sermon: What we want our sermon to actually do/accomplish

What do you want the hearers to do/know/feel/change as a result of hearing this sermon?

Must be: a complete sentence that describes in very specific terms the desired/intended result of the sermon upon the lives of the hearers

Objective:

Narrative Elements

THE CONTROLLING IDEA

Summary Statement of the Text (SST) – A complete sentence, stated in historical terms and in the past tense, summarizing what the text says about the CIT, without itemizing individual parts. A statement of the meaning of the passage in its original context

Controlling Idea/Big Idea of the Sermon: A complete sentence, stated in the present tense and in contemporary terms, summarizing the meaning of the sermon for contemporary hearers, without listing its individual parts.

This will challenge the contemporary hearers

Will be revealed as the climax of the sermon

THE TENSION OF THE SERMON:

What area of brokenness does this text address?

In what way does God’s Word clash/provoke conflict with the fallen heart, mind, will?

What truth is hard to swallow?

What demand do we resist?

What aspect of the divine worldview does not compute?

Part 1: The Human Agenda

What poor substitute might we try to pursue instead of God’s best in this area?

- Poor substitute we pursue:

- God’s best:

When we come to the text, what do we in our human brokenness want to get from it?

What is our preferred answer to the question of the sermon?

Part 2: The Divine Agenda

What God-sized answer does it offer?

- God-sized answer the text offers:

What is the explicit or implicit promise of grace?

- Implicit promise of grace:

- Explicit promise of grace:

How does it point to the Gospel?

What does God want to do in your life and in the life of your hearers?

Part 3: The Sermon Question

THE EXEGETICAL CLUE

Before you start Nail down the following:

Conflict.

What do you see as the major point of conflict aroused by the study of the text, the controlling idea, and the rhetorical objective?

Is there a crisis of understanding or of faith?

A dissonance of perception or opinion?

A demand that will meet resistance?

What human agenda might be aroused in relation to the theme of this sermon?

How does this human agenda conflict with God’s agenda as you have come to understand it in this text?

Understanding the nature of the conflict in your sermon will give you the fuel you need to power your narrative.

PLAN ACTS 1-3

Controlling Idea/Big Idea:

Sermon Question:

Act 1

Present it the way the book is presented.

Don’t forget transition statements! Easy way to do this is to use the point of the previous topic and tie to the next point.

Preach as if this is my last sermon!

Setting

What area of human brokenness will this sermon address?

What need or limitation, brought on by sin, will be explored in the first act?

Inciting Incident

How will you launch the conflict of the sermon?

What is the image, need or question that will most quickly engage your hearers, and put them on the path to exploring the area of brokenness to be addressed in the sermon?

Developing Tension

Launching the Quest

Act 2 – Quest

What path will you follow towards discovery in the second act? What barriers do you foresee that you must address?

What exegetical hints and key truths will be important for your hearers to receive along the way to point them towards the goal, without actually giving it away prematurely?

Where are the partial moments of discovery, or flashes of insight, that will keep them on the path?

What is the best human effort possible for resolving the conflict, short of divine intervention, that could form the basis of the second act climax, leaving the sermon imperfectly resolved, slightly short of a complete and final solution?

Human effort:

Movement – the point

- (exegesis)

- (illustration)

- (Application)

- (Movement Statement)

Act 2 climax – (“We’ve tried…” These things don’t satisfy)

-

Act 3

Exegetical clue:

How will you introduce the “exegetical clue” which will begin the movement towards final resolution?

What is the essence of God’s provision that will make all the difference, and resolve the conflict of the sermon in the final act? (This will most likely be some form of the Controlling Idea.)

How will you reveal this through the final three dramatic movements?

Crisis

How will you bring about a moment of clarity and understanding in which hearers are able to see the key to resolution, and know the choice they must make in order to achieve it?

What sin, human frailty, or temporal value must die in order to break through to resurrection?

Climax (choice between human and Divine agenda)

How will you portray God’s ultimate provision for restoration in regard to the issue addressed in this sermon?

How will you reveal the controlling idea and achieve your rhetorical objective?

Resolution:

How will you portray the new reality on the other side of change?

Will you offer specific application, or simply paint a picture, leaving the specifics for your hearers to work out on their own?