Act II: Quest
An act with jobs to do
Act II is the quiet, persistent workhorse of the three-act plot. Act I grabs attention, introduces conflict and makes promises about where the sermon will lead. Act III gets the thrill of a climactic gospel turn and resolution. Act II inherits the expectations of Act I and carries the longest stretch of the narrative while laying the groundwork for the grand revelation of Act III. It is like a dutiful middle child, living in the shadow of the highly successful older brother while deferring attention and resources to the darling younger sister.
The work of Act II may not be as glamorous, but it is just as essential to the transformation we seek in the story-shaped sermon. It has several important jobs to do:
Explore the biblical text for answers.
This is the most expositional section of the sermon, where we delve into the text and begin to throw light on the insights it brings to the problem at hand. This doesn’t mean you explain every detail of the text. This is not even possible and certainly not desirable in a single sermon. You will focus on important clues that the text provides on the path towards its central message, which will be ultimately revealed in the climax of Act III.
Provide exegetical foundations for the Controlling Idea.
You have already set aside an “exegetical clue” that will be the final piece to the puzzle, opening the way to the Controlling Idea. Leave this final clue for Act III, but in the meantime make sure you have laid all the groundwork necessary to make this final clue an “aha!” moment of discovery.
Exhaust the “human agenda.”
How do we maintain the tension of the sermon through the long expositional slog of Act II? Remember that the tension of the sermon is built on the dissonance between the human agenda (the easier, earth-bound, man-centred solution) and the divine agenda (the God-sized, grace-dependent, gospel solution). Through the course of Act II, we want to allow the truths of God’s word gradually to expose the insufficiencies of human answers, preparing for the triumph of God’s grace.
End in an “Act II Climax.”
Most good films have a moment at the end of Act II that could be an end to the story, albeit a rather unsatisfying one. In this moment, the action comes to a pause that has the possibility of finality, but without the satisfaction of resolution. We find a moment like this at the end of the Old Testament. The people are back in the land of promise. They are once again hearing from God and mostly seeking to live according to his commandments. The story could end here, except for the fact the problem of the world’s brokenness has not yet been solved. This is the lingering context of the beginning of Act III in the incarnation of Jesus.
A narrative sermon needs just this kind of moment for two reasons. First, because a sermon is oral (and not written) communication, we need to pause and review the journey we have traveled – to sum up what we have discovered so far. Second, we need to emphasize the original question that has not yet been answered – to return to the tension raised in Act I, in preparation for the gospel solution to be revealed in Act III. So take a moment to pause at the end of Act II. Review what you have learned so far, the solutions you have ruled out, the truth you have uncovered. Then return to the original question you posed as you began the quest in Act I as a reminder that you have not yet reached the destination that you seek.
Don’t skip this step. Act II may not have the glamour of Act III, but the Act II Climax will make an enormous difference in the impact of the sermon.
Plot Options
You may have begun to suspect that the three-act structure for a sermon could become a straight-jacket, stifling creativity by insisting that so many pieces must be present for the narrative to work correctly. If we must always have an Act I, composed of setting, inciting incident, initial exploration of tension, and launching the quest, followed by a long Act II in which we must continue to explore the problem, provide needed biblical exposition, exhaust the human agenda and end in a semi-climax, one might think that this sermon form could become as predictable as any other.
You might also object on a more ideological level. Many of us have come to believe strongly that the sermon form needs to reflect the form of the biblical text. It might seem just as inappropriate to squeeze an epistolary passage into a narrative plot as it is to dissect a narrative passage to make it fit into three points and a poem.
The answer to both of these objections is the endless number of possibilities for the structure I am proposing. Dozens of film genres and the thousands of actual examples in the cinema, all based on the three-act structure and each with its own unique plot, attest to the fact that the possibility for variety is limitless.
One key opportunity for variety in narrative preaching is in the choices you have for shaping Act II. Again, the possibilities are endless, but I would offer four basic plots to help you get started thinking about variety in your approach to the quest.
1. The Detective Plot.
Every cop show begins with a crime scene and a mystery to solve: Who committed this crime? The detectives on the scene pick up on one clue after another, exploring one lead after another. One by one, they eliminate suspects. Sometimes in the process of eliminating one, they discover another. At the end of the story, they always get their man (or woman) who usually turns out to be someone who was in front of them the whole time.
One option for the shape of your sermon’s quest is to follow false leads, like a detective. You explore various possible answers to the question posed by Act I, beginning with the easiest. One by one, as you explore the problem and the text, these possibilities are ruled out. However, all along the way, you are building a greater understanding both of the problem and of the text. When the final clue is put in place, the answer is obvious. It may have been there all along, but becomes clear only when all the information is on the table.
2. The Jigsaw Puzzle.
One of the ways my wife Sherri and I have passed some of our isolation time during the COVID-19 pandemic is by putting together jigsaw puzzles. We have a definite method that I suspect is common to most puzzle lovers. We divide the pieces by color and texture and put the puzzle together one section at a time. Bit by bit, the picture takes shape until the final piece makes it complete.
Sometimes the most appropriate plot for a narrative sermon is a gradual and systematic painting of the picture. In this case, the “Controlling Idea” may not be a sudden discovery at the end, but a concept that is revealed piece by piece throughout the quest. In this case, all that is needed in Act III is the final piece that brings it into perfect focus. This might be a great option, for example, when you are dealing a more deductive epistolary text.
3. The Chalk-talk.
Have you ever watched one of those performance artists who creates a mural with chalk by placing random shapes, shades, and lines on a board that seem initially to have no connection? The audience strains to imagine what the final picture will be until, finally the artist draws one final element that suddenly ties all the pieces together in a single image.
Some story-shaped sermons might feel something like the chalk-talk experience. Like the jigsaw puzzle strategy, pieces of meaning gradually take shape, though the connection among them might not be clear at first. Then, with the final exegetical clue the message becomes powerfully clear. I have found this strategy to work well with some narrative texts and especially with parables.
4. The Story Retold.
Sometimes, the best strategy for Act II is simply to tell the story that we find in the biblical text. This is an especially good option when the story in the text has an extensive plot with multiple scenes. For example, the story of the healing of the blind man in John 9 has more than enough twists, turns and drama to carry the sermon. From the initial conversation with Jesus’ disciples about the reason for his blindness, to the unusual method of spittle-formed mud on his eyes, to the multiple appearances before the religious leaders, and the final climactic encounter with Jesus – this is a story worth telling dramatically and imaginatively!
Choose the strategy that fits your text, your message and the particular dynamic of your sermon. Explore the text faithfully and intentionally to lay the foundations of the Controlling Idea. Organize your material in movements that make sense, given the structure of your text and the plot strategy you have chosen. As a final movement, craft an Act II Climax that prepares the way for the gospel turn of Act III. Follow these steps in your second act, and you will be set for a powerful and life-challenging conclusion for the sermon.
