ACT III: Redemption
Regardless of the sermon form you are using, the part of the sermon you need to plan most carefully is the end. This is the moment of highest intensity, the time for decision, the point at which the truth of the sermon comes either to a triumphant climax or a tired fizzle. It is time to “land the plane” and if you do not have a checklist to follow, you may well find yourself circling the runway (or just flying out to sea) until you run out of gas and sputter to a crash landing.
I find it best to have a clear sequence to follow when planning the end of the sermon. This is as true for a story-shaped sermon as it is for a deductive one. Here is the sequence I recommend for Act III:
Act I: Fall
This is the job of Act I in a narrative sermon: to create interest through urgency by placing us in a story where the message really matters. How do you accomplish this? Here are four steps for stirring interest through urgency.
Focus, Tension, Discovery
Before we begin to plot our story-shaped sermon, there are three preliminary items we need to define. Consider these to be narrative “add-on’s” to our Homiletical Conclusions. Taking aim in these areas before you begin will save time and establish clarity from the start.
These three components will help you establish the focus of the sermon, the tension of the sermon, and the moment of discovery that will help you get to the sermon climax in the end.
How to Tell the Gospel Story in Every Sermon
So far in this series of posts, I have tried to make a case for story-shaped preaching. I hope the message has come through clearly that the most compelling reason for story-shaped preaching is that “story” is the shape of the gospel. The question now becomes, “How do preach in such a way that every sermon is a retelling of the gospel story, applied to some aspect of contemporary life?”