Lord, Sunday Is Coming What Shall I Preach?

Aldon E. Cotton

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781098080938
• eBook ISBN: 9781098080945
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

If you are a pastor of a church, then this book will aid in bringing a balance to your life to avoid burnout in your pastorage. As a pastor, you cannot afford to be so occupied during the week with secondary responsibilities and then do what we call a "Saturday night special." In this book, you will find proven methods that will shine light on the path that leads to a prepared preacher who is ready to mound the pulpit.

If you are an associate minister with a desire to one day be a pastor, then this book will give you some insights to what is involved in the life of a pastor. Pastoring is more than having an opportunity to preach every Sunday.

If you are a Sunday school teacher, then this book will equip you with steps to take as you seek to share with your students. In this book, you will find a structure to guide you through a given outline and to conclude if the topic is in agreement with the text. As you use this tool, you should see spiritual babies become matured in the Scriptures and in their walk with the Lord Jesus.

Tuesday

Lord my prayer for today is,

That you would open my eyes so that I may

see the fullness and

wholeness of your Word.

In the name of Jesus, Amen.

It is another day closer to Sunday, and it is time to take the next step in preparing to minister to the people on the Lord’s Day. The joy of having done the study on the writer and the target audience is approaching the text with a raised level of anticipation and sensitivity to the text. Today is the time to discover the complete narrative or subject matter. In order for this to be accomplished, it may require the reading of several chapters. A beautiful example of this is easily seen in what have become known as the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5:1–2 verses are descriptive of Jesus going up into a mountain, and while He sits there, His disciples come to Him, and He began to teach them. Verse 2 states, “And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying.”7 You then read the balance of chapter 5 and the totality of chapter 6. When you come to the end of chapter 7, particularly the last few verse, you then read, “And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.”8 That’s right! It is not until you read those three chapters that you get the whole sermon or the complete narrative.

There are some clues you can look for while searching for the total narrative or subject matter. One clue is the timing in which the event takes place. If you are reading a passage of Scripture and one of the verses says something to the effect like “on the next day” or “later that evening,” then that is a clue that a shifting has transpired according to time. It may name a celebratory day such as “Passover” or “a feast of the Jews” or “being the Sabbath.”

Another clue is geographical location that the event takes place. We shouldn’t overlook that because the name of the place can have some significance to the event that transpires at that location. Out of the all the places Jesus traveled with His disciples, it wasn’t until He came to the coasts of Caesarea Philippi that He asked the disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” The question itself is profound and worth focusing on, but I would encourage you to do a study on that geographical location where this interrogative asked. It is an eye-opener, and I would not rob you of that discovery by telling it to you now.

Another clue can be based on a conversation that takes place between two or more people. I have found it helpful to follow the conversation based on who is speaking. First, identify or list those who are having the conversation. Then write down what the person is saying in the conversation. For example, in John chapter 3, Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews, came to Jesus by night. He engaged Jesus in a conversation beginning in the second verse. Verse 2 states, “The same came to Jesus by night and said unto him.” In verse 3, “Jesus answered and said unto him.” In verse 4, “Nicodemus saith unto him.” In verse 5, “Jesus answered.” In verse 9, “Nicodemus answered and said unto him.” In verse 10, “Jesus answered and said unto him.” Verse 22 says, “After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land of Judaea, and there he tarried with them and baptized.” There is a shift which takes place in verse 22. So then the complete conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus takes place in John 3:1–21. You want to look for where the conversation starts and where the conversation ends to determine the complete narrative.

You also want to be aware of when there is a shifting of the subject. This too can be helpful hints when attempting to ascertain the complete narrative. Although it is the same author, there are many issues that he may be addressing. Paul in the epistle to the Romans writes about works and faith, but he also discusses the law and grace. In his first epistle to the Corinthian church in chapters 5–8, we can clearly see Paul address four different issues or subject matters. In chapter 5, he addresses the issue of the fornication that had been reported to him that one was having sex with his father’s wife (I believe it was his stepmother). In chapter 6, he addresses the matter of Christians taking each other before an unjust judge to solve small matters that believers were having with one another. In chapter 7, he addresses the concerns of which they had written unto him about. He gives instruction to the married and unmarried. In chapter 8, again, he addresses the concerns that they wrote to him about. This time, the subject is about food that had been offered unto idols. This shifting transpires throughout scriptures, but I find it mostly in the epistles.

It is of grave importance to make sure you know the complete narrative or subject matter. The reason why this is so essential is because it will place everything within a proper context. I’m in agreement with those who view context as king to proper interpretation. A narrative may have several issues that are being addressed. It is within the narrative you can choose a single subject to develop a sermon. In using the Sermon on the Mount again as an example, a multiplicity of subject matters is being discussed by Jesus. These subject matters vary from being blessed, to being salt and light, to what it means to kill or commit adultery. Jesus explains how loving your enemies and praying for those who use and persecute you is a true sign of being children of God. He teaches how we ought to pray, on fasting, and how where we place our treasures is an indication of where our heart will be also. Jesus tells us why we shouldn’t worry and to guard ourselves against judging others before looking at our own actions. As He comes to a conclusion, we are told about two paths, two trees, and two foundations. Now you probably would never preach the entire discourse in one sermon, but you may select one of the subject matters and expound on just that portion of the pericope.

Now you are ready to become fixed on the focal text. The portion of the text that will be expounded on or used as the base for the sermon or teaching lesson is what I tag as the focal text. Others may call it the immediate text. The focal text can be the complete narrative, or the focal text can be within the complete narrative. I am under the conviction that if you read it, then you should preach it. One of the great tragedies that can occur is for a preacher to read a text to preach and then treat it as if the text had some incurable disease and never touch the text again. If you read the text, then those who are listening to you have a right and expectation of you as the preacher or teacher to proclaim and explain what you just read so that he or she may increase their faith in the God of the Scriptures.

I have surveyed many ministers through the years and asked them, “How many times do you read the text before you begin writing out the sermon or the outline?” The responses I received are oftentimes shocking. I have heard three times, five times, ten times. One person said to me he only reads it once and then start writing. Wow was all that I could utter. It has been my experience to read the focal text no less than forty or fifty times before picking up a pen. I’ve spoken to many other proclaimers who are known and highly respected for preaching. When I asked them the same question, they expressed how they spent a great amount of the time reading the text they intend to preach. Although it sounds like a mountain-sized task, but when you read the text up and down, forward and backward, and using various translations, it may surprise you how quickly you can get to reading that text fifty times and beyond. You must understand that reading the focal text fifty times should not be done just for the sake of reading. But rather, what you are on the hunt for is finding the flow of the thoughts of the writer. Picture yourself as being in the room with the writer while he is writing and collecting his thoughts. Or see yourself on the scene with those to whom he is writing to or even writing about. I even treat it as I am interviewing the people in the text. That is due to my childhood dream of being a district attorney working as a prosecutor in criminal justices.

It is at this time that the structure or skeleton for the sermon is being developed. Let’s use Matthew 8:1–4 as the focal text for a demonstration. In the first verse, the scene is described. Then in the second verse, the speaker is a leper who is making a request to the Lord. Lastly, Jesus responded to the leper. Notice that Jesus’s response is in verses 3 and 4. The following diagram illustrates what could be the sermon outline structure for this focal text:

1. The scene or setting (verse 1)
2. The leper’s request to the Lord (verse 2)
3. Jesus’s response to the leper (verses 3–4)

The next step demands a great level of discipline. You must individualize each verse and only say what the text says. Try not to borrow from previous verses or spill over into the following verses. As you read the verse, begin to identify each component or fragmentize the verse. This process is called atomization. It means to break the sentence down into smaller parts. As you are reading the text those fifty times, underline any words or phrase that you do not know or have not studied. It is at the juncture you want to interrogate the text. Underlining words and writing down the questions will set and establish the work you will do tomorrow. Also oftentimes, as one would read the text in this way, some thoughts or points you would want to include in the sermon may come to mind. Write them down also along with the verse. You will refer back to that as you begin to lay out the outline of the sermon. Ask every question you can imagine, and remember God is not intimidated by our questions. Who is doing the talking? What are they saying? Who are they speaking to or about? When did they perform the action? Where is the conversation or action taking place? Why is this happening? How did it happen? And again, there are so many other questions that can be asked. Let’s return to Matthew 8:1–4, and interrogate this focal text.

When he was come down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.

Verse 1 questions: Who is he? From what mountain did he come down from? What constitute a great multitude? Why was he in the mountains? What does it mean “they followed him?”

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if tho...

Table of contents

• It’s Been a Good Day
• Monday
• Business with the Bank
• Richness of Reflecting
• What Should I Preach?
• Nothing to Preach but a Lot to Study!
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Diamonds in the Definitions
• Tools for the Trade
• Concerning Commentaries
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday Morning!
• Addendum