July 05, 2018 (Thursday)
Sermon outlines help the preacher.
Every once in a while, preachers have shared sermon outlines with me. I’d like to share some of them.
The first, Lot’s Wife, was about a tragic figure, but the outline is just for fun:
LOT’S WIFE (Genesis 19:26)
1. Exalted
2. Halted
3. Salted
The second outline came from a great preacher, and sounds at first like a joke, but turns out to be a great sermon when taken seriously:
THE PRODIGAL SON (Luke 15:11ff)
1. He got sick of home
2. He got homesick
3. He got home
A dear friend shared this one on Lydia with me. It’s easy to preach, and it’s a good sermon:
LYDIA (Acts 16:13ff)
1. Her hands were stilled
2. Her heart was stirred
3. Her house was saved
Sermon outlines are like skeletons. Not much to look at, but helpful in holding things together. We never see our human bone structure, but we would be blobs without it. So with sermon outlines.
You may never detect the outline of some sermons when you hear them. That’s OK. It’s mainly for the benefit of the preacher, to help him bring a message for your mind, heart and soul. What we all want — congregation and preacher alike — is a word from God. Please, dear Lord, make it so.