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Apr 27

Sermon Symmetry

By DrBillNo Comments

Symmetry is a description of how you write your Main Points.  ”Symmetry” means “balanced proportions”.  If your sermon displays symmetry, it’s main points will be balanced and proportionate.  That is, each main point will seem to have an equal and valuable relationship with all of the other main points.  No main point will dominate, either in terms of importance, impact, or the amount of time you spend on it.butterfly

The three main benefits of sermon symmetry are:

1.  Understandable

Main Points with symmetry, make your sermon easy to follow and understand.

2.  Memorable

It is easy to remember a sermon with has symmetry flow.  I’m writing this blog from memory, based on the sermon symmetry I heard last night.

3.  Beautiful

Main Points with symmetry, are a thing of beauty.  (Note how the three points of this blog also display symmetry.)

Sermon Example:  Take a look at this sermon which I just listened to last night from Dr. John Crocker at Crossroads Church in Albert Lea, MN:

He was speaking on 2 Peter 1:1-12.  His mains were:

  1. Establish Your Identity  (2 Peter 1:1-4)
  2. Exercise Your Responsibility  (2 Peter 1:5-8)
  3. Erase Your Uncertainty  (2 Peter 1:9-12)

This sermon contains symmetry.  Each main is a command verb (Establish, Exercise, Erase). Each main begins with the letter “E”.  Each main is focused on You.  Each key word at the end has a symmetry as well, with each one ending with a “-ty” ending.

This is not just word play.  This gives a sermon memorable power and greater impact in people’s lives.

Yours for better preaching,

Dr. Bill

SermonBase.com

HighPowerResources.com

Apr 02

Three Mistakes Made by Good Preachers

By DrBillNo Comments

sermonbase logo

Top Three Mistakes Made by Good Preachers

(Yes, even good preachers make these mistakes!)

(and how SermonBase Message Planning Software can help.)

If you´ve already got the preaching skills…

There are 3 more things you need to do to power up your preaching.

Avoid these 3 common mistakes made by even good preachers.

These are common mistakes which happen, not because they are poor teachers or bad communicators. These mistakes happen because…

WHY? They don´t have the right system or tools to get the job done well.

What is a system? A System is the means to make genius routine. It helps you to keep doing it right, again and again, so that you are consistenly putting out great messages because you are doing the same right things every single week.

First Mistake — Poor Planning

Poor planning means you have very little real strategic planning for your messages & series.

Questions to ask:

  • How are all the Series tied in together with each other?
  • How far in advance do you plan?
  • How do you know that the topical selection for all Series, and all Messages within those Series is balanced and exciting?
  • Have you linked your Messages in with the music, drama, & video teams, and planned it far enough in advance for them to find content?

THE SERMONBASE  SOLUTION — LONG-RANGE PLANNING

SermonBase® helps you to plan out your sermons months in advance, and your Series a year or more in advance.

SERMONBASE Elements:

  • ´Strategic Planning´ section for each Series
  • ´Year-at-a-glance Calendar View´, so you can see exactly where your Sermons & Series are heading for the entire year or more.
  • ´Drama/Video Report´ helps you to coordinate planning with your creative planning teams


Second Mistake — Fuzzy Thinking

Fuzzy Thinking means not really knowing what kind of LifeChange is desired.

Questions to ask yourself:

  • What am I trying to achieve?
  • What is my Intellectual Goal?
  • What is my Emotional Goal?
  • What is my desired Action Response?

Also, do you have an integrated goal for the entire Series and for each of the Sermon in that Series?  SermonBase® will help you to figure all of this out.

THE SERMONBASE SOLUTION — FOCUSED TEACHING

SermonBase® helps you to ask the question (and answer), “What am I trying to achieve in terms of intellectual understanding, emotional impact, and actual life change?”  SermonBase® will help you to ask that question every single week as you put your messages together.

SermonBase elements:

  • Message Goals
  • Clear listing of Topics, Scriptures, and Series Goals
  • Balanced Introduction & Conclusion guides

Third Mistake — Disorganized Records

Content is Key!

If you can’t find that great material when you need it, then it doesn’t matter how good you can speak.  Where is that great illustration?  or joke?  or article on your subject?

Good organization can lead to a good Message.

And after it’s over, “Where did I put that that great Message?” For example, did you file that message about Patience under the Topic of ‘patience’, or under the Scripture of Galatians 5:22 (the fruit of the Spirit of ‘patience’), or did you file it with the series you did on ‘loving relationships’, or under the Title of ‘Developing Patience’?  ”Where is it??” That great Message is gone, if you can’t find it again.  It was a one-hit wonder, never to be used again — unless you are using SermonBase®!

The SermonBase Solution:  Organized Archives

SERMONBASE elements:

  • Search for Messages by Title, Topic, Scripture, Speaker, Date
  • Access all related files in one location:
  • In SermonBase®, you have access to every one of the files related to your Message.

Word Documents, PowerPoint files, graphics, articles, jokes, illustrations, etc.

Power up your preaching!

Now, each one of these three mistakes listed above – which even good teachers can make – is solved by SermonBase®!  SermonBase provides you with a set of power tools to manage your sermon library more effectively.

How do I know?

Because I´ve been preaching for 25 years, and I created SermonBase® to help me be a well-planned, focused, and organized teacher that can quickly locate my best teaching and put it to use in new and creative ways.

But don´t just take my word for it, check out the Testimonials from pastors using SermonBase & download a free Demo today. You have nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain.

The Sermons is too important to not plan and execute it well!

A lifetime of work all in one place – it´s a beautiful thing!

Try the free Demo of SermonBase right now!

Mar 23

Sermon Tip: Focus

By DrBillNo Comments

laser beam

Laser or light bulb?

Some preachers only kind-of, sort-of, know what they want to say when they get in the pulpit.  And by that I am not saying that they don’t have a manuscript or notes.  What I mean by FOCUS is, has the message captured your heart?  Has God gripped your soul with what you want to say today to God’s people in God’s name?  Focus is when the Big Idea (the Proposition; the Sermon in a Sentence) has gripped your soul and it won’t let you go, until you let it out.

If the message has gripped your soul, you will have Focus.   When you have Focus, you have a powerful message.

What is the result of having Focus to your sermon?

1.  People will feel the power of your message upon THEIR hearts.

They will be gripped by it as well, and they will focus on you.  This is important.  I sit at the back of church when I am not preaching, and I see how the people at the back are really easily distracted.  It takes a powerful message with a strong focus to capture and keep their attention.  The further they sit from the pulpit, the more the Focus is important to maintain their attention.

2.  Your message will be delivered to their hearts like a laser, and not like a soft-white diffused fluorescent bulb.

People will feel like God is speaking to them about something specific.  God’s application is always very specific.  A focused message helps to deliver God’s truth into people’s hearts.

3.  Every point in your message will supplement your main point and sharpen the focus.

The Mains will sharpen, clarify, and strengthen what you have to say.  They will sharpen the Focus, not soften it.

How do you know if you don’t have Focus in your sermon?

1.  You will ramble!

If you don’t have anything specific to say, then, just about anything will do.  Rambling generalities never changed anyone’s life.

2.  You will try to make too many applications.

When a preacher is not sure of what s/he has to say, they often pull out the easy applications and start hitting people about the same old sins.  But Focus helps a sermon to point to one specific life change which God’s Word is calling them to do.

3.  You will lack passion.

The people will sense it, and you will feel it.  The right words may come out, but not with the same punch or power.  Focus adds passion.

How to get Focus in your sermon:

This is the tough part.  How can you make sure that week in and week out, you have clear Focus?  You need to have clearly written goals for your sermon.  I use SermonBase Message Planning Software® to help me frame up my goals for every single message.  I determine the main goal for the entire message.  (And please note, that this is NOT the same as the Big Idea or Proposition.)  Then I determine three sub-goals: Intellectual, Emotional, and Behavioral.  Asking these questions helps me to sharpen the Focus of my message.

Hope that helps!

Here’s to good preaching that grab’s people’s hearts in the name of Jesus!

Dr. Bill

SermonBase.com

HighPower Resources.com

Mar 18

The Big Idea

By DrBillNo Comments

HI All,lightbulb

The Big Idea of the sermon is technically called “the Proposition”.  It is a summary of your entire sermon in one sentence.  Some call it “the sermon in a sentence.”

Getting accurate on the Proposition is the most important step you can do as you begin work on your sermon.  Accurately capturing all you have to say in a single sentence will propel you forward to a successful sermon.  Arriving at the Proposition can be some of the hardest work you do in your sermon preparation.  It may take a couple of days to really nail it; you may have to precede it first with exegetical study of the passage, and an understanding of the culture into which the passage speaks.

But once you have the Big Idea, the Proposition, the Sermon in a Sentence, you are almost half-way there!

A finely crafted Proposition can deliver a powerful punch.

Sermon Example:  Ezekiel 18:1 – 30

This is a very long passage and argument from the Lord God to the people of Israel.  It is difficult enough to explain to adults, but what about mid-schoolers?  How would you explain this passage to teens, ages 12-14??  Nathan Miller of Brooklyn Park EFC taught this passage to just such an age group by really nailing the sermon in a sentence.  Here’s his Proposition, Big Idea, or Sermon in a Sentence for Ezekiel 18:

“Your soul is your responsibility.”

That captures it really well.

Once you have the Proposition, you are on your way to putting together a good sermon. Work hard at it, and you – but especially your people – will be rewarded.

For great preaching,

Dr. Bill

SermonBase.com

HighPowerResources.com

Dec 28

How to File Sermons so you never lose them

By DrBillNo Comments

Hey All,sermonbase logo - a lifetime of work all in one place

I was reminded again of the power of using a great sermon planning software like SermonBase Message Planning Software. Here’s why:

I just came across a very nice outline study of Acts 16:6-12 on developing a God-given vision.  So the question was, How do I file this in such a way as to ever be able to locate it when I want it again?  Do I file it under “Acts 16:6-12″?  Or do I file it under “Vision”?  Or do I make two copies of it, and file one under each one (and bloat my file cabinet with extra paper?)

What’s cool about using something like SermonBase is that I created a sermon called “How to seek a God-given Vision” for the Title. Then under the Scripture reference in SermonBase, I entered “Acts 16:6-12″, and under the Topic category I entered “Vision” (which was already available in the drop-down list of selections, since I had filed a Vision sermon in the past.  Then I filled in the “Body” section with a quick list of the three main points of that message, so that I could quickly scan it in the future, to see if I would need it, without having to dig through my file cabinets and find the actual article.  Then, to be certain I could locate the actual article, I went over to the dialogue box entitled, “Hard-copy location”, and entered where I had physically filed the piece of paper.

Now whether I look up that sermon under “Vision” or “Acts 16″ or even “God-given Vision” in the title, I will be able to locate the entire article in my files.

What’s more, just to be certain that I do not forget, and think that the sermon points I listed in the Body dialogue of SermonBase, are somehow mine, I go over to the “Belongs to” dialogue menu selector and choose “Someone else” so that I know I am not the owner of the idea, just to be considerate of other people’s copyrights.

So, I was reminded once again what a cool tool is SermonBase® Message Planning Software.  That little tidbit – with all the others I have filed over the years – is waiting for me the next time I need to speak to that Topic or Scripture Text.  Thank you SermonBase!

To try your free Demo of SermonBase, click here.

For better preaching,

Dr. Bill Miller

SermonBase.com

HighPowerResources.com

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