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Once I have outlined the passage, whether on paper or a device, I look at my book outline to see how the passage in view reinforces broader themes or advances the author’s larger ideas. Two tools that have made outlining passages easier for me are sketchnoting and mind mapping. I prefer to get less linear and more spatial. Many preachers will be content to form a passage outline on a legal pad or in Microsoft Word. I move the verses into logical groupings until I have a working passage outline. I set out the passage verse by verse and look for connections-whether repeated phrases or connecting words (“therefore,” “but,” “as a result”)-that help me understand the flow of the passage. Though it would be difficult to improve on the paragraph groupings of, say, the NIV or NRSV, the key to this step is to view each verse, one by one. Next I organize the verses into a passage outline, discerning the narrative arc of a story or the author’s line of thinking. I find it least distracting to outline using pen, paper, and printed Bible, though one could certainly make profitable use of a computer or tablet for this task. When possible I make my own working outline of the book to keep the larger literary context in view throughout the series. Leading up to a sermon series, I find it helpful to read through the entire book I’ll be preaching on. All of the above electronic options allow users to create their own notes and tie them to specific Bible verses for future reference. As I read a passage in its entirety, I take notes and jot down preliminary questions as I go.
Go to previous verse bibleworks software#
Several advanced software programs make translation comparison easy: And hearing the text in four translations will inspire questions and insights to pursue in the sermon research phase.
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That way you will know what it will sound like to the worshiping congregation. Since the congregation will be hearing the preaching passage in the worship service before the sermon, it makes sense to read it out loud in your study or office. Johnson, in The Glory of Preaching, suggests reading the text orally four times in different translations. How can you grow this seed of an idea into a healthy sermon? Here are the steps I go through every week.