Big idea preaching refers to the message or the point which every sermon should put across to the congregation. The sermon is supposed to remain one as a whole and not a collection of many points. According to Robinson “a sermon should be like a bullet.” Usually, there is confusion among the church congregation when the preacher is not able to determine the big idea of the sermon. In order for the preacher to develop a big idea in his or her sermon, he or she should consider the basic elements of the big idea. Those elements are the subject and the complement of the sermon. Therefore, a good big idea involves a careful construction of a theme statement which mostly helps to discipline the thoughts of the preacher.
The importance of relying on one idea during preaching is because one main idea does not lead to confusion both on the side of the preacher and the congregation. When the preaching is done based on many ideas, there is a likelihood that the message will not be delivered well. People will be confused on the idea they should choose which will be helpful to their life. Also, one main idea helps the preacher to develop a systematic flow of points during his or her preparation period thus the clarity of the sermon message.
Robinson’s tools of the trade are commentary, dictionaries, and encyclopedia. Commentary as a tool of preaching provides additional biblical information to preachers. Usually, commentaries are not only regarded as a collection of insightful thoughts and ideas which talk God but they also present biblical ideas in a concise manner. Therefore, many expository preachers take most of their time reading commentaries so as to obtain supplement information about the topics of their sermon. Waymeyer asserts that ignoring commentary insights is like rejecting “the blessings of divinely gifted teachers in the body of Christ.” However, some preachers take much of their time reading commentary instead of picking the main points from actual texts in the Bible. This practice may at times result in the distortion of the message they could like to put across from the Bible. Therefore, there is a need for preachers to carefully analyze the ideas from commentaries so as to ascertain whether they align with the message from Biblical texts.
In addition, dictionaries help expository preachers with the meaning of some words more especially the vocabularies which are found in Biblical texts. Also, dictionaries help to supplement other new words to the sermon so as to make it interesting to the intended audience. Generally, the dictionary as a preaching tool helps preachers in the formulation of a preaching structure thus enhancing the continuous flow of thoughts and ideas during the sermon. Encyclopedias contain a collection of useful information concerning the history of Christ and His activities on earth thus they contribute to the understanding of the sermon topics. For instance, a preacher may be required to conduct a research based on a certain topic thus he or she will use the encyclopedia to gather the information which will help to broaden the message of the sermon.
The big idea from Philippians 3:7-11 is that Christians are supposed to have an understanding of the Christ, his suffering and the power of his resurrection. Moreover, the Christians need to understand that Christ came to redeem their sins through his death thus they should have faith in him and also believe in their resurrection if at all they act in a righteous way. This text has a powerful message since it encourages people to have hope and faith in Christ as well as in the resurrection after death.
From the passage of Joshua 1:1-9, the big idea is that the children of God should be strong and courageous in whatever they choose to do. Also, there it is beneficial to follow God’s ways for the example the laws so as to be successful in life. In other words, Christians are expected to be courageous in their entire life and by doing this they will be in a position to preach the gospel of God to others as well as determine solutions to difficult situations.
The big idea from Ephesians 2:1-9 is that we have been made alive through the death and resurrection of Christ. It is through God’s grace and love for his people that entire earth will be saved through the death of his beloved son Jesus Christ. Therefore, through Christ, there is hope of redemption for us even though we have been taken over by sins and transgressions.
My passage of choose is Ephesians 2:1-9 and the selected tools are commentaries, grammars, and lexicon. The commentary of the passage suggests that sin result in the death of a soul and a person who dies because of trespasses which lead to sins has got no desire for spiritual pleasures. When people look at the corpse they usually develop bad feelings since the never-dying spirit is no longer in the remains of a man. Moreover, sin is seen as a state of conformity in this world whereby wicked people are enslaved by Satan who rules the heart of men. From the scripture, it is evident that all men are inclined to spiritual wickedness since they are “naturally children of disobedience hence are also naturally children of wrath.” Therefore, the reason which sinners will learn from the grace of God is that his love is great since it extends to all people. Also, they need to learn that the grace which saves the life is free, God’s mercy if great, and every converted sinner is a saved person.
In relation to grammar as a preaching tool, the word dead in Ephesians 2:1 means a dead body. This shows that Paul was talking about the deadness of the spiritual life and not the physical state. In a concise, Paul was suggesting that the Ephesians were dead spiritually but alive physically. Paul used this comparison to accurately describe the nature of an unbeliever as well as the impossibility of a non-believer releasing his or her mistakes and correcting them. The same way a dead person cannot reverse back himself or herself to life. Additionally, Paul relates the spiritual deadness of a person to the course of the world in Ephesians 2:2. In Greek, the word course means age or a duration of time thus the meaning of the verse is that the natural state of a person is in his or her lifetime is considered to be dead spiritually. This is true since the period from Genesis to Romans the cause of dead to humanity’s state is the sin which started in the Garden of Eden and is usually inherited at birth Genesis 3:4-24.
Word study books usually try to clarify some of the phrases or words which have been used in the passage. In other words, they often reveal the hidden meaning of Bible verses. For instance, the words “you were dead in trespasses and sins.” The phase means that to be spiritually dead does not imply that a person is also physically dead thus the most important part of man’s personality is the spirit. It could be meaningful if the spirit would die but remain on the side of God rather than Satan since those who align themselves with God will resurrect at the end. Moreover, the other meaning of the word trespasses is that we have crossed a line thus challenging the boundary of God. Also, the word sin is used in the passage to show that we as the inhabitants of the earth have missed the perfect standards of God.
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Guzik, David. Study guide for Ephesians 2: God’s way of reconciliation, “Blue Letter Bible,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Eph/Eph_2.cfm
Mathew Henry’s Concise Commentary, “Bible Hub,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/2-1.htm
New International Version Bible, “Bible Gateway,” Last modified (2001), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:7-11&version=NIV&src=tools&resource_entry=dictionary-of-bible-themes/8454-obedience-God
Robinson, Hoddon W. Biblical preaching: The development and delivery of expository messages. Baker Academic, 2001.
“Verse by Verse Ministry International,” Could you explain Ephesians 2:1-10? Last modified (2010), Accessed on March 8, 2017, http://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-answers/could_you_explain_ephesians_21_10
Waymeyer, Matt. Expository preaching and the use of commentaries, “The Expositors Blog,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, http://www.expositors.org/blog/expository-preaching-and-the-use-of-commentaries/
Robinson, Hoddon W. Biblical preaching: The development and delivery of expository messages. Baker Academic, 2001.
Waymeyer, Matt. Expository preaching and the use of commentaries, “The Expositors Blog,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, http://www.expositors.org/blog/expository-preaching-and-the-use-of-commentaries/
New International Version Bible, “Bible Gateway,” Last modified (2001), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:7-11&version=NIV&src=tools&resource_entry=dictionary-of-bible-themes/8454-obedience-God
New International Version Bible, “Bible Gateway,” Last modified (2001), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:7-11&version=NIV&src=tools&resource_entry=dictionary-of-bible-themes/8454-obedience-God
Mathew Henry’s Concise Commentary, “Bible Hub,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/2-1.htm
Mathew Henry’s Concise Commentary, “Bible Hub,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, Retrieved from http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ephesians/2-1.htm
“Verse by Verse Ministry International,” Could you explain Ephesians 2:1-10? Last modified (2010), Accessed on March 8, 2017, http://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-answers/could_you_explain_ephesians_21_10
New International Version Bible, “Bible Gateway,” Last modified (2001), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%203:7-11&version=NIV&src=tools&resource_entry=dictionary-of-bible-themes/8454-obedience-God
Guzik, David. Study guide for Ephesians 2: God’s way of reconciliation, “Blue Letter Bible,” Last modified (n.d.), Accessed on March 8, 2017, https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/guzik_david/StudyGuide_Eph/Eph_2.cfm
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