Donald Sunukjian’s Invitation to Biblical Preaching is a great scholarly book on preaching. It was the first book I read on preaching in an Introduction to Preaching class. The book covers many topics well. The main thing I took from the book was the need for a “timeless truth” in my messages to take from the Biblical passage to the sermon to the people.

The Bible is wholly relevant to the modern person’s life sometimes it just takes some work for us to figure that out. The idea of making a “timeless truth” central to your sermon is important in communicating God’s Word in a postmodern age.

A “timeless truth” could also be called a main proposition, main or central point, take-home truth or a number of other things. Whatever you call it remember the importance of it.

Here is why a timeless truth statement is so important, it helps you:

Focus Your Message

If you have one of these timeless truth statements that becomes your main point you can focus your message from it. A sermon with more than one main point is going to wander and it is going to be largely ineffective because it will be scattered in delivery and therefore scattered in the listeners ears and heart. Having an effective and accurate timeless truth that you curate an outline from will be the best thing you can do.

Leave People With One Thing to Remember

Your timeless truth or principle should be a memorable statement. A statement people can effectively remember and will bring them life impact. This is important because in a day when people here all kinds of messages and participate in many forms of entertainment a large part of your sermon is going to go in one ear and out the other. The presence of a timeless truth will help eliminate the “leakage.”

Connect the Ancient Passage with the Enduring Principle

A timeless truth statement helps you connect the text of the Bible to the principle or truth that remains relevant today and will remain relevant and vital until the end of time. What words, cultural context, and textual context in the passage you are teaching on is vital to the modern person’s life? The timeless truth statement helps you cultivate this information.