Lesson Goal
To preach a topic that comes from the Bible.
Lesson Intro
Preaching a text is the easiest and most effective habit for preaching. However, various topics are also covered in the Bible that require the use of several passages of Scripture. How to handle this is an art and a technique that requires diligence and thoroughness.
Lesson Plan
We will hammer out the preparation of a sermon on a biblical topic. We will look at the example in Acts 2, discuss prayer, caution with concordances, using software, to look up meanings of Greek and Hebrew words, applications and examples, and how to put this altogether into a sermon outline.
Lesson Body
In a strictly textual or exegetical sermon, we derive the points from an analysis of one text. In a biblical topic, we may still derive the points from the Bible, but from several texts. The topic may be an aspect of prayer and we use several texts to preach about prayer from several angles. Each of those facets of prayer becomes a point in our sermon.
Acts 2 as a Sermon
Acts 2:14-41 is Peter's famous sermon on the first Pentecost in the Christian era. It gives preachers an example of how to give a sermon using several passages of Scripture, without ripping them out of their context or twisting them as can be done if we are not careful. Notice several things:
1. Peter uses 3 scriptures
Peter quotes Joel 2:28-32, Psalm 16:8-11 and Psalm 110:1. He does not quote chapter and verse, because verses are a rather recent invention. But he does quote the source as either Joel or David.
2. Peter has 3 points
He says (1) that the experience fulfilled and ancient prophecy, (2) that Jesus death was part of God's plan, and (3) Jesus was resurrected from the dead. Perhaps you would notice a different breakdown of points and that is okay. The important thing for us here is that Peter does have points in his sermon.
3. Peter leaves them with some homework
He tells them to repent and be baptized. It is important to make any sermon have application to the hearers' lives.
Preparation
1. Prayer
Prayer is the beginning of preparation. What does God want preached? If the topic is prayer, for instance, we may simply type in a search for the word pray* (with the splat or star after the word pray) into our Bible software and thus produce a search for all the words with pray at the beginning, specifically in Bible Works doing a King James search we come up with pray, prayed, prayer, prayers, prayest, prayeth and praying. Then as we look down the list of 511 verses, we may realize that is too much research for the time we have allotted, but we look at a few verses anyway.
2. Concordance Limitations
If you only have a concordance, that is okay, but beware that the definitions are very limited and not as good as those in a Lexicon. Also, a concordance does not give the specific meaning within a particular context, only the general meanings. Too many preachers, who have not studied Greek and Hebrew, pick out a definition that suits their purposes, but may or may not even be close to the real meaning of the word in a particular context. Nor is a concordance as good as some Bible software which grammatically parses the Greek and Hebrew words within their context.
3. Software Advantages
Now back to our search. In the very first verse we place our cursor over the word pray and get the Hebrew meaning in a window at the bottom left, finding that the word pray in Genesis 12:13 means simply to beseech, and that Abram was beseeching or making a request of his half-sister wife Sarai. We realize that the word pray has a broader meaning than just talking to God. However, at this point, because of limited time, we narrow the search down to just the word prayer*. That gives us 138 hits, and we decide to go with it.
4. Various Meanings
We find that ask is the most frequent meaning of the word pray in the Bible. Depending on the context, it can also mean to implore, plead, beg, entreat, request, wish, urge, praise, honor, worship, thank, blessing, gratitude, appreciation, recognition, intercede, intervene, or negotiate.
5. Applications
So we decide it might be good to investigate prayer postures, seeing as though some Christians believe you need to have a particular body posture in order to pray. We catalog all the verses which speak of what people did with their bodies when they prayed. We discover that often in the Bible, the accepted practice of praying was to stand (1 Samuel 1:26; Nehemiah 9:3-5; Mark 11:25; Luke 18:11-13). On other occasions people knelt (2 Chronicles 6:13; 1 Kings 8:54; Ezra 9:5; Luke 22:41; Acts 7:59; 20:36). Sometimes the word translated to pray is synonymous with bending the knee, or genuflecting as our Catholic friends call it. Some Christians are dismayed at those who raise their hands in prayer or worship. However, that too is quite biblical (1 Timothy 2:8). Early Christian art in the catacombs depicted believers standing with outstretched arms. It is a very ancient custom dating back into the Old Testament era (Psalm 28:2; 63:4; 134:2; Lamentations 3:41).
6. Examples of Prayer
Next we catalog a number of Bible characters and how they prayed. Jesus went into a mountain alone to pray (Matthew 14:23), rose up early (Mark 1:35), went into the desert (Luke 5:16) and prayed all night (Luke 6:12). He prayed that God would forgive others (Luke 23:34) and that Christians would be unified (John 17:1-26).
Isaac prayed for a wife (Genesis 25:21), Psalm 51 has been called the masterpiece of repentance and is an example of the prayer of someone who has had a total change of heart. Jesus disciples, mother and brothers prayed (Acts 1:14), the early church prayed (Acts 2:42), for Peter (Acts 12:5), regarding an ordination (Acts 14:22), for healing (Acts 28:8). Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus (Ephesians 1:15) and Philippi (Philippians 1:3-5). Mary prayed the Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56), Zacharias prayed the Benedictus (Luke 1:68-79) and Simeon prayed the Nunc dimittis (Luke 2:29-32).
7. Finish
We realize that we have enough information for a very good three point sermon on prayer. We have copied and pasted a number of verses to our word processor. Our 3 point plan is taking shape. Our body is 3 points, describing what prayer to God is, what we do with our bodies and some examples from biblical mentors. Now we are ready to work on a conclusion, which ties back to our plan. Then we simply work on an arresting introduction and our sermon is basically complete. Between now and sermon time, we will allow it to simmer for a few days, reviewing it and tweaking it at least once a day until we have a product that we are satisfied with.
Example Sermon
Title: "Asking God"
Goal
To encourage regular prayer
Intro
Thank you _______ for that _________ prayer. The Lord's house is a house of prayer.
Plan
We will discuss prayer, what it is, what postures are appropriate when we pray, and several examples of how our biblical mentors prayed.
Body
1. Prayer is...
Pray means mostly to ask. It can also mean to implore, plead, beg, entreat, request, wish, urge, praise, honor, worship, thank, blessing, gratitude, appreciation, recognition, intercede, intervene, or negotiate.
Application
Do we ask God for anything? Do we thank him?
2. Prayer Postures
The Bible shows people who prayed standing, kneeling, bending the knee, or genuflecting, and even raising their hands.
Application
One gesture is not superior or inferior to another. We need to give each other space to pray as we want.
3. Prayer Examples
Jesus went into a mountain alone to pray, rose up early, went into the desert, prayed all night, prayed that God would forgive others and for the unity of all Christians. Isaac prayed for a wife, David prayed for forgiveness. The early church prayed for Peter, regarding an ordination, and for healing. Paul prayed for the churches. Mary prayed the Magnificat, Zacharias prayed the Benedictus and Simeon prayed the Nunc dimittis.
Let's conclude by just reading an example of prayer from our Lord in John 17:1-26. [Take your time with this reading. Remember the lesson on reading aloud. Read it with dignity.]
Application
God's house is a house of prayer. Prayer is an essential part of our worship and our daily lives.
Outro
Prayer is asking God. We can do that in many ways and many places. The faithful have always prayed. Do we?
Suggested Assignment
Type a topic into some Bible software and explore the idea in the Bible as suggested above. If you don't have any Bible software that amounts to much, I suggest the Bible Hub or Bible Gateway. For more in depth study of Greek and Hebrew, there are a large number of sites that provide that service for free. If you are living in a situation without access to a computer or the Internet, then you will have to cautiously use a concordance. Choose some natural points, narrow the topic down and organize your topical sermon.
Lesson Outro
We have seen how Peter quoted several Bible passages in his Pentecost sermon. Some topics are better discussed with the use of several passages of Scripture. We have also seen that a concordance is limited and potentially dangerous if mishandled, that Bible software is definitely the way to go, if you can get a hold of a good program, and that using it is an art that can be mastered with a little diligence and thoroughness.
