None of these outlines would impress Dr. Adrian Rogers. That wonderful friend, now in Heaven, was the best I ever saw at producing alliterative sermon outlines. I recall him saying the difference in a believer and an unbeliever regarding sin is that a Christian lapses into sin and loathes it, but the unsaved will leap into sin and love it. And, to prove the point that a great outline makes the sermon easier to follow and simple to remember, here it is 30 years later and I still recall those words.
But I’m not Adrian Rogers and you’re not either, pastor. Nor am I Calvin Miller, another precious friend. These men were both used of the Lord to build great churches and teach generations of young preachers. Yet their styles were at opposite ends of the spectrum.
Be yourself, pastor.
Find the way of outlining a message that works for you. Get a great outline for your sermon and it will accomplish those two wonderful feats: Your hearers will find it easy to follow and you will find it simple to remember.
Perhaps we’re through here, at least for the moment, but I can’t leave the subject of sermon outlines without making a point on the worst kind (because it is the least effective kind) of outline. Simply stated, the worst kind is the type we see most often, that looks like this:
1) The power of prayer.
2) The people of prayer.
3) The point of prayer.
Three P’s, three phrases, none of which say anything. That outline goes nowhere, but lies there like deadwood. Pity the poor church member taking down every bone of the sermon skeleton. Even when she writes this down, she doesn’t have anything.
It’s one thousand times better, pastor, to turn those phrases into memorable sentences which are worth preaching and infinitely more worth remembering. What if your points were something like this:
1) Prayer is how we connect with the living God: It is our power connection. See Luke 18:1.
2) Only those who pray are used of God: Which explains why some of us drop out. See Luke 18:1b.
3) Prayer demonstrates faith: That is the point of prayer. See Hebrews 11:6a.
That’s for starters. As you preach through that sermon on prayer — preaching it alone as you walk through the neighborhood or drive down a country highway, I’m talking about — you will refine it and find stronger ways of expressing the points, possibly adding one or two or even dropping one. Each sermon is different because it is the result of the Holy Spirit doing His work through a one-of-a-kind disciple — you! That’s why you have to be true to who you are in Christ.
Question: What if you had a 12-point sermon? How would you remember it to preach it? And how would the people hear it?
I don’t have one, but I have a point inside a sermon on “Love is Something You Do,” based on the “love your enemies” text of Luke 6:27-35, that goes: When we do this — when we return loving acts to those who are working to do us harm — 12 great things happen.”
And the 12 things? “God is honored, Jesus is pleased, and the Holy Spirit is liberated to do whatever He wanted to do in that situation. The devil is infuriated, the enemy is puzzled, and the critics of the church are silenced. The church itself is blessed, Christians going through similar hard times are encouraged by what they see you doing, and outsiders are drawn to Christ when they see your Christ-like behavior. You yourself are strengthened, your anger disappears, and according to Luke 6:35, your reward in Heaven is great and your reputation goes through the roof.”
I do all that in one breath (practically) in order to drive home the unity of it, that all of this results from your single act of doing something loving toward the bad guy.
Invariably, people come up later asking for “those 12 things.” I point out that remembering them is simple. The first three have to do with God, the second three with the enemy, the next three with the church, and the last three with you yourself.
A good outline, if you ask me. (You didn’t, but hey, it’s my blog.)
Thanks for staying with me all this way. You are a trooper. By the way, if you are looking for an outline of this article, save yourself the trouble. I told you I’m right-brained. I do have good scriptural precedent for this, incidentally. Have you ever tried outlining Paul’s epistles? Good luck with that. (The proper response to that is: “Yes, but he was writing letters, not sermons.” Indeed he was.)
