When it comes to sermon writing, there are only three ways to prepare a sermon. You either prepare the sermon deductively, inductively or a bit of both.
How to prepare deductive sermons demonstrates the structure for writing deductive sermons. Once you understand the structure of deductive sermons, preparing sermons will become easier.
How to Prepare Deductive Sermons?
How to prepare deductive sermons is really about structure. Once you understand the structure, you will write sermons with ease.
The Structure of Deductive Sermons
In a nutshell, deductive sermons begin with a main preaching point followed by sermon sub-points and incidental points.
Say for instance, you want to preach a message from Romans 14:1-12.
The main preaching point (topic) from Romans 14:1-12 is: Accepting Others Who Differ Without a Critical Spirit.
Now that you have your main preaching point, you will need to determine the sub-points and incidental points.
The sub-points expand and explain the main preaching point and the incidental points expand and explain the sub-points.
You could have these sub-points: God accepts them (Romans 14:1-4), God leads them (Romans 14:5-9) and God judges them (Romans 14:10-12).
Your deductive sermon is now taking shape.
There are three REASONS why we need to accept others who differ without a critical spirit. They are:
- God accepts them (14:1-4)
- God leads them (14:5-9)
- God judges them (14:10-12)
- We are not judges
- God is judge
It is absolutely essential that your sub-points expand and explain your main preaching point. That way your sermon will have sequence and cohesion. Also, your incidental point must expand and explain your sub-points.
How To Write Deductive Sermons?
Every sermon has three parts: the introduction, the body and the conclusion.
The introduction introduces the main preaching point. The body of sermon, which is your sermon outline, expands and explains the main preaching point with sub-points and incidental points, and the conclusion restates the main preaching point with a challenge.
Here is an example of a deductive sermon!
INTRODUCTION: After a minister preached a sermon on spiritual gifts, he was greeted at the door by a lady who said, “Pastor, I believe I have the gift of criticism.” He looked at her and asked, “Remember the person in Jesus’ parable who had the one talent? Do you recall what he did with it?” “Yes,” replied the lady, “He went out and buried it.” With a smile, the pastor suggested, “Go thou, and do likewise.”
I smiled when I read that…but you know, that’s the best thing we can do with a critical spirit…get rid of it…bury it because a critical spirit seldom helps, seldom encourages, seldom builds up, seldom accepts others who differ, and it does nothing for harmony within the church. In short, a critical spirit/a judgmental spirit is something the church of Jesus Christ can do without.
So, with that in mind, I want to look at three reasons why we need to accept others who differ without a critical spirit. As we look at these reasons, I believe we will have a greater appreciation for these people.
The first reason why we need to accept others without a critical spirit is because…
1. God accepts them (14:1-4)
In verses 1-3, we see two groups of Christians and both groups have a different views on how to devote themselves to God, and yet God accepts them both.
God does not choose sides, when it comes to differing issues of practice. God does not exclude one over the other just because he sees things a little different or does things a little different when it comes to issues of practice.
Now, the differing issues of practice here are eating of meat and the observance of special days.
Look at verse 2, “For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables.” Look at verse 5, “One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike.”
Now, these differing views affected their fellowship. It seems it led to tension, criticism, judging, and even exclusion just because they saw things a little different concerning the eating of meat and observance of holy days.
But Paul would not have a bar of it. Look at verse 1, “Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters (matters of indifference).”
Look at verse 3, “The man who who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him.”
Paul made it very clear that differing issues of practice should not break fellowship and it should not lead to a judgmental spirit. Look at verse 4, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”
We have these same tensions even today. The only difference is that the tensions or issues have changed.
So, we need to be very careful how we deal with these differing issues of practice because we don’t want to exclude people whom God accepts.
The second reason why we need to accept others without a critical spirit is because…
2. God leads them (14:5-9)
Often, we criticise, judge and exclude people because they don’t do what we do or see things as we see things. Often, we may judge them as unspiritual.
But interesting enough, these people who differed in this passage were doing what they did unto the Lord. They were desiring to be led by the Lord in order to please Him.
There devotion was to the Lord. If they were to eat, they ate unto the Lord. If they were to observe a day, it was unto the Lord. If they were not to eat, they did not eat as unto the Lord. If they observed several days, it was unto the Lord.
The question we must ask is: Who are we to judge them? Who are we to criticise them? Who are we to exclude them?
Some people may worship God through contemporary music. Others may enjoy traditional music. And still others, may enjoy both. Does that mean some are more spiritual than others? Certainly not. But the important factor is, we all do it unto the Lord. We all desire to be led by God who is Lord of all.
Paul said to accept those who differ without a critical spirit because not only does God accept them but also God leads them. God is their Lord also. They are seeking to please Him just as much as we are.
Please remember that Paul is referring to practical issues not doctrinal issues.
The third reason why we need to accept others without a critical spirit is because…
3. God judges them (14:10-12)
Look at verse 10-12, “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: ‘As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.”
A. We are not judges
It is not our business to be judges. Do you know why?
Chuck Swindoll was speaking at a Christian camp; and on the first day, he was approached by a man whose life ambition was to sit under Chuck Swindoll’s preaching. That evening Swindoll noticed the man sitting near the front. But only a few minutes into the message the man was sound asleep. Swindoll thought to himself that perhaps he was tired after a long day’s drive and couldn’t help himself.
But the same thing happened the next few nights, and Dr. Swindoll found this very irritating and he began to assumed all sorts of things about this man. On the last night the man’s wife came up and apologized for her husband’s inattention to the messages. She then explained that he had recently been diagnosed as having terminal cancer and the medication he was taking to ease the pain made him extremely sleepy. But it had been one of his life-long ambitions to hear Dr. Swindoll speak before he died, and now he had fulfilled that goal.
Can you see why it is not our business to be judges? We don’t know all the facts. We cannot judge the heart of another person.
And yet, we do it on a regular basis. We may pass judgment on someone who dresses differently or on someone who enjoys different music.
B. God is the judge (4:12)
As one writer said, “The true judge is God, and his time for judging is coming, making man’s judgment not only premature but also a usurpation of God’s role.” (That is, we put ourselves in God’s place).
When we judge the differing practices of our brothers and sisters in the Lord, we put ourselves in God’s place. That’s why Paul said, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls.”
James said something similar, “There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another?”
CONCLUSION: We are not judges. We were never called to be judges. We are called to accept others who differ without a critical spirit. If this has been our habit (judging others), then we need to repent of it and ask God to forgive us and help us to accept others who differ in practical issues.