For these assignments, you will be required to complete the worksheets according to McDill’s treatment of the structural diagram in 12 Essential Skills of Great Preaching. Each worksheet focuses on a specific skill and will assist you in diagraming the first chapter of Philippians.

Use the entire first chapter of Philippians for the following worksheets:

· Sturctural Diagram Worksheet

· Immediate Observations Worksheet

· Research Questions Worksheet.

Human

The purpose of this exercise is to develop skill at tracing theological concepts in the text to corresponding points of contact in human experience.

Experience Text: Phillipians 1

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded.
· Think beyond church-world to real-world experience.
· Remember the nature of human nature.

· Allow your own humanity to come through.
· Address assumptions, symptoms and consequences.
· Express compassion and understanding for hearers.

The human element is the human condition that corresponds to the truths that are presented in your text. The factors of human experience may be described plainly in the text or only implied.

1. Identify the factors of human experience mentioned directly in the text as they pertained to the original textual setting.

2. Identify the human issues suggested in the text by implication as the writer addresses problems of his day.

3. Summarize the concepts from your text that will become the main ideas of the sermon.

4. Use the following categories to begin describing the likely experience of the person who needs to hear the message of the text as a remedy for his needs:
(1) His symptoms of the trouble he is experiencing:
(2) His underlying assumptions about the issue:
(3) Some consequences in his experience:
(4) How a person feels who is suffering at this point:

5. Write a profile of the person needing your message in vivid, concrete terms as you sympathetically identify with his suffering and interest him in the good news you have for him.

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching / Wayne McDill / 2006 / B&H Used by Permission

Natural

The purpose of this exercise is to develop skill at devising specific natural analogies for illustrating sermon ideas.

Analogies Text: Phillipians 1

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded
· Plant to balance support for your sermon ideas.
· Explore the common arenas of human experience.

· Go beyond your own limited personal experience.
· Distinguish between analogies and examples.
· Present analogies in a vivid and imaginative way.

This assignment involves the devising of illustrations for supporting sermon ideas through a process of exploring natural analogies. Complete the exercise with the following steps:

1. Write the division statement you are to illustrate. You may use the sermon idea for exploring analogies for the introduction and conclusion.

2. Circle the word or two in your statement that can be used to identify the generic idea in nontheological terms.

3. Brainstorm the arenas of life listed below for analogies that are natural expressions of your theological idea. Write as many as you can. Do not evaluate them now or second-guess your ideas.

· Family
· Business
· Animals
· Athletics
· Common objects
· World Affairs
· Other

· Nature
· Children
· Education
· History
· Travel
· Friendships
· Other

4. Check the best analogies from the list above on the basis of your subject, your audience, and your own ability to make particular ones work in the sermon.

5. Plan here how you will particularize the analogies you have chosen. You will want to present them in concrete, specific, imaginative language.

6. Write out one of your analogies on the back of the sheet as you might present it in your sermon.

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching / Wayne McDill / 2006 / B&H Used by Permission

Oral

Thepurpose of this exercise is to develop skill at preparing an oral presentation plan that engages the audience and faithfully presents the text message.

Presentation Text: Phillipians 1

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded.
· Plan with the dynamics of oral communication.
· Design the presentation to follow the text.

· Design the presentation to engage the audience.
· Balance development for the whole man.
· Plan for the audience and for the occasion.

This exercise involves planning the design of your sermon for an oral presentation. This form follows the motivated sequence outline combined with the traditional introduction-body-conclusion format.

Introduction

Attention

Need

Bridging Sentences

[Subject: Modifier:]

Textual Idea:

Sermon Idea:

Interrogative:

Transition:

Body

Satisfaction

Division 1 Statement

Explanation

Illustration

Argumentation

Application

Transition (Div. 1 to Div. 2)

Division 2 Statement

Explanation

Illustration

Argumentation

Application

Transition (Div. 2 to Div. 3)

Division 3 Statement

Explanation

Illustration

Argumentation

Application

Transition (Div 3 to Div 4)

Division 4 Statement

Explanation

Illustration

Argumentation

Application

Transition (Div. 4 to Div. 5)

Division 5 Statement

Explanation

Illustration

Argumentation

Application

Transition (Div. 5 to Concl.)

Conclusion

Visualization

Reiteration

Action

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching / Wayne McDill / 2006 / B&H Used by Permission

Preaching for

The purpose of this exercise is to develop skill at planning every aspect of sermon design according to the overarching aim of a faith response in the hearer.

Faith Text: Phillipians 1

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded.
· Plan the sermon design with a focus on God.
· Be alert to the faith element in your text.

· Word division statements for the credibility of God.
· Plan sermon development for faith appeal.
· Plan the conclusion as a call to faith.

This assignment involves planning the design of your sermon as an appeal for faith. Complete the exercise with the following steps:

1. Identify in the text the ideas about God that would plead his credibility. These may be directly presented or only implied.
Character

Capabilities

Intentions

Record

2. Trace from the text writer’s material the theological assumptions behind his statements. Every instruction, interpretation, or application has its foundation in the person of God. The imperative is based on the indicative.

3. Write your sermon idea here as you have stated it. Test it for its faith appeal.

· It is it indicative in mood?
· Does it present a faith principle?
· Does it use faith language?

· Does it give the hearer assurance?
· Is it essentially theological?
· Does it claim the credibility of God?

4. Check each division statement by the same tests. How does it measure up to the faith aim?

· It is it indicative in mood?
· Does it present a faith principle?
· Does it use faith language?

· Does it give the hearer assurance?
· Is it essentially theological?
· Does it claim the credibility of God?

5. Examine development throughout and check it for balance in dealing with the barriers to faith.

· Conceptualization
· Rationalization

· Visualization
· Actualization

6. Analyze the introductory and concluding segments for their faith appeal according to the tests in item three above.

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching / Wayne McDill / 2006 / B&H Used by Permission

Scenes and

The purpose of this exercise is to develop skill at vividly and imaginatively portraying Biblical and contemporary scenes and stories.

Stories Text: Phillipians 1

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded.
· Tell the biblical story with imagination and realism.
· Recognize the usual phases of a narrative.

· Use language that appeals best to the imagination.
· Tell the story as would an eyewitness.
· Look for vivid imagery and narrative in the text.

This assignment involves the retelling of a selected biblical narrative in such a way as to use imaginative and vivid language and narration. Complete the exercise with the following steps:

1. Read the selected biblical narrative several times in different translations. Note here the theological purpose of the story as best as you can discern it.

2. Notice the kinds of language used in the text you are studying:
· Figurative language
· Descriptive language

· Sensate language
· Concrete language
· Specific language

3. Analyze the dynamics of the situation and note them here.
· Setting
· Characters
· Relationships

· Dialogue
· Motives
· Divine involvement
· Surprises

4. Sketch the story by using five phases:
· Situation
· Stress
· Search
· Solution
· (New) Situation

5. Fill in from background research and imagination the phases of the story not described in the text.

12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching / Wayne McDill / 2006 / B&H Used by Permission