Homiletical Outline

I am not Christian. I am just another student that is probably driving you all nuts at this point. I try to tag along behind Christian, to learn as much as I can without asking it myself, or  trying to fish, without yet being trained to fish.

#1. I don't know what I don't know. I am missing critical context needed to understand the thing I am trying to learn. I don't even know what questions to ask.

#2. Sometimes my current assignment is due NOW, and the professor did not factor in time to learn the software, just the time to use the software, or did not expect me to use the software at all.

#3. I don't have all the features and books that the tutorials show and long-time users have. My screen looks different and is not as useful.

#4. I am finding bugs and don't know when it is a bug or when I am not trained enough to use the software yet. Sometimes I don't know I am missing the features you all have.

#5. I am under a firehose of new information, and I cannot absorb and retain all the information being thrown at me. Even what I learn, I forget. I forget that I even forgot things and think they are new. Sure, we have access to all this "timesaving" stuff, but we have to learn to use it. And this is a huge undertaking.

#6. I struggle to prioritize what to focus on. I have learned that the best thing sometimes is to turn off the software, aim for a 40%, and just start writing a piece of trash of the minimum length allowed. Then spend the remaining time trying to clean it up, the "right" way. I tend not to do this until I am desperate. I think the most successful students are those that don't try as hard, and are so clueless that they don't know how bad their papers are. I know someone that keeps talking about the Dunning-Kruger effect. I have lost a link to a blog by a professor that said that professors really don't want to read student papers, so stop trying to write something impressive.

Good luck Christian! And thanks for letting me tag along behind you.

MJ, I am never going to forget your patience and vast knowledge. God Bless you!

God allowed the pandemic to severely alter my educational plans, but I trust him, and one of the things that has been a privilege is the opportunity to engage with the scholars here.

I am always willing to work much harder than the people I pester with my questions. Always. It is a privilege, not a right, of students to ask the questions here that some of us ask.

Christian Alexander said:

...a homiletical outline of John 1:1-18... an outline for how I would preach this passage and apply it to a congregation. 

Example (John 1: 1-18)

1. Ok, I’m going to skip this for now, since it’s not a real preaching situation.
2. What I don’t understand (potentially): What/who is the Word (v. 1)? Why is Jesus called the Word? How was he part of the creation (v. 2-3)? What do the words “life” and “light” here signify (vs. 4-5, 7-9)? Why didn’t the world know him (v. 10)? “Believing” and “being born” (vs. 12-13)? “Becoming flesh” and “making a tent” among us (v. 14)? “Grace, truth and law” (vs. 14b, 16-17)? Why does v. 18 have a textual variant? Which one is the original?
3. Ok, this I skip for now, since it’s not a real preaching situation.
4. In my congregation I have “Christina the Christmas-freak” (very tired of all the holiday preparations), “Andrew the Agnostic” (doubts everything) and “Charles the charismatic” (very sure of his convictions and always climbing to the spiritual realm). According to my lectionary John 1: 1-18 is a designated text for Christmas Day Mass.
5. What unifies Christina, Andrew and Charles? Some lack (for Christina it’s a lack of perfection, for Andrew it’s a lack of knowledge, for Charles it’s a lack of spirituality).
6. The passage has something to offer to all of them.
7. I make the following outline: “A message for those Stressed, those Skeptical and those Soaring.” I begin with mundane observations, easy to follow, and then proceed to the text.
8. Beginning: I could start with Frank Sinatra: “Fly me to the moon...” Is this what Christmas is supposed to be? “Moon-jumping” (in Christina’s search for perfection, in Andrew’s search for knowledge, in Charles’ search for spirituality), of course anonymously in the sermon? For Christina this passage has the message of grace among her tired preparations (a message for those stressed). For Andrew this passage has a message of God’s revelation in his Son becoming a human being (a message for those skeptical). For Charles this passage has the message of not needing to climb up to heavenly realms, since God’s Son became human, he came down (a message for those soaring).
9. End: Some good illustration as well.

Of course - it goes without saying - your congregation might lead you to a totally different kind of answers found in the same text / pericope. This is what I find so exciting about preaching. Never twice the same!

Christian Alexander said:

How can I do a homiletical outline of John 1:1-18 in Logos?

Existing workflows are useful. Here's a screenshot on how you can find them in the Desktop App:

1) First, click on the docs. 2) Then, click on the "Public", where you can browse workflows made and shared by other users. 3) Type in the search box the word "sermon", if it's homiletical workflows you're looking for. Instead, you could type the word "homiletical". See what comes up. You can download the workflows made by fellow Logos users. (Many of them are based on already existing Homiletics Books in Logos).

In my opinion using a workflow is a much better way (although a more arduous one) than using existing outlines. This way you can tailor your outline according to your congregation. Of course, if you're busy, there's nothing wrong with existing homiletical outlines.

In my opinion, the homiletical process should be a bilateral process where the two poles are the text being preached and the ordinary, everyday situation of your congregation. Using a workflow that takes into account the other pole, that is: your congregation, guarantees the bilaterality. Using existing outlines makes the sermon easily too unilateral.

Kathleen Marie said:

Olli, I am not the OP, but thank you so much!... What you just took the time to write out was amazingly helpful. God bless you!

Thanks. Blessings to you, too!

Olli-Pekka Ylisuutari said:

In my opinion, the homiletical process should be a bilateral process where the two poles are the text being preached and the ordinary, everyday situation of your congregation. Using a workflow that takes into account the other pole, that is: your congregation, guarantees the bilaterality. Using existing outlines makes the sermon easily too unilateral.

Thank you for sharing your opinion and this advice. "Two poles" is a memorable and useful phrase to apply to writing and speaking! It creates a picture in my mind that will be harder to forget. One that I can paste on top of other outlines and ask myself if I need to tweak the one beneath.

"Main point illustrated"

I have seen books titled "Illustrations" but I have not read any of them yet. In my previous experience, an "illustration" is a visual picture. Every time I see the word "illustration" used in a way that is not a visual picture, I am reminded that I have been grossly negligent in my studies of illustrations.

Olli-Pekka Ylisuutari said:

If you use an inductive approach...

FYI, this epiphany isn't a brainstorm of my own, and it didn't occure on my mind, but I'm thankful and in debt to Ralph L. Lewis and Gregg Lewis in their book: Inductive Preaching: Helping People Listen | Logos Bible Software, on which I wrote a review to the product page, also.

Congratulations to both Kathleen Marie and to Christian.

And a big THANK YOU to the many contributors to this thread.

As someone who has been ordained for over 40 years, I would add that this thread and its material would have been VERY HELPFUL as I was starting out--fortunately a friend did recommend Logos to me shortly after its' birth!

I, too, have just copied/saved these hints and tips.

All the best to those of you attempting these studies.

Thanks to the experienced folks who have offered these helpful suggestions.

Now...over to you, Christian, our "OP" 

Hi MJ Smith,

Can you please suggest me best sermon outlines resource. Thank you.

VJ Sanagasetti said:

Can you please suggest me best sermon outlines resource

Baker Sermon Outlines Collection (50 vols.)