One of the questions I’ve been thinking about a lot lately is this: Should the structure of your sermon follow the structure of the biblical text?
Most preachers would immediately agree that the text should determine what we say. But should it also determine how we say it? If the author organized his material in a particular way, is that something we’re obligated to reflect in our sermons? Or are there times when faithfulness actually requires us to structure things differently?
A few weeks ago, I explored those questions in an article here on Preaching & Preachers. Recently, I had the opportunity to continue the conversation with Dr. Ken Casillas on Theologically Speaking, the podcast of BJU Seminary. The episode is titled Textual Conformity and Faithful Exposition.
The conversation we had moved the discussion beyond theory into the realities of sermon preparation. We talked about why textual structure matters, how it relates to faithful exposition, and why many of us instinctively default to sermon forms that may not actually fit the passage in front of us.
We also wrestled with some of the questions that inevitably arise. What do you do with passages whose structure isn’t obvious? Are there legitimate reasons to depart from the text’s organization? How does genre affect the discussion? And what practical difference does any of this make for the people sitting in our churches week after week?
I don’t think these are merely academic questions. The more I’ve thought about it, the more convinced I’ve become that paying attention to the author’s structure helps us hear the author’s message more clearly.
Of course, not everyone agrees on where the lines should be drawn, which is part of what made this interview enjoyable. Ken asked some really good questions and raised some important concerns.
So if you’re a pastor, a seminary student, or simply someone who cares about faithful exposition, I think you’ll find the conversation worthwhile.
My hope is that it encourages all of us to approach teaching the Bible with the same basic question: not merely, “What does this text say?” but “How is the author making his point, and what might that mean for the way I preach it?”
I’d be interested to hear your thoughts: How closely do you think a sermon outline should mirror the structure of the text being preached?