Structure of the Sermon
Text: (No specific text; homiletics — principles from I Cor. 14:40)
Series: Restoration Sermons
Date:
Speaker: Ed Rangel
Location: Waupaca Church of Christ
Bible Version: NASB 1995
Sermon Type: Topical
Learning Objectives
By the close of this lesson the hearer should be able to:
- Explain the principle of unity and show how it applies to sermon structure.
- Describe the purpose of the introduction and explain the two things it must accomplish.
- Explain why a sermon must not begin with its climax — what happens structurally if it does.
- State the logical principles governing the discussion section: why the weakest points come first, why overlapping must be avoided.
- Explain why the conclusion is more important than the beginning, and state at least four things the conclusion must not do.
Thesis
Effectiveness depends upon proper arrangement. The best material in the world, poorly arranged, will not accomplish what properly arranged material of lesser strength will. Structure is not decoration — it is the difference between a sermon that arrives and a sermon that dissipates. The principle of unity governs all three structural components: the introduction, the discussion, and the conclusion must function as a single movement toward a single destination.
Burden
"Let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner" (I Cor. 14:40). Paul's instruction to the Corinthians about the conduct of assembled worship establishes the principle that governs the whole. Orderliness is not bureaucratic — it is the condition for effectiveness. The hearer who is confused about where the sermon is going cannot arrive where the sermon intends to take them. The structure exists for the hearer, not for the preacher.
Introduction
One should know how to use to best advantage the material gathered for the sermon. Effectiveness depends upon proper arrangement. The question this outline answers is not "what goes in the sermon?" — that question belongs to Material for the Sermon (Outline 147) — but "how is the material arranged to produce the intended effect?"
The underlying principle is universal. Unity in color produces harmony in painting — the colors are related to each other, each one supporting the whole rather than competing with it. Unity in a poem — the images, rhythms, and themes work together toward the poem's emotional destination. Unity in a sermon: every section, every point, every illustration, every transition moves toward the single destination the sermon has defined. The sermon that has multiple unrelated purposes has no purposes — it has topics. The sermon with a single defined purpose, and every part arranged in service of it, has structure.
I. Arrangement of Material
The arrangement of material is itself a major determinant of the sermon's impact.
The importance of arrangement. The same facts, arranged differently, produce different effects. The detective who begins with the name of the murderer has narrated the same facts as the detective who builds to the revelation — but only one of them holds attention. The preacher who understands arrangement is thinking about the sermon as an experience the hearer will pass through, not merely as information the hearer will receive.
The universal principle of unity. The principle that unifies painting, poetry, and sermon structure is the same: every element serves the whole; no element works against the whole; the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The sermon with seven disconnected points has seven things; the sermon with seven points that build on each other toward a single conclusion has one thing — and that one thing is the sermon.
Arrangement should be logical. Thoughts should be co-ordinated — related to each other in a way that the hearer can follow. Logic is not an academic standard imposed from outside; it is the way the common mind works. The hearer whose mind thinks logically (which is most hearers, most of the time) is helped to follow a sermon whose arguments are logically arranged. The hearer whose mind thinks logically cannot follow a sermon whose arguments are arranged emotionally, by association, or by the preacher's enthusiasm for each point. Logic in arrangement is not a restraint on the preacher; it is a courtesy to the hearer.
II. The Introduction
The introduction is one of the most important parts of the sermon — and one of the most neglected.
Few things are as important as the opening. The first thirty seconds determine whether the hearer will follow the sermon or simply attend it. The hearer who is engaged in the opening will track the development of the argument through the discussion. The hearer who is not engaged in the opening will occupy the same room as the sermon without participating in it.
The opening sentence should grip attention. The first sentence should be strong enough that the hearer thinks: "This man has something to say." The sentence does not announce the sermon's conclusion — that belongs to the introduction's forward momentum — but it establishes that the preacher has a specific, determined destination and is not merely clearing the throat before the content begins.
The opening should open the minds of the hearer as well as the sermon. The introduction does not merely begin the sermon; it opens the hearer's capacity to receive it. The hearer who arrives with closed assumptions — "I know what this sermon is going to say" — needs the introduction to unseal those assumptions before the content can land. The well-crafted introduction makes the hearer curious, attentive, and willing to follow wherever the argument leads.
The opening should be spoken deliberately. Rushing the introduction signals that the preacher is in a hurry to arrive somewhere other than where they are. The deliberate opening signals: this is worth your full attention, and I am going to give it my full attention.
Do not begin with the climax. If the sermon's highest point is stated in the first sentence, the sermon has no direction — it has already arrived. Every subsequent point will be lower than the opening, which means the sermon moves downward throughout. The hearer who heard the best at the start and progressively less good after that has experienced a structure that contradicts the gospel's own shape: the invitation presses hardest at the end, not the beginning.
III. The Discussion
The discussion is the main body of the sermon — the place where the revealed truth is developed.
The text may suggest the arrangement. An expository sermon that moves through a passage in order receives its structure from the passage itself. The preacher who follows the text's own movement does not need to impose a structure — they reveal the structure that is already present. This is one of expository preaching's primary gifts: the text governs the arrangement, which means the arrangement carries the authority of the text.
Logical order is required. Begin with the weakest points and advance to the strongest. This structure does two things: it ensures that the strongest argument lands last, which is where it will have the most effect; and it allows the earlier, simpler arguments to prepare the hearer's mind for the more complex or demanding arguments that follow. The sermon that leads with its strongest argument and then moves to weaker ones has spent its force too early.
Do not overlap the points. When two points cover the same ground, the hearer notices — and what they notice is repetition, not reinforcement. The overlap signals to the hearer that the structure is not as tight as it should be, and it depletes the attention that was available for the content that did not overlap. The image that makes this concrete: no one looks long at a standing train, but will keep an eye on the moving one. The sermon that moves does not give the hearer an opportunity to lose interest; the sermon that stays in one place gives them every opportunity.
Movement from one step to a higher one. The discussion is a staircase, not a floor. Each point elevates the hearer's understanding of the subject and their sense of the argument's destination. When the hearer reaches the conclusion, they should feel that they have arrived somewhere they could not have arrived without having climbed the steps that preceded it.
IV. The Conclusion
The conclusion is more important than the beginning. This is the reversal of most speakers' intuitions, but it is structurally correct: the beginning opens; the conclusion arrives. Everything that was opened must now be closed; everything that was built must now be occupied; the hearer who was invited in the introduction to follow must now be told where they have arrived and what to do next.
Draw the conclusion logically. The conclusion is not a separate speech appended to the sermon — it is the logical outcome of everything that preceded it. If the discussion has done its work, the conclusion should feel inevitable: the only place the argument could have gone.
Reach the climax. The conclusion must not arrive at a lower point than the highest point of the discussion. It must arrive at the highest point of the entire sermon — the most pressing appeal, the clearest statement of what the hearer is to do, the most direct engagement with the hearer's will.
Do not quote poetry. Poetry is too impersonal — it transfers the hearer's attention from the preacher to the poet and from the specific claim being made to the general evocation of the poem. More fundamentally, a quotation turns the audience over to someone else at precisely the moment when the preacher should be pressing the case with their own full authority and directness.
Negative statements belong to other parts of the sermon. The conclusion is not the place for the correction of doctrine, the refutation of objections, or the balancing of qualifications. Those belong in the discussion. The conclusion is for arrival, not for debate.
Pretended pathos is out of place. The emotion of the conclusion must be genuine — earned by the truth that has been developed throughout the sermon, not manufactured for effect. The hearer who perceives manufactured emotion does not respond to it; they observe it from a distance and are confirmed in their resistance. Be sincere. The sermon that has genuinely moved the preacher will genuinely move the hearer.
Humor does not belong in the conclusion. Humor releases tension. The conclusion requires that tension be maintained and pressed toward resolution in the hearer's response. The laugh that releases the tension at the moment of the appeal has worked against the sermon's own purpose.
Always finish strong. The last words the hearer hears are the words that carry the furthest. The preacher who exhausts their strongest point before the conclusion and then trails off has ended in the wrong place. Finish strong; then stop.
Application
The structure itself is the application. The preacher who works through this outline in the preparation of every sermon has a framework for evaluating whether the material is arranged to serve its purpose: Is there unity? Does the introduction open without arriving? Does the discussion move logically from lower to higher ground without overlapping? Does the conclusion arrive where everything has been pointing, with genuine rather than manufactured force?
For the congregation: the structure of a sermon is not merely a rhetorical question. It is a theological one. The sermon that is structured to bring the hearer to a moment of decision about the gospel — and then presses that moment with the full force of the argument that preceded it — is doing what the gospel itself does: it makes a claim, it builds a case, and it demands a response.
Conclusion
"Let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner" (I Cor. 14:40). The order of the sermon is not an aesthetic preference — it is the shape that makes effectiveness possible. The sermon that is properly introduced, logically developed, and powerfully concluded is the sermon that has given the truth of God the vehicle it deserves. The sermon that is shapeless, that overlaps, that begins at the climax or ends without arriving, has given the truth a vehicle that will carry it only so far.
Structure is the preacher's respect for the hearer. The hearer who has been well-structured through the gospel's argument has been served.
Invitation
The invitation is the sermon's conclusion — the point toward which every introduction has been opening and every discussion has been developing. It arrives last because it is the most important. It must be strong because it is where the hearer is asked to act on everything that has been presented.
Believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Repent. Confess his name. Be baptized for the remission of your sins (Acts 2:38). The structure of the gospel is the structure of the sermon: diagnosis, development, demand, and door. The door is open.
Word Study
| English Term | Greek Term | Basic Meaning | Usage in This Sermon | Sermon Significance | Key Texts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orderly / In order | kata taxin | According to arrangement — kata (according to) + taxis (arrangement, order). | Used in I Cor. 14:40: "let all things be done properly and in an orderly manner." | The principle governing corporate worship also governs the sermon that is delivered in that worship. Order is not formalism — it is the condition for the content to do its work. A disorderly sermon imposes its disorder on the hearer and prevents the truth from landing. | I Cor. 14:40 |
| Unity | henotes | Oneness — from heis (one). | Used as the governing structural principle: unity in color, poetry, and sermon. | The unity of the sermon is its single destination. The sermon with one purpose and every element serving that purpose has henotes; the sermon with multiple competing purposes has fragmented attention and dissipated force. | Eph. 4:3, 13 |
| Climax | (Greek klimax) | A ladder — from klino (to lean). A series of steps ascending toward a highest point. | Used as the target of the discussion section and the obligation of the conclusion: reach the climax. | The image reveals the shape of a properly structured sermon: a ladder, each rung placed above the last, ascending toward the highest point. The discussion is the climbing; the conclusion is the top. | (Conceptual — rhetorical term) |
| Pathos | (Greek pathos) | Suffering, experience, emotion — the capacity to feel and to produce feeling in the hearer. | Used in the caution about "pretended pathos" — manufactured emotion that has not been earned by the argument. | Genuine pathos is an appropriate and powerful element of the conclusion: the truth of what has been developed produces real emotion, which the preacher communicates directly. Pretended pathos is the performance of emotion that the argument did not produce, which the hearer detects and resists. | (Rhetorical concept — II Cor. 2:4 models genuine pathos) |
Scripture Interlock Table
| Theme | Boles' Outline | Supporting Scripture |
|---|---|---|
| "Let all things be done in order" — governing principle | Intro. | I Cor. 14:40 |
| "All nations" — sermon's single destination (conversion) | III (text suggests) | Matt. 28:19-20 |
| "Preach the word... reprove, rebuke, exhort" — structure and variety | IV (conclusion) | II Tim. 4:2 |
| "With many tears" — genuine pathos in Paul's preaching | IV.6 | Acts 20:19; II Cor. 2:4 |
| Baptism for remission — the structural destination of the invitation | Invit. | Acts 2:38 |
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Converted from H. Leo Boles, Outline 148. Primary text: none stated; homiletics (I Cor. 14:40 as governing principle). OCR corrections: "J." → "1."; "no·" → "no"; "lll." → "III." Final sermon of the four-sermon homiletics series (145-148). Doctrinal audit: the principle of logical order applied without imposing a rigid academic formula — the text's own structure may supply the arrangement (expository method); the conclusion's rules developed as protecting the moment of decision from dilution; humor, poetry, and pretended pathos all treated as distractions from the moment of genuine appeal; invitation retains full obedient response (Acts 2:38).
