HOMI500_Week 4 Discussion Post 11

The first of the four preachers covered in the chapter was Karl Barth. c Barth

relates best to “Bridging the text to sermon step.” c Forrest says this about Barth,

“The very form and structure of the sermon is itself a kind of theological claim, as

the preacher moves from direct encounter with the specifics of the text, saying no

more or less than the text says.[1] c According to Forrest Barth thought, “The

preacher need only uncover that point of contact within the listener’s self and

build a bridge to that innate point of contact”[2] c This could be a good definition to

“Bridging the text to sermon step.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer is the next preacher that Forrest discusses. Bonhoeffer relates

best to “Immediate Observations.” c Forrest shares a quote from Bonhoeffer where

he says, “The sermon derives from the incarnation of Jesus Christ and is

determined by the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It does not derive from some

universal truth or emotional experience. The word of the sermon is the incarnate

Christ.”[3] c The “Immediate Observation” fits well with Bonhoeffer and his reliance

on the text as the main part of the sermon.

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is the next of the preachers that Forrest discusses. Lloyd-

Jones relates best to “Structural Diagram.” Forrest speaks of Lloyd-Jones sense

of structure by using a quote saying, “Preaching is to be structured, to have

coherent theological content, and to set forth an argument.”[4] c Yet, Ironically

Lloyd-Jones own text on preaching is the opposite of 12 essential skills for great

preaching Forrest says, “This is one reason why Lloyd-Jones’s major text on

preaching, Preaching and Preachers, is not in any sense a technical manual.”[5]

Forrest ends this section with a look at the preaching legacy of John Stott. c Stott

relates best to “Naming the Text Idea.” c Forrest notes that Stott came up with his

own six steps they are: “he developed six steps: (1) choose your text, (2) meditate

on it, (3) isolate the dominant thought, (4) arrange your material to serve the

dominant thought, (5) add the introduction and conclusion, and (6) write down and

pray over your message.”[6] c Naming the Text Idea correlates to step 3 of Stott’s

steps to preaching.

[1] Benjamin K Forrest (2019). (p. 302). A Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two: