Preaching Step 2: Pick One Point

In my last blog, I explained the three approaches of communicating the Bible that Andy Stanley outlines in his book, Communicating for a Change. Instead of teaching the Bible to people or teaching people the Bible, Stanley is an advocate of teaching people how to live a life that reflects the values, principles, and truths of the Bible.

This objective will change how you develop your message because your goal is no longer transferring information but helping people reach a destination (Stanley compares a speaker and their audience with a truck driver taking passengers on a ride). The journey is valuable, but its main purpose to guide listeners to the final destination that a speaker has in mind. The fastest (and often easiest) way to get from one point to another is a straight line. So instead of crafting multiple points and driving people through a series of S-curves, Stanley urges speakers to pick one point and stick with it.

All of us have sat and listened to speakers who crammed too many messages into a single talk. It’s hard to follow in the moment and it’s nearly impossible to remember days later. But what’s worse is that messages like these rarely change our lives.

The messages that have stuck with me the longest are ones that were simple and action-oriented. The point was clear and the application was specific. If you don’t have a central point that you can repeat multiple times, you won’t have a message that will stick with your listeners. Your point doesn’t need to rhyme, but it should be short and memorable. Here are some examples that I've used in past sermons:

• A hardened heart is slow to listen.
• Giants aren’t always what they seem.
• What God has joined together should stay together.
• No excuse is a valid excuse for disobeying. 

It takes me a while to craft a finely-tuned point, but this short phrase is what ultimately defines my roadmap. I typically don’t establish my point until I’m at least halfway through my preparation. This means that I already have several pages of scripted content and ideas that I’m sifting through. My point helps me determine what to keep and what to delete. It can be frustrating to cut good content that I’ve already spent hours developing, but in the end, I believe this makes my message stronger.

So how do you actually create a point? Here are some questions to ask yourself as you sift through your text and weigh the possibilities (these suggestions are my own, but you should refer to chapter 12 in Stanley's book for other ideas): 

What is the one thing I want my listeners to understand? 

Because Scripture is living and active, most passages provide us with more than one insight, principle, or application (these are the three ways that Stanley defines a "point"). Analyze your options by asking what God wants your community to hear right now. How does the text speak into what your listeners are currently facing?  

What words are most important in the passage? 

It should go without saying that your point should emerge from the passage you're teaching from. As you study the text, look for specific words that are foundational, unique, or repeated. The meaning of the text often hinges on these words and they can also serve as excellent choices to incorporate into your point. 

How does my proposed point "sound"?

Written words don't always translate well to speech so you should say your point aloud and test it. Is your phrase easy to say? Are there too many syllables? Can a smaller word replace a longer one without changing the meaning? Can you envision yourself repeating your point 4-6 times during your message without looking at your notes? 

Once you pick your point, your next job is to create a roadmap. This will outline how your point will be introduced, supported, and applied. I’ll explain how to do this in my next blog. In the meantime, challenge yourself to develop one point—that’s ordered into one catchy phrase—for the next message that you’ll be communicating. 

Keith Reed is the Associate Director of MinistryLift. Sitting through sermons was one of his childhood pet peeves, but he now preaches regularly. He has become his own nightmare. 

*Andy Stanley and Lane Jones, Communicating for a Change (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 2006).