* * T H E  P R E A C H E R ' S   S T U D Y * *
    * * E Z I N E * *
  "Energize Your Preaching!"
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  http://preacherstudy.com
  Third Tuesday of January, 2001
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Published on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
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Editor's note: The material in this Ezine is copyrighted. Reprint by author's permission only. You may forward it in its entirety to friends and associates. Please do not cut the articles out and paste them into other documents or publications without permission.
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IN THIS ISSUE:

[1] Greetings from the Editor

[2] Featured Article: "What's Your Angle?" (Part 3 - Final)

[3] On Subscribing to Our Website

[4] Contact Information

[5] Subscribe to this Ezine

[6] Copyright Information
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[1] *=*Greetings from the Editor

Greetings and welcome!

I receive my share of email and one of the things I hear again and again from those who struggle with sermon preparation is this: “If I can just get a good idea and a couple of main points, I can do the rest without much difficulty. It’s that first part that is the hardest.”

As one who has spent hundreds of hours fretting about sermons, I surely agree.

The concept of “angle,” borrowed from the field of journalism, has helped resolve my own struggle with this hardest part of sermon preparation. I first became familiar with the concept by reading books about writing, not preaching. I hope it helps you.

God bless.

--Dave

[2] *=*Featured Article

WHAT'S YOUR ANGLE?" (Part 3 - Final)

By Dave Redick

[Continued from last issue]

The American Heritage Electronic Dictionary gives the following under one of its definitions of angle: “The position from which something is observed or judged: outlook, approach, frame of reference, point of view, slant, standpoint, vantage point, viewpoint.”

The angle of a sermon is any or all of these. Understanding it can help you write good sermons. This is the final installment in a three-part article called “What’s Your Angle?” If you haven’t read parts one and two, I suggest you do so now at:

http://preacherstudy.com/ezine29.htm

http://preacherstudy.com/ezine30.htm

In Part 2, I presented the first four of eight tried and true angles that come from the field of journalism. Each one is fairly easily adapted to sermon preparation. Here at the remaining four:

5. Questions and Answers.

Sermons that pose and answer questions are usually interesting. The so-called "six points of discussion," that is, "who, what, when, where, why, how" are helpful here. For instance:

"Why Does God Allow Human Suffering?"

"How Could God Ever Condemn a Good Man?" (Answer: "There is none righteous")

"What Will Christ's Return be Like?"

"Why Don't We Baptize Babies?"

"What Will Happen After You Die?"

This angle is easy to understand. Just be sure that your questions are posed in an interesting way so that you are not just dwelling on the obvious. You may work from a passage and ask yourself during your study, “What question or questions does this passage answer?” You may also pose the question first, then search out the answer or answers in the Scripture.

6. New and Improved.

If you are punching a computer right now and not reading this because someone with a computer printed it out for you, you're probably quite familiar with software upgrades. Last year's breakthrough program is this year's junkware (or so many hope we'll believe.) Though you might succeed in resisting the pull of the newest or latest, many don't, as is attested by the growing software industry. (Yes, I confess. I just loaded the New Windows Millennial Edition operating system on my computer.) Why not incorporate this angle into your sermonizing when it is appropriate? Here are some suggestions:

"A Fresh Look at the 23rd Psalm" (Psalm 23)

"A Better Way to Resist Personal Evil" (Romans 12:17-21)

"A Brand New Resolve for a Brand New Year"

"Your Brand Spanking New Life in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17)

“Improving Your Personal Testimony”

7. Chronology.

This angle employs measurable periods of time. For instance:

"30 Days to a New Prayer Life"

"60 Days to Freedom from Bad Habits"

The chronology angle also serves well in expository historical series messages or single messages based on single historical events. For instance:

"The Day Christ Died"

“The Day Christ Came Again”

“The Hour of Decision”

“A Time to Wake Up”

"Abraham's Last Day on Earth" (The death of Abraham in a series on his life.)

"A Most Remarkable Three Days" (Matthew 12:40; 1 Peter 3:18-20; Acts 2:27)

8. Play on Words

I can't describe the mechanics of this one. The only thing I know is that if I keep my eyes and ears open and listen to what is being said in the culture around me, I find parallels with popular words and phrases that illuminate spiritual truth by provoking the already heightened interest of contemporary people. Such angles convey to your listeners that you aren't just caught in a time warp of two or three thousand years ago. You also live and breathe in the present. They will expect more than a history lesson. Telling the Old, Old Story with an occasional, appropriate use of today's familiar jargon is helpful if you are careful not let it twist or cheapen the truth.

"Making Your Election Sure" (2 Peter 1:10 in light of our recent uncertainties in the Presidential elections in the US)

"A Smooth Transition" (Ephesians 4:22-24 and the transition from old to new in light of the time-shortened transition of power going on in the US at the time of this writing.)