* * 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
  First Tuesday of May, 2001
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 Usually Published on the first and third Tuesday of each month.
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Editor's note: The material in this Ezine is covered by copyright. 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: Alliteration How To

[3] Preacher's Study Website Updates

[4] On Subscribing to Our Website

[5] Contact Information

[6] Subscribe to this Ezine

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

Greetings! A special  welcome to new subscribers.

Sorry for the missed issue. Swamped again. Many of these articles are written late at night or very early in the morning. When duty calls even at these hours, the free stuff has to be set aside. :-(

In the last issue I brought up the subject of alliterating sermons. I'd like to continue that topic here, offering some "how to" for those of you who might benefit. If you missed the last issue, you may view it on the web at:

http://preacherstudy.com/ezine35.htm

I discussed pros and cons last time, so I'll dispense with them her and assume you already know the pitfalls.

If you benefit from this ezine, the best thing you can do in return is forward it to two or three friends. Thanks.

God bless.

--Dave

[2] *=*Featured Article

Alliteration - How To

In the last issue I discussed some of the pros and cons of alliterating sermons. If you did not read it, please do so now at:

http://preacherstudy.com/ezine35.htm

In this article I want to give you some pointers on how to incorporate alliteration into your messages. As is the case with all of these articles, my ways are not the end-all methods. They are simply what works for me. I'm sure that some of you can do it better.

An alliterated sermon is of course, a sermon with main divisions. A typical sermon of mine contains between two and seven main points. Three or four are most common. The ideas for these divisions need to be well developed from studying your text before any serious alliteration begins or you run the risk of distorting the meaning of Scripture. After studying my chosen text, I first write out what I want to express in each division in a sentence or phrase. No particular attempt is made at this point to coordinate these with one another. The aim is to state the points clearly and accurately from the text. Next, I try to reduce the wording of each division to a very short phrase or even a single word. During this "tightening" process I begin to watch for any corresponding regularities such as a common letter, syllable, or rhythm of phrase. Sometimes a similarity will be spotted and I'll stop to work on it right there. If not, I arrange the single words I've distilled (or the key words in the phrases) into a table.

To illustrate, let's work through an example. We'll use Philippians 4:4-9 in the New American Standard Version for our text. If you'll look at the passage you'll notice that the common theme running through the passage is "peace." Paul promises "the peace which surpasses all comprehension" in verse 7 from "the God of all peace" in verse 9. He is telling his readers what to do to gain this inner peace. Thus we have the makings of a "how to" sermon on peace. Begin by writing a sentence or phrase in your own words (or using the words of the text) that describes each thing he says to do. Doing this, we end up with something like:

1. Rejoice in the Lord always. (v. 4)
2. Substitute prayer for your anxiety (v. 6)
3. Ponder the positive things (v. 8)
4. Practice the things seen in Paul (v. 9)

Note that no attempt has been made yet to alliterate. Just write out your points in words that are clear and accurate to the text. We could stop right here and write the sermon and forget the alliteration if we chose.

Next, pick out the key words in each phrase. A good approach is to use the verbs. In this case we have: rejoice, substitute, ponder, and practice. Put these key words into the first column of your table:

 
Next, use a thesaurus to look up synonyms for each key word. Put these in the blank boxes in each row to the right of the key word. In order to save space, I have used only a few synonyms here. In an actual study I would put in as many as I could find.

 
Finally, look for and mark regularities like:

*Words that begin with the same letter (the most common form of alliteration).

*Words that rhyme (like "fly, buy, sigh").

*Words that have a common prefix or suffix (words like "rework, renew, reward, regard" or "suggestion, manifestation, rejection, election").

In my completed table, I note several words that begin with the same letters. The most obvious are the "r" words: rejoice, replace, reflect, and rehearse. Did you notice they all begin with a common prefix ("re") as well?

I also note four "e" words: exult, exchange, examine, and exercise. These also contain a common prefix ("ex".)

 
Looking back at the original phrases, incorporate the "r" words into the main divisions. You get the following alliterated points:

1. Rejoice Always in the Lord (v.4)
2. Replace Anxiety with Prayer (v. 6)
3. Reflect Regularly on the Positive (v. 8)
4. Rehearse What You Have Learned (v. 9)

Another possibility, using the "e" words, might be:

1. Exult in the Lord (v. 4)
2. Exchange Worry for Prayer (v. 6)
3. Examine the Things that are Good (v. 8)
4. Exercise What You Have Learned (v. 9)

Noting the two "p" words that turned up in the thesaurus search, I did some additional thesaurus work and came up with four single word alliterations:

1. Praise (v. 4)
2. Pray (v. 6)
3. Ponder (v. 8)
4. Practice (v. 9)

For me the key is the table. It reminds me to search out the synonyms for each word and puts them all right in front of me for easy comparison. I use the "tables" function in my word processor (MS Word) for the chart and the "highlight" function to mark the similarities. This could be done as easily using a piece of grid paper and colored highlighter pens.

For the thesaurus work I begin with the thesaurus function in my word processor. What it lacks in completeness is made up for in speed of use. Not finding sufficient information there, I turn either to a thesaurus called Arslexis (www.arslexis.com) on my Handspring Visor handheld computer or my trusty paper edition of Roget's Thesaurus on the shelf beside my monitor.

Used wisely, alliteration provides another helpful communication tool for your preaching arsenal.

Copyright 2001, Dave Redick, The Preacher's Study. All Rights Reserved. Reprint by permission only (which will probably be granted if you just ask.) Please do not cut articles out of this ezine and paste them anywhere else without permission. You may, however, forward this entire Ezine to friends freely.

[3] *=*Preacher's Study Website Updates

Three new messages were added to the Premium Section of our Website since the last issue. New messages are added weekly. These may be viewed only if you are a Premium Subscriber.

"Three Pivotal Truths About God's Grace" highlights indispensable truths about this wonderful doctrine. Based on Romans 3:21-31.

"Between the Devil and the Deep Red Sea" is a message describing Israel's crossing the Red Sea and Pharaoh's demise. Based on Genesis 13 and 14.

"Three Dollars Worth of God" tells the story of Michal, the first wife of King David. Encompasses 1 Samuel 14:49 through 2 Samuel 6:23.

[4] *=*On Subscribing to Our Website

This ezine, The Preacher's Study Ezine, is actually an extension of my Website, The Preacher's Study. The two entities work hand-in-hand to promote what is unashamedly my greatest passion: promoting accurate, interesting, relevant preaching of God's Word. If you enjoy these articles, please do visit the Website. You'll find some quality of material there. Yes, there is a modest subscription fee for access to part of it, namely the Premium area, but I believe that, as our current Subscribers testify again and again, you'll find good value. All of us purchase books and commentaries to enhance our understanding of the Bible and improve our preaching. Some of these simply become inert additions to already crowded bookshelves. A subscription to The Preacher's Study will not likely become shelfware. Come see for yourself at:

http://preacherstudy.com


[5] *=*Contact Information

The Preacher's Study Website & Ezine
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"Energize Your Preaching"
Owner: Dave Redick
Email: editor@preacherstudy.com
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[7] *=*Copyright Information

The material in this Ezine is copyrighted 2001 by The Preacher's Study. Reprint articles by permission only. Please do not cut and paste this material into any other documents. You may, however, forward the email version to friends and associates.