. TEXT (continued)
D. Rules for the Selection of a Text. Notebook to list texts. 1. The text should not be obscured 2. Choose cautiously odd texts. 3. Do not avoid text because it is familiar. 4. Do NOT habitually avoid any particular portion of Scripture. 5. Use well-known texts. E. Study the Text Minutely under a microscope. 1. Immediate context. 2. Larger connection. 3. Honestly. 4. In connection with the original language. 5. In connection with the manners and customs in Biblical history. [Manner and Customs of the Bible.] Wright or White: Strange Scriptures that Perplex the Western Mind. Example: Suffer me first to bury my father. 6. Look up cross-references to the text. R.A. Torrey: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge. (The body of the sermon). a. Suggesting new and different aspects of the text. b. Furnishing proofs. Drive home the truth. c. Furnishing illustration via cross-references. [The best illustration is a Biblical one.] d. Furnishing applications. 7. In light of its typical significance. The Bible is full of types. Wilson: Dictionary of Bible types. Examples: Tree and Flood. 8. Dispensational truth. [When was this given?] Examples: Innocence and Church age. F. Three Basics Errors in the Interpreting of a Text. 1. Misunderstanding phraseology. You read the text wrong. 2. Disregarding the connection of a text with another. 3. Improper spiritualizing. . THE THEME. Preach on something. What did he preach on tonight? ... We should be able to answer this. Theme is usually expressed in the title. Definition = The subject upon which the preacher has chosen to preach drawn from a passage of Scripture and modified by the purpose he has in mind of view. Theme = Subject. The Source: The theme must be derived from the passage of Scripture which he has chosen for his text. [Have something to say.] [Leave people thinking about something.] [Ought to be Biblical in nature.] ["How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3)] [How shall we escape?] [How is salvation great?] [ Results.] [ Rewards.] [ Reasonings.] [ Reckoning.] [ Source.] [ Effects.] [When is it great?] [ When you get it.] [ When you die.] [ In eternity.] [Neglecting salvation.] The success or failure of a book is conditioned on its title. Title--Interesting, honest, attention getter, effective, primarily for advertising. Spend time on your titles. Be resourceful in the making up on sermon titles. Example: What Must I Do to be Saved? A. Sources for Themes. 1. Bible. 2. Supplemental material. B. Advantages for Having a Theme. 1. Ensure arrangement in the sermon. 2. Promotes unity. 3. Gives compactness.