Video Transcript: Learning How to Organize the Message/sermon - Part One

Welcome back to this class on so you've been asked to speak, you've been  asked to give it a devotional, you've been asked to preach. How do you do that?  And we've looked at the various kinds of messages how you can get messages  from God, where you can get messages, how come through connection through  your heart, in your mind, through Bible studies through a variety of ways. Now,  we've talked about introduction, introducing your message in a meaningful way.  And how do you introduce it in such a way that will grab people's attention? Now we're going to turn to the subject of organizing your message. In other words,  how do you bring order to and I love this sign, if you are approaching the sign,  you say, I don't know where I'm going, or how I'm going to get there. I worked for a while with a man who was particularly bad at the organization of a message.  In fact, you never knew where you were going. There weren't signposts along  the way, if I can always refer to it in the larger class on signposts that can tell  you where you are, and where you're going, so that people can track with you in  the message. But this guy was particularly bad about that. And I happened to be out for lunch with a member of that church. And he began talking about his  pastor and how he would sometimes get lost people lost. They were so lost,  they would start tuning out. This guy had been a detective. And he said, I realize how we got to do that, they begin taking the elements on the table, and he uses  a salt shaker says, you know, if I say there's a clue here to what we're about,  and there's a clue here, when I'm a detective trying to solve a crime. There's a  clue here, there's a clue here, there's a clue here. So pretty soon I start seeing  what the center is. But most people didn't have that skill as the detective. So  they were lost in his messages a great deal. And so if people can't track with  you, if things are jumping around, if things are like this sign that they, you know,  they won't take all the loops with you. And so you've got to find a way to  organize a message in such a way that people can track with you that they  follow the signs along the way. Now, this is a quote by Yogi Berra. If you're not  an American, you probably don't know who he was. He was a famous baseball  player from years and years and years ago, he was a brilliant player. After that  he became a coach, but he was most known for saying crazy sayings that made no sense for once he said, if you find a fork, if you come to a fork in the road,  make sure you pick it up. What does that mean? Well, here's one of the sayings, if you don't know where you're going, you'll end up someplace else. And so, the  organization of the message is, for two primary reasons. One of the reasons is  so that you know where you're going, that you know where you're going to end  up that you're building a message to make a point. Now, the best part of  organization usually is a sermon that has one major key point to it that you really want to emphasize. And so the organization will hover around that point in some way, shape, or form, we're going to talk about various ways to organize. But  that's to help you as you formulate your message to make sure you're making  the point. But it's also for the people who are listening to you. So that they can 

say I understand, I understand that this is a turning point, I understand this is a  transition, I understand, okay, this is that point. And this is how they this other  point relates etc. That's what organization is about. Now, there are a variety of  ways to do organization. And my, my generation will function a great deal with  linear organization. In other words, you do an introduction, you got point one,  you got point two, you got point three. And they're all aiming toward a  conclusion, which is asking people to pray or to give or whatever. And that's a  linear organization. Now, my children tell me, my children who are I'm, I'm part of the boomer generation, they are the next generation after that. They tell me that  that's not the way people always think nowadays, that they tend to think more  scattered way. But this is a good way for you to be thinking of your organization  of your message, that you got a point. And all these points relate to it. Now.  Here's an example. What I'm talking about. Great passage, Romans 8:31-39 is  about the love of God. And so the major point here is that the goal is to help  people understand the love of God. And in the text. This isn't a exegetical  message. One of the points that's made is God's love is greater than sin. It's  greater than our past sin is greater than our present sin. God's love is greater  than circumstances. There are challenges to God's love. I'm convinced that  neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor demons nor things  present or things to come. But none of these things can undo God's love. And  then God's love is greater than Satan, than spiritual powers, and Satan's  strength. You see, there are these three points that are all, all related to the  subject of God's love. How can I make God's love come across to people? Well,  this passage is a great one for that. And if you organize it in a linear way, you're  following the passage, and hopefully opening the door for the Holy Spirit to  break open new understandings of what that is like and what that means. Now,  there are other ways of organization that are just as effective. Sometimes even  more, so depending on your culture. One is the flower organization. And notice  that the center of the flower center of the flower is the main point. In other  words, this is the point you want to make. And then around it are these petals.  And so each petal represents a style of thought. In other words, you're thinking  about that main point. But then you take off on kind of a tangent and you go  around the loop, but you always come back to the main point. Now in the African American tradition, this is a powerful way of organizing sermons. Some of the  most powerful preachers I've ever heard will use this as a, as a means of  organization. E. V. Hill from years ago, he's now with the Lord,.I remember a  sermon by him at a Promise Keepers event, where he just talked about the fact  that he was invited to go with Jesse Jackson, World trip. And everywhere he  went, he could get in because they said, he would just say, I'm with Jesse. And  he began to say, you know, we're with God, we're God's with us, we've got an  open door, it was a powerful, powerful message. Now, to give you an example of this, I'm going to play one of the best known of these in my country. And in my 

youth, it may not be quite as relevant as what you think it is, but a man named  Tony Campolo who, there's a picture of him. He was a professor at Eastern  Baptist seminary for many, many years. And he talks about, It's Friday, but  Sunday's a comin. And I'm just gonna play that for you. It's just about a six  minute clip, I think, a five minute clip, and just get this idea of the flower  organization that he's following. “About five people said, Are you going to tell  that famous story, I'd made my whole living on one story. They invited me here  just to tell one story. It's about my home church. You've been a very good  audience. But you're not like my home church. I belong to an African American  church in West Philadelphia. I didn't join it. There was a white church. But you  people all moved in on my neighborhood. You kept on moving in, and all the  white folk moved out. And we were the only white family left. My father wouldn't  leave the church. He had donated the offering plates. We weren't gonna leave  them to you. And it's fun to preach in my church has been fun here, but not like  my church. My church is about this size. But the deacons sit right up front. And  every time you say something good, the deacons yell, preach, preach brother,  preach. I would have done so much better if my deacons had been here today.  And the women in my church, when you say something good they do this. They  wave in the air, they go, Well, that's all just well, so that doesn't sound like much  you get 50, 60, 70 women go well, your hormones bubble. And the men in my  church, when you on, as my pastor says, when you've gotten down, they  actually stand up and they point at you and they yell, Keep goin' man. Keep  going, keep going, keep going. I don't get that from white people. White people  do not yell, keep going, they yell, stop, stop. Once a year, once a year in my  church we have this preach off. You don't even know what they are. That's when you get about seven or eight preachers in you preach back to back to see who's  best. You never say that you say it's for the glory of God. But we know what it's  about. And people it was my turn. And I got up. And I don't want to brag people. I don't want to brag. But I was good. I knew I was good because women are  going well and men were going, keep going and deacons were going, preach,  and I feed on that stuff. The more they did it, the better I got, the better I got, the  more they did it. I kept getting better and better and better people. I got so good. I wanted to take notes on me. And when I finished, the place exploded, there  was cheering and clapping. I sat down, my pastor hit my knees. You did all right  man. You did all right. I said, your next pastor, you're going to be able to top that  he said, son, sit back cause your man is going to do you in. Now people I don't  want to knock it. But I was so hot that day. I didn't figure anybody could do me  in. That sucker got up and for the next hour and a half,.he did me in with one  line, just one line over and over again. It's Friday but Sunday's coming. Doesn't  sound like much but you weren't there. He said it was Friday. Friday, Jesus was  dead on the cross. But that's because it was Friday, Sunday's comin'.  Somebody yelled keep going, keep going. That's all he needed. He took off. 

Friday, Friday people are saying as things have been so they shall be. But that's because it's only Friday. Sunday;s comin'. Friday, Friday the evil giants, the dark giants we've been talking about today, they rule the world. And they think they're in charge but people, I'm here to tell you it's only Friday, It's only Friday.  

Sunday's comin'. Now, I thought I'd get a little more out of you than that. I think  we got to dehunkitize this crowd here. I'll give you one more shot. A bunch of  folks meeting at the fairgrounds in Pretoria in the name of Jesus can not change a nation, can not turn history around. But I'm here to tell you, it's only Friday,  Friday, Friday. Sunday's comin'. People he had us going. When he finished that  sermon, I was totally exhausted. I still remember him ending by yelling, it's  Friday. And all 2000 of us in that church yelled back, Sunday's comin'. That's the good news. When we are people in mission, when we are people who are  inspired by the love of Jesus, when we are willing to take the realistic step for  economic development among the poor. When we are willing to be realistic in  this world, the world will change. And it's got good news. And the good news is  here for you to be clear. I want to hear it from you people. I want to hear it from  you. The good news is it's Friday.” Wow, that's an experience isn't it?  Unfortunate I couldn't find the video of that. So I just play the play the audio for  you. But you can imagine the power of that. And all he did was use this flower  kind of organization, his pastor, flower organization, the main point was of  course, it's Friday. But Sunday's coming. There's coming a day when Jesus is  arisen from the dead and there's a power that's at work. So don't despair. It's  Friday, but Sunday's a coming. Now. Next time we're going to continue with  other kinds of organization that you can use to bring your message to people in  such a way that they will track with you. And that will keep you on task and in  your message as well. So we'll see you next time.