This guide is a working tool, not a textbook on preaching theory.
It walks you through the same thirteen steps a faithful expository
preacher takes every week — from the first quiet moment with
an open Bible to the final prayer before walking to the pulpit.
It is built on the proven framework of expository preaching as
taught by Haddon Robinson, Bryan Chappell, Erwin Lutzer, and
others in the same tradition. Every section is designed for
someone who has never preached before, but it remains useful long
after your first sermon is in the rearview mirror.
You can read the full guide below, or download it as a printable
workbook to fill in as you prepare.
Primary Download
Get the Full Printable Workbook
The complete 13-section guide with fill-in space for every step, a
worked example using Matthew 5:13–16, and two appendices on
advanced preaching topics.
The PDF opens on any device. The Word version is editable if you
want to fill it in digitally.
Companion Tool
Weekly Sermon Outline Template
A clean, single-use outline template for writing a sermon each
week. Verse-anchored structure with space for introduction,
thesis, three main points, and conclusion.
Before you read a single commentary or write a single word, pause
and ask the Holy Spirit to open the text to you. The Spirit who
inspired the Scriptures is the same Spirit who illumines them. No
amount of study technique can substitute for a heart submitted to
God in prayer.
Prayer is not the first step you check off and leave behind. It is
the air you breathe through every step that follows. Return to it
often.
“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide
you into all the truth; for He will not speak from Himself, but
whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you
what is to come.”
— John 16:13
Section II
Familiarization with the Text
Before you can preach a passage, you have to live in it. The goal
of this section is simple immersion. Don’t analyze yet
— just read, slowly, repeatedly, and prayerfully.
Step 1 — Read the passage multiple times
Read your passage out loud at least five times. Read it in two or
three different translations if you can. Notice what stands out,
what feels confusing, what stirs your affections.
Step 2 — Read the passage in the context of its book
If the book is short — like James, Galatians, or Ephesians
— read it through in one sitting, more than once. If the
book is long, read at least the surrounding chapters. Ask: where
does this passage fall in the book? Beginning, middle, end? What
role does it play in the overall argument or narrative?
Understanding the part it plays in the whole feeds directly into
your literary context work later.
Step 3 — Identify the thought unit
Find where the passage naturally begins and ends. Don’t let
chapter and verse divisions decide for you — they were added
centuries after the text was written.
Definition
Thought Unit
A complete unit of meaning in the biblical text — a single
argument, scene, or movement that hangs together as one. The
thought unit is the natural preaching portion, regardless of
where chapter or verse breaks fall.
Section III
Initial Observations
Before you reach for a commentary, before you dive into context or
word studies, stop and listen. The Holy Spirit who inspired this
text has more to teach you in the silence of your own attention
than you might expect. Many of your best sermon insights will come
from this page.
Write down any initial observations or thoughts the Holy Spirit
brings to your mind. There is no wrong answer here — this is
your first honest encounter with the text. Capture everything: a
command you noticed, a vivid word picture, an illustration that
came to mind, words or phrases that repeat, things that surprised
you, things that confused you, and every question you need
answered to truly understand what this passage is saying.
Categories to consider as you write — commands, word
pictures, illustrations, repeated words, surprises, confusions,
questions, connections to other Scripture, things that stirred
your affections.
Section IV
Context
A text without context is a pretext for whatever you want it to
mean. Before you can faithfully interpret a passage, you must
understand the world it came from — both its literary world
(what kind of writing it is) and its historical world (who wrote
it, to whom, and why).
Step 1 — Literary Context
What kind of writing is this passage? The genre shapes how you
read it.
Is it narrative? Poetry? Proverb? Letter? Apocalyptic? Law?
Wisdom? Prophecy?
Now consider the immediate context. Do the verses immediately
before or immediately after your passage help you interpret it?
Will you need to bring them in to make your text understandable to
your audience?
Step 2 — Historical Context
Answer the following three questions to locate the passage in its
original setting.
A. Where is this taking place?
B. Who was this written to?
C. Who is the author?
Section V
Discovering Authorial Intent
Here is the central question of all faithful interpretation:
What is the original author communicating to his original
audience?
Definition
Authorial Intent
The meaning the human author of Scripture intended to
communicate to his original audience, under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit. The preacher’s job is to recover that
meaning — not to invent a new one. Until you know what the
text meant then, you cannot know what it means now.
Identify and record
A. What are the key words in this passage?
List each key word alongside its meaning in the original language.
A simple study Bible, Logos, or Blue Letter Bible will get you
there.
B. What are the grammatical clues in this text?
Words like “but,” “and,”
“therefore,” and “so that” help you trace
the author’s argument. Circle them in your text and write
down what each one signals.
C. Are there any commands in the text?
Note every imperative. Commands are not suggestions — they
are part of the author’s direct intent for his readers.
Section VI
The Exegetical Idea
Now distill everything you’ve learned into one clear
sentence. This is the moment of synthesis — the main thrust
of the text, in the author’s own world, in his own day.
Definition
Exegetical Idea
The single, central truth the biblical author was communicating
to his original audience. It is stated in past-tense,
third-person language because it describes what the text meant
then. Every sermon should have one — and only one —
exegetical idea.
Try to summarize the main concept or theme of the passage in a
single sentence. If you can’t say it in one sentence, you
don’t yet understand it well enough.
Examples
Paul is communicating to his original audience that
_______________.
John wants his readers to know that _______________.
Section VII
The Homiletical Idea
Now build the bridge from the ancient world to your hearers. The
exegetical idea tells you what the text meant. The
homiletical idea tells you what it means — stated
in present-tense language for the people sitting in front of you.
Definition
Homiletical Idea
The exegetical idea translated into a timeless, present-tense
statement that speaks directly to today’s hearer. It
carries the same truth as the exegetical idea, but it is phrased
to land in the heart of a modern audience without losing the
author’s original meaning.
Translate your exegetical idea into a homiletical idea. John wants
us to know that _______________.
Section VIII
Application Focus
A sermon is not a lecture. The goal is not merely that your
hearers understand the passage, but that they are changed by it.
Before you build your outline, get clear on what this text is
asking your people to believe,
feel, and do.
Application is not something you tack on at the end. It should
saturate the whole sermon.
What does this passage call your hearers to BELIEVE?
What does this passage call your hearers to FEEL?
What does this passage call your hearers to DO?
Section IX
Outline the Message
Outlining is the most critical part of taking a mountain of
material and making it digestible for the people you are preaching
to. To arrange your material into clear, memorable chunks, use the
plural noun method.
Choose a plural noun that captures the shape of your sermon, then
build your points around it.
Examples
Tonight we will study three Truths from this
passage.
What we will see in this text are four
Revelations.
This passage gives us two Warnings and one
Promise.
Watch & learn: Erwin Lutzer demonstrates the plural noun
method in
this sermon
— a helpful model for seeing the technique at work.
Your outline is a skeleton. By itself, it cannot move or breathe
or persuade anyone of anything. Robinson puts it bluntly: an
outline on its own is the body
“Exhibit C, Victim of Starvation.” What gives
a sermon flesh is supporting material — the explanations,
stories, facts, and quotations that hang on the bones of your
points and bring them to life.
This section gives you six tools for developing each point. Think
of them as a palette. For every point you preach, ask which of
these six tools that point needs. Most points will need two or
three. Few points need all six.
01RESTATEMENT
Restatement is saying the same thing in different words. It is
not the same as repetition, which says the same thing in the
same words. A reader who gets lost can flip back a page; a
listener cannot. When you restate a point two or three different
ways, you give your hearers a second and third chance to catch
it.
Definition
Restatement vs. Repetition
Repetition says the same thing in the same words. Restatement
says the same thing in different words. Repetition reinforces;
restatement clarifies. Skilled preachers use both.
02DEFINITION & EXPLANATION
A definition sets the limits of a term — what it includes
and excludes. An explanation goes further, showing how an idea
relates to other ideas or what it implies in practice. Both
serve the same end: making sure your hearers know exactly what
you mean.
Most people in your pews live in a different intellectual world
from yours. You owe them a clear explanation of every term that
matters — especially theological terms. Better to define
too many words than too few.
“A mist in the pulpit can easily become a fog in the
pew.”
03FACTUAL INFORMATION
Facts are observations, examples, statistics, and other data
that can be verified apart from you. Facts earn respect for the
speaker because hearers can check them. But be careful: much
that parades as fact is opinion in disguise. Don’t say
“as a matter of fact” when you mean “in my
opinion.”
When you use statistics, keep them simple. Round numbers usually
serve better than precise ones. Whenever possible, translate raw
data into something your hearers can picture.
04QUOTATIONS
There are two reasons to quote someone else: impressiveness and
authority. Use a quotation when someone has said the thing
better than you ever could, or when their credibility on the
subject is greater than yours.
Use quotes sparingly — a sermon should not sound like a
term paper. Keep them brief; long quotations lose your audience.
And introduce them with a touch of freshness.
A special case: when the quotation you reach for is another
verse of Scripture, you are using a cross-reference — see
Appendix A.
05NARRATION
Every passage of Scripture has people in it. Pull aside any
doctrine and you will find personalities. Narration brings these
people and events to life. Use vivid verbs and concrete nouns.
Use dialogue — the Gospels are full of it.
Definition
Narration
Bringing the people and events of a biblical text to life
through vivid description, dialogue, and imagination —
always staying tied to what the text actually says.
06ILLUSTRATIONS
An illustration is a window that lets light into the room of
your point. Stories, analogies, and examples take an abstract
truth and make it visible, memorable, and felt.
But illustrations come with a non-negotiable rule. Robinson
states it as a transitive verb: an illustration must illustrate
something. There is no such thing as a good illustration in the
abstract — only a good illustration of a particular truth.
“Illustrations should illustrate.”
— Haddon Robinson
A special case: when your illustration is itself a person,
place, or event from the Bible, see
Appendix A
for how to use biblical illustrations well.
Section XI
The Introduction
Make it interesting. Arouse curiosity. The first sixty seconds of
your sermon will determine whether your hearers lean in or check
out.
A good introduction does two things: it earns attention, and it
answers the unspoken question on every listener’s mind
— why should I care about this?
Ideas for opening your sermon
A notable quotation
A stanza from a hymn
Historical background
A poem
A pertinent contemporary situation — news, recent events,
cultural moment
A personal experience or shared experience
The story of a historical person
Section XII
The Conclusion
A sermon does not end — it lands. The conclusion is where
you bring your hearers home with the truth firmly in their hands.
Your conclusion should do three things, in this order:
Summarize the lesson — briefly remind
your hearers of the points you walked through.
Provide the main application — call them
clearly to believe, feel, or do something specific.
Restate the big idea — leave them with
the homiletical idea ringing in their ears.
Section XIII
From Workbook to Pulpit
You have done the work. But this workbook is not what you will
preach from. A workbook is for preparation. The pulpit requires a
different kind of document — one built for your eyes
scanning quickly while you speak.
01 — Choose: Manuscript or Notes
For your first sermon, write a full manuscript — every word,
exactly as you plan to say it. Then condense it into preaching
notes: a one-page outline with key phrases, transitions, and the
first sentence of each illustration. Bring both to the pulpit.
02 — Format for the Eye
Your preaching notes should be designed for fast scanning, not for
reading. Use at least 14pt font, bold every transition, use
generous white space, color-code Scripture references, and number
every page.
03 — Time It Aloud
Reading silently is two to three times faster than preaching
aloud. The only way to know how long your sermon actually is, is
to preach it out loud with a timer running. Do this at least twice
before Sunday. If it runs long, cut content — do not preach
faster.
04 — Pray Over the Sermon
This guide opened with prayer for illumination as you approached
the text. It closes with prayer for power as you approach the
pulpit. The same Spirit who opened the Word to you in the study
must open the hearts of your hearers in the room.
“And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive
words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men,
but on the power of God.”
— 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
Appendix A
Cross-References & Biblical Illustrations
Two of the tools introduced in Section X — Quotations and
Illustrations — take a special form when the source you
reach for is the Bible itself. A quotation from another verse of
Scripture is called a cross-reference. An illustration drawn from
a biblical person, place, or event is called a biblical
illustration.
Part 1 — Using Cross-References
Definition
Cross-Reference
A second passage of Scripture brought into a sermon to support,
clarify, or deepen the point being made from the primary text.
The Bible interprets the Bible — and a well-chosen
cross-reference shows your hearers that the truth you are
preaching is not isolated to one verse but woven throughout the
whole canon.
A cross-reference functions like a quotation, but with greater
authority — because the voice you are quoting is
God’s. The verse you reference must mean what you are
claiming it means in its own context, or you are weaponizing
Scripture against itself.
Three rules for cross-references
Confirm the verse means in its own context what you are claiming
it means in your sermon.
Choose verses that genuinely deepen the point — not verses
that just contain similar-sounding words.
Use cross-references sparingly. Three well-chosen references
will preach better than ten thrown at the wall.
Part 2 — Using Biblical Illustrations
Definition
Biblical Illustration
Using a person, place, or event from the Bible to function as an
illustration for the point being made from your primary text.
Biblical illustrations carry the weight of inspired Scripture,
but they require the preacher to bring the audience along.
Biblical illustrations can be the most powerful tool in your kit,
because they show the same truth playing out in real human lives
recorded by the Holy Spirit. But there is a catch. Robinson warns
that biblical illustrations often fail because they illustrate the
unknown with the unknown — most modern listeners do not know
the Bible well enough to recognize the story without help.
The cure is to bring your audience with you. Briefly set the scene
before you make the connection to your point.
Three rules for biblical illustrations
Briefly set the scene before making the application. Assume your
hearers do not know the story.
Make sure the illustration genuinely illustrates your point
— don’t force a connection that isn’t there.
Use the story’s own emotional weight. Biblical narratives
are dramatic for a reason.
Appendix B
Recommended Tools & Resources
Every tool listed here is one a working preacher would reach for
— and most of them are free. Start with the free tools. Add
paid tools only when you outgrow what the free ones can do.
01 — Reading & Comparing Translations
Bible Gateway
— Free. Displays two or three translations in parallel
columns.
YouVersion
— Free. Best mobile reading experience.
STEP Bible
— Free. Translation comparison plus original-language
tools.