Friday, August 1, 2008

The Penny Drops late on a Friday night...

On Weekends when I'm preaching I don't allow myself to go to sleep on Friday night until I have an outline for the sermon. Some weeks this works OK... (Last week I had an outline and had written and introduction). Some weeks I really struggle to find a sermon in a text.
This coming Sunday I'm preaching on the whole of Mark 6. Through my devotional time in the text, and most of my study of it today, I could see how I could preach 3, 4 or even 6 sermons on Mark 6. I couldn't really see how I could preach one coherent message.
There are stacks of Old Testament allusions in Mark 6. (Including, I think, Exodus 12, 16, 18, 33, 34, Numbers 12, 1 Sam 16, 1 Kings 19, Esther 1, 5, 7, Job 9, Psalm 77)
So, I've gone with a uniting theme of Exodus.
My exegetical outline is

1-13 A prophet like Moses

1-6 Opposed by his own: House

7-13 An urgency like the Exodus

14-29 An enemy like Pharoah & the King of Babylon.

30-44 A Man who is the Lord

30-44 A provider like the Lord

45-52An encounter with the Lord

53-56 A land like Canaan.


My homiletic outline is:

1) The urgency of Jesus’ message (1-13)

2) The powerlessness of Jesus’ enemies (14-29)

3) The sufficiency of Jesus’ provision (30-56)

a. Food

b. Himself

c. Rest

This sermon will dv complete the first block of 6. having never preached for 6 consecutive Sudnays before, I am glad that the sermon finished with rest, and that we are taking some holiday straight afterwards. And so to bed...