Taken from the 9Marks blog.
"Mark Dever often talks about the conclusion as being the point where the weight of the whole sermon falls down upon the congregation as it is pressed home in summary.
I think that's right. However, I find it incredibly hard to do. In a way it's a test of how coherent a message the sermon has been. If you are unable to summarise the significance of a particular sermon, then you will be unable to press it all home at once.
I think that's right. However, I find it incredibly hard to do. In a way it's a test of how coherent a message the sermon has been. If you are unable to summarise the significance of a particular sermon, then you will be unable to press it all home at once.
John Stott comes up with 5 different ways this can be done:
"The conclusion should not merely recapitulate your sermon—it should apply it. Obviously, you should be applying all along, but you should keep something for the end which will prevail upon your people to take action. “No summons, no sermon.” Preach through the head to the heart (i.e. the will). The goal of the sermon should be to “storm the citadel of the will and capture it for Jesus Christ. What do you want them to do?
"The conclusion should not merely recapitulate your sermon—it should apply it. Obviously, you should be applying all along, but you should keep something for the end which will prevail upon your people to take action. “No summons, no sermon.” Preach through the head to the heart (i.e. the will). The goal of the sermon should be to “storm the citadel of the will and capture it for Jesus Christ. What do you want them to do?
Employ a variety of methods to do this:
Argument—anticipate objections and refute them.
Admonition— warn of the consequences of disobedience.
Indirect Conviction—arouse moral indignation and then turn it on them (Nathan with David).
Pleading—apply the gentle pressure of God’s love, concern for their well-being, and the needs of others.
Vision—paint a picture of what is possible through obedience to God in this area." (HT: Adrian Warnock) Of the five, I have a massive preference for the fifth where possible (so long as we stretch "obedience to God" to include, "faith in God").
Argument—anticipate objections and refute them.
Admonition— warn of the consequences of disobedience.
Indirect Conviction—arouse moral indignation and then turn it on them (Nathan with David).
Pleading—apply the gentle pressure of God’s love, concern for their well-being, and the needs of others.
Vision—paint a picture of what is possible through obedience to God in this area." (HT: Adrian Warnock) Of the five, I have a massive preference for the fifth where possible (so long as we stretch "obedience to God" to include, "faith in God").
One useful way to do that is through a positive biography.
Find someone who has lived out the main point of the sermon well. So, for example, if the sermon had been on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Find someone who has lived out the main point of the sermon well. So, for example, if the sermon had been on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18.
16Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
You reach the conclusion that it is all about living today in the light of the future. A brief survey of the fruitfulness of the life of Anthony Ashley Cooper, 7th Earl of Shaftesbury and ask what made him so fruitful. Then quote from him,
"I do not think in the last forty years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by the thought of our Lord’s return." "
"I do not think in the last forty years I have lived one conscious hour that was not influenced by the thought of our Lord’s return." "
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