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Will Young

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2 Timothy 4:1-8

Expository Sermon Preparation | 2 Timothy 4:1–8

1. Prepare Yourself and Plan Ahead

The preliminary planning for your sermon preparation may include prayer, selection of a passage, and consideration of the subject or theme around which to orient the sermon. To begin this workflow, you had to enter a Bible reference, so you likely have some idea of a general part of the Bible from which you wish to preach. These next few steps give you an opportunity to reflect on the passage you entered and confirm whether it is the right one for this sermon.

1.1 Begin with Prayer

Pray, asking God to open this text to you and help you to open it for others. The goal of your preaching is to bring about spiritual transformation in your hearers by proclaiming the truths of Scripture. Pray that your preaching would help reach people with the truth of the gospel and help them to grow in the knowledge of God. Your prayer serves to acknowledge your dependence on God for the effectiveness of the message and express your commitment to expounding God’s truth as communicated through the Scriptures.

Write out any specific concerns weighing on your heart as you consider the sermon to be prepared.

Our Father which art in Heaven, thank you for all your mighty blessings, thank you for your grace and mercy and your loving kindness. I come to you Lord as humble as I know how, asking for your guidance and direction in the preparation and planning of my Sermon. Lord help me to learn this new step by step process of Expository Sermon Preparation. Please open up my understanding of the text of scripture, so that I may preach the Word of God that will be effective and communicate biblical truth. I pray that the Gospel message will reach and change the lives of men and women, that they may grow in knowledge and understanding of who God is. Lord my faith my trust, and dependence is in you, help me to do your will, and I will be sure to give you all the praise, all the honor , and all the glory, in Jesus name. Amen

1.2 Reflect on Your Passage Selection

While you have already entered a passage you intend to preach from, you should give careful consideration to your choice of text. Also, you may have the general passage identified, but you should still reflect on how much of the passage to cover in this particular sermon.

Explain the reasoning behind your choice of sermon text.

My reasoning for selecting my sermon text is, the text offer instructions on the how to finish the Christian race through trails and tribulations. The Apostle Paul wrote this epistle to his son Timothy in the ministry, give him final instructions on how to conduct himself as fulfill his calling. This text is very important to the body of Christ to let fellow members know that there is a Crown of Righteousness awaiting all who love the Lord and His appearing. Paul's main directive to Timothy is, to Preach the word, be ready in season , out of season, reprimand, express sharp disapproval or criticize, and strongly encourage or urge. The words of this text are encouraging words that offer hope to the Christian to continue their walk with God and keep their faith.

How many verses from your chosen passage do you expect to cover in a single sermon? List some pros and cons to covering a longer or shorter passage in this context.

When I think about the numbers of verses to cover from my chosen passage, I hope to cover all 8 verses. However, frankly I am not sure that will happen in a 30 minute sermon time frame. I believe that a shorter strong effective sermon is better than a long sermon with too much information is hard for the listeners to follow. So I prefer a short and sweet message, that cover two or three points in the text, and the close the sermon. My hope is to keep my audience engaged in the passages of Scripture and no falling a sleep. Finally, If the passages of scripture verses to cover are a little much for one sermon, It may be a good idea to have a two week series on that subject.

What passages have you preached on recently? Are there any gaps in your preaching coverage? Consider how to fill those gaps in future messages.

I have preach on 2 Timothy 4:1-8 ; Matthew 14:1-6 ; Romans 12:1-8 ; 1 Corinthian 13:1-10.

I believe there were some gaps in my preaching coverage. Now that I'm in this course of study, I know this method of Preparation and Planning for Sermons will help me go through the steps needed to bring a Expository Sermon. My system of preparing a sermon was not even close to what I'm learning in this course. Moving forward all the gaps will be filled by covering all the steps in the Expository Sermon Preparation system.

1.3 Read Your Passage Several Times

Read the passage selected for your sermon several times in your preferred Bible. As you read, use the Highlighting Tool to mark important words, key ideas, and noteworthy people, places, or events. Highlighting can help you note key aspects of the passage and reinforce your familiarity.

2 Timothy 4:1–5 (ESV) — 1 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. … More »

What aspects of this passage jump out at you on this initial reading? What seems to be the main idea of the passage? Write down any thoughts about the text that came to mind as you read.

One thing that jumps out at me in the text is Paul's charge and exhortation to Timothy his son in the ministry. This charge was before God and Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead. I believe the main idea is: Peach the word of God the Gospel Message of Salvation. No matter how you fill in season or out of season preach. My thoughts are that Paul knew what Timothy was going to face as he move forward in his ministry. Therefore he was instructed to reprove, rebuke, and exhort with patience and teaching. Timothy do everything possible to finish the work of his calling.

1.4 Identify Possible Themes

Now that you have selected a text for your sermon and given that text an initial reading, you should think about a specific theme from the text that would be appropriate for the occasion. Make sure the theme is one you are familiar with and one that helps you define the goal or aim of your message.

Thematic Outlines: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Identify one or two potential themes from the passage and record them here.

From the list of Themes or from the Thematic Outlines I selected a couple of themes that I believe fit my passage of Scripture.

1) Responsibilities of Preachers.

2) Faith as a body of beliefs.

1.5 Establish the Sermon’s Main Idea

A sermon should have one central idea or theme that brings unity to the message. Establishing a tentative theme or main idea can help you focus the time you devote to the study of your passage. Your in-depth study of the passage may lead you to reconsider your theme or a new and better theme might reveal itself through your engagement with the text, but having some idea of your goal will help you focus your thoughts.

What is the primary way this passage communicates the good news of Jesus Christ? Can you formulate a one-sentence main point based on this truth?

This passage of scripture communicate that the faithful servant must carry out the work of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, hold to sound doctrine and have patience while teaching. And the reason for preaching now, is that one day mankind will not endure sound teaching, but shall turn to fables. But for the faithful servant, the Lord the righteous judge shall give a crown of righteousness at that day. And to all them who love His appearing. This marks completion and eternal salvation.

1.6 Use Clippings and Notes to Gather Material

During your passage study, you will likely come across insights, illustrations, quotes, or other material that you want to use later as you write and develop your sermon. You may want to use a Clippings document or the Notes tool to save and organize this material for your sermon.

Create a Clippings document for this sermon and save a clipping of a key verse from your sermon passage. Then, use the space below to write a note about what type of material (quotes, illustrations, statistics, etc.) you may want to watch out for while you are studying the passage.

My created Clippings document is an illustration of a large bullhorn with a massage of 2 Timothy 4:2 declaring loudly: "Preach the word be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, Rebuke, Exhort, with Complete Patience and Teaching."

The second Clipping document is an of a large Judges Gavel and written above the gavel is: "Henceforth there is laid up for me the Crown of Righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge , shall give me at that day. Written on the gavel is the text 2 Timothy 4:8, and below the gavel is written: " and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

2. Study Your Passage

Careful study of your passage is essential for preparing an expository sermon. Your study will initially involve looking up the basic facts about your passage, reading the text closely, identifying the genre of your passage, and determining how your passage fits in its larger context, such as being part of a specific pericope or falling within a particular major section of the book as a whole.

2.1 Identify the Basic Facts of Your Passage

Before digging into the specifics of your passage, you want to become familiar with the original situation of this biblical book. Only once you know the original situation of the book can you know how the passage applies to the situation of your listeners. The basic facts you need to start with include information on the author of passage, the date it was written, the original audience, and the purpose for which the passage was written.

List the basic facts about your passage: who wrote it? who was the original audience? when was it written? what is the message of the book or the purpose for which it was written?

2.2 Read Your Passage in the Original Languages

If you are able, you should read the passage selected for your sermon in the original Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek in which it was written. While it takes a lot of practice to read fluently and with few helps, take advantage of what tools you have to at least review the original text for your passage. Even reviewing an interlinear Bible for your passage can help you get a feel for the original text’s structure and organization.

Record any observations you have from reviewing the original language text of your passage so you can check them against the commentaries later.

2.3 Read Your Passage Closely and Carefully

Reading or reviewing your passage in the original languages won’t give you the level of familiarity with the text and its message that you need to preach on the passage. Read your passage again, preferably multiple times, until you feel that you have a good understanding of the author’s thoughts. You may want to compare several versions of the text as a way to see various possible nuances in the passage.

Compare Bible versions

Consider what you have read. Are there things that you don’t understand? List them here and make sure to keep them in mind as you continue to study the passage.

Note any key verses, terms, or ideas in the text that you could develop further in your sermon via an illustration or quote.

2.4 Examine Literary Types

Using the Literary Typing dataset, determine the relevant literary types associated with the passage. Like genre, literary types indicate what sort of text you are reading.

Literary Typing: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

What are the literary types identified in this passage? Do the indicated types fit your expectation of what sort of text you are reading? Why or why not?

Does the passage have any shifts in type or genre? What significance might those shifts have for the meaning of the passage?

2.5 Establish the Boundaries of the Passage

Using the Compare Pericopes tool, determine the outer boundaries of the passage you are studying. Sometimes different Bibles establish the boundaries of a passage differently. These passages are often called “pericopes” (a word that simply means a selection of text from a larger work).

Are the boundaries of the pericope that contains the passage generally agreed upon? If not, what appears to be the cause of the differences?

2.6 Evaluate Propositional Outlines

Use the Propositional Outlines visual filter to examine the passage’s organization. The structural and propositional relationships of a passage can reveal the author’s flow of thought.

Evaluate the structure of the text as presented in the Propositional Outline. Do you agree with the indicated structure? Why or why not?

Which propositions appear to be important to the larger context?

2.7 Identify Important Words

Each passage has certain key words or ideas that are central to the meaning of the passage. Identifying and examining these key terms and concepts is essential to understanding the passage properly. Taking different positions on the meaning of a passage’s key terms is often how significantly different interpretations arise. Use the Important Words dataset to examine the important original language words in your passage. The dataset identifies words that are commonly discussed by Bible commentators.

Important Words: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Identify words that appear to be contextually important and explain what is significant about those words.

3. Explore the Cultural and Historical Context

Explore your passage’s cultural and historical context to better determine what the passage might have meant to the biblical audience. Only then can you determine what it means for your audience.

3.1 Examine the Cultural Context

Use the Cultural Concepts dataset to explore cultural practices and traditions associated with a passage. Cultural background information is essential for understanding the passage’s possible meaning for the biblical audience.

Cultural Concepts: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Are there any instances of cultural concepts or practices in the passage? Does knowledge of any of these affect understanding of the passage?

3.2 Examine the Historical Context

Use the Timeline tool to explore what was going on in history during the relevant times for your chosen passage. You can filter the Timeline by time period, subject, and type of entry, or you can enter relevant keywords into the search bar to filter your results.

What are the main events in world history that are relevant to your passage? Do those events connect to the Bible and provide any helpful knowledge to inform your understanding of the passage?

3.3 Identify Things and Objects

Using the Biblical Things data, identify the types of things and specific objects mentioned in your passage.

Biblical Things: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Record your observations about the objects, and note other events and passages that involve these same things. How does that knowledge affect your understanding of this passage?

4. Identify Important Cross-References

Examine relationships between your passage and other passages in the Bible. Letting Scripture interpret Scripture has been a guiding principle of biblical interpretation for centuries. The idea is that the meaning of an obscure passage might be clarified by other passages where the meaning is more straightforward. Cross-references, parallel passages, and the use of the Old Testament in the New are all potential sources for texts to consider alongside your passage.

4.1 Identify Biblical Cross-References

Use the Important Passages dataset to identify cross-references related to your passage. Taking careful consideration of the relationship between your passage and a related passage can help you reach a better understanding of both passages.

Important Passages: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Review each key cross-reference and consider its relevance to your passage. Why is the cross-reference relevant for your passage?

Which cross-references are most important for your passage? What additional insight do the related passages provide for your understanding of your passage?

4.2 Identify Parallel Passages

Use Parallel Passages datasets to identify parallels to your passage. The Bible contains some passages that are directly parallel to others. A parallel passage is one that retells a similar story or repeats an account found in another passage. Some parallels are obviously versions of the same account, while others have enough differences that they could be accounts of different, but very similar, events.

Parallel Passages: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

What are the parallels to your passage?

What are the similarities and differences between your passage and its parallels?

5. Consult Commentaries

Locate commentaries that discuss your passage and review the discussion to better understand which aspects of your passage are most challenging or unclear. A commentary discussion may alert you that something you thought was clear in the text is actually a complicated and debated issue.

Commentaries: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

Record insights gained from reading the commentaries. Note especially the parts of your passage that inspired the most discussion in the commentaries.

Have the consulted commentaries modified your understanding of the passage? How can you incorporate what you’ve learned into your sermon theme?

6. Outline Your Passage

Making an exegetical outline of your passage to track the writer’s flow of thought can be a useful way to identify the essential information the biblical writer was trying to communicate. Before you create your own outline, it may be helpful to review and evaluate how others outline the passage you’re studying. After reviewing existing outlines, you should create your own exegetical outline of the passage.

6.1 Evaluate Existing Outlines

Locate existing outlines using the Bible Outline Browser interactive and consider how well they represent the passage.

The Bible Outline Browser interactive locates outlines for your passage. Evaluate some outlines to discern common units. List those units here.

6.2 Create an Exegetical Outline

Create an outline of the passage using the Notes tool or your preferred text editor. Outlining the passage helps you see its structure and how the author develops main ideas.

Create the top level of your exegetical outline in the space below. Click the icon to the right of the text box to open the full Notes tool to continue your outline there with additional levels. (Or use your preferred text editor and complete the outline there.)

7. Evaluate the Results of Your Passage Study

Reflect on your study of the sermon passage to determine the essential message of the text and consider how that message relates to your theme. Your passage’s main point may not be identical to your sermon theme, but in light of what you’ve learned about your passage, you may decide to modify your theme before you proceed with organizing and then writing your sermon.

7.1 Determine the Passage's Main Point

Use your exegetical outline and the knowledge you've gained from studying your passage to determine the passage’s main point.

What was the reason for this text? What feature of the human condition made it necessary for the Holy Spirit include it in Scripture?

What problem or concern did the text address in its context? What solution did the passage offer to its primary problem or concern?

7.2 Review the Sermon's Main Preaching Point

Given your knowledge of your passage and of your audience, review the main preaching point or theme that you selected earlier. Consider how that theme relates to what you've identified as the main message of your passage.

What do we share in common with the ancient audience? What difference should the passage make in the lives of your audience?

How might this passage point us to Christ?

Can you formulate a one-sentence main point in light of your responses to the two previous questions?

8. Write and Develop Your Sermon

Keeping in mind what you’ve learned from the study of your sermon passage, it is time to find illustrations and other supporting material to help you develop your message. Then, you will make a sermon outline, distinct from your exegetical outline, that maps out where you plan to go in this sermon. Finally, you will write a draft of your message to more fully develop what you intend to say.

8.1 Organize Your Sermon Material

Review and organize any insights, illustrations, quotes, or other supporting material for your sermon that you gathered during your passage study. Now you should arrange that material in preparation for outlining and writing your sermon.

8.2 Create a Sermon Outline

A sermon outline (also called a homiletical outline) is a way to organize thoughts about how to preach a passage. The structure of the sermon outline need not be bound to the structure of the passage's exegetical outline. Instead, it should be focused on communicating the main preaching point in a way that grabs and holds listeners’ attention.

Use the space below to begin your sermon outline. Click the icon to the right of the text box to open the Notes tool and continue your outline there.

8.3 Create a Sermon Document

Use the Sermon Editor to create a Sermon document for writing your sermon. If you used the Sermon Editor to prepare your sermon outline, then you should use that same Sermon document. If you created your outline in Notes, then you should copy and paste your outline into your Sermon document.

Is there a question that this passage answers or a tension this passage resolves? How can you structure your sermon so that it maintains tension on your way to providing a resolution?

8.4 Add Illustrations to Your Sermon Document

Take the material you gathered during your study of the sermon passage and select illustrations to insert into your Sermon document. Use the Passage Guide’s Illustrations section to locate additional illustrations relevant to your passage.

Illustrations: 2 Timothy 4:1–8

8.5 Add Application Points to your Sermon Document

Review your sermon outline and locate areas to include calls to application.

So what? How does the truth of your passage apply to your listeners? What should be your listeners’ response? Is there anything they should do or believe in light of the passage?

8.6 Write Your Sermon Body Text

Now you need to write out your sermon. The main advantage to writing out your message in advance is that you will have put thought into not only what you want to say but how you want to say it. You may begin writing the body of the sermon; others begin with their introduction or conclusion.

8.7 Write Your Introduction, Conclusion, and Transitions

Your sermon needs an introduction, body, conclusion, and transition sentences that help you move from one idea to the next.

9. Prepare to Preach

The final stages of preparation for preaching vary greatly according to your individual preferences. You should pray that God uses your message to reach your listeners with the truth of the gospel. You may take your message and practice your delivery or distill it to an outline or any other of a number of common methods for presenting a sermon.