Basic Preaching Class - Lesson #7 – Good Sermon Introductions and Conclusions
(Including Transitional Phrases/Sentences)
Introduction: Last week we spent time on sermon illustrations. Today we want to spend
time looking at those introductions and conclusions along with making smooth transitions
from the introduction into the body of the sermon, and a smooth transition out of the
body of the sermon into the conclusion.
Several lessons ago, we talked about the general outline itself. One of the ways
we broke it down to view it was: we were going to tell the congregation what we were
going to tell them (that’s the introduction), then we tell them (that’s the main body of the
sermon), then we tell them what we told them (that’s the conclusion).
Also in the conclusion, we really want to stress that there is something that God
wants them to do and we want to encourage them to do that right now. Remember that
the Scriptures tell us that “today” is the day of salvation.
I.T. Jones tells of several purposes for having an introduction to a sermon (or any
other public speech for that matter).
1. “To avoid abruptness for both preacher and people.”
2. “To gain the good will of the hearer.”
3. “To arouse the interest of the hearer.”
4. “To let the hearer know what the sermon is about”.
In point one, Mr. Jones shows us that maybe it isn’t always a good idea to just jump right
in with both feet. Would you rather ride in a car where the ride was abrupt and choppy, or
where it was smooth and relaxing? You want your hearers to enjoy the smoothness of the
sermon. Abruptness can cause them to lose interest and be confused. You have to lay a
good foundation before you build upon it (that is Biblical). The introduction is the
foundation you lay upon which you build a sermon.
In point two above, we have the introduction to build the good will of the hearer. Again,
we may have a lot of good things to say, but unless we have built some rapport with those
listening to us, we are only making a lot of noise. We need their good will. They came
because they wanted to be there, no law has forced them to attend. We build a
relationship with our listeners during the introduction to the sermon.
In point three above, we must effectively use our introduction to arouse and gain the
interest of the hearer. We have only about the first 30 seconds of our talk in which to gain
the hearer’s interest. If we have not gained their attention within that short time span, it
will be quite hard to gain it as we get into the body of the sermon. This is why we must
work so hard to have an introduction that can really reach the ears (and heart) of the
listener. We must interest the hearers right from the start or we will lose them.
And in point number four above, we use the introduction to inform the hearers of the
topic on which we will be speaking. This is why many good preachers use catchy titles to
arouse interest and catch attention. Like: “Parents Rule”(Biblical parenting skills), “How
to Be Rich” (spiritual richness), “You Can’t Keep A Good Man Down” (story of Jonah),
“It’s A Life And Death Matter” (sermon on our need to obey the Gospel),etc.
The Introduction is made up of several parts. There is a main body in the introduction.
There is a topic that you are trying to convey to your listeners in the introduction. You
have to tie the topic together with your title and the main body. You also use the
introduction to show how the Bible text and the sermon are going to be tied together. The
introduction can also show your hearers what’s in the sermon for them; what benefit they
will personally derive from your sermon. Again let me stress that if you don’t catch the
attention of your hearers in the first 30 seconds, you will have a hard time catching their
attention at all.
We can not stress enough the fact that the first few words out of your mouth when you
get up to speak sets the tone and the mood for the rest of the sermon.
The introduction doesn’t have to be long, but it must be long enough to get the job done.
When you have included your topic or title, caught the hearer’s attention, shown them
how this sermon will benefit them, and made a smooth transition into the main body of
your sermon, then and only then can you suppose that your introduction is complete.
After you have your introduction and main body of the sermon ready, you need to work
on the conclusion. I have known several times when a preacher did an excellent job of
having a good introduction and preached a wonderful body of the sermon, but it was all
lost in the weak and nearly non-existent conclusion. In the conclusion is where you
“close the sale”. If you are a salesman going door to door selling something (like vacuum
cleaners), you may have a great sales pitch, but until you get them to sign on the dotted
line and actually purchase your product, you have done little more than waste your time
and theirs. The same is true of a sermon that doesn’t have a forceful conclusion.
[although any preaching is better than no preaching (for God’s Word will not return unto
Him void), and planting some seed of the Word is better than planting NO seed] But
until you ask someone to be baptized and they respond, or until you ask directly for a
response to have a fallen brother restored and get a positive response, you have not made
the sale. On the other hand, all you can do is to offer the closing in the conclusion. You
can not force someone to respond. You can not force someone to make the mental
changes that they need to make to live the Christian life or to decide to become a
Christian. All you can do is put it out there for them, make the offer, and try to get them
to say YES.
When you have a good conclusion, the sermon will flow smoothly to the end, this
includes the transitional sentence between the end of the main body of the sermon and the
conclusion.
I.T. Jones says of the conclusion that it is to: “bring the sermon to an effective close”,
“apply the truth”, “lay the truth on the hearer’s conscience”, and “move to action”.
To have a good conclusion, you will have to make that smooth transition from the sermon
body into the conclusion. I.e.,“…You may be asking yourselves about now, “What must
I do to be saved?”…Part of a good Gospel sermon. Or, if you have been preaching on the
Prodigal son, your transitional sentence might be something like this: “…Maybe today
you see yourself as that wayward child that has been in the pigpen of sin. You, too, need
to know that you have a Father who wants to welcome you back with open arms. He
wants you to come home to your church family….”
Re-emphasize the truth that you just told them from the main body of the sermon (tell
them what you told them) Drive the truth home deep into their hearts. Encourage them to
accept the truth and to act upon it in their lives, no matter what.
Finally, in your conclusion, you need to work at having a really strong last sentence to
your sermon. At the close of a strong sermon on Joshua where it says, “but for me and
my house, we will serve the Lord”, you might say as the end of your conclusion: “…The
only way that you can have a Christian, godly home today is if you can, if you will say
with Joshua of old, ‘but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord’, and mean it no
matter what!”
Be sure to spend adequate time in writing your introduction and conclusion. These are
vital parts to the sermon to involve the thought process of the hearers.
Mr. Jones suggests several things especially pertaining to a good conclusion: He suggests
that you: “prepare it carefully”, “use no new ideas in the conclusion”, “make the
conclusion brief and pointed”, “make the conclusion positive” (don’t scold nor
discourage), “use no distracting materials or movements in delivering the conclusion”,
”make it the conclusion to the whole sermon”, “vary your types of conclusions”.
Remember that when you are preaching, or teaching a Bible Class, that you are God’s
spokesman.
TIP FOR THE DAY: It may literally take you several hours to construct a sermon the
way it needs to be prepared. I knew of one congregation that asked that their young
preacher spend a minimum of ten hours of preparation on each sermon that he was going
to preach for them. Included in that ten hours was: Bible study time, research time, time
to write and rewrite the sermon, and time to even practice preaching the sermon at home
before he preached it to the congregation. That man is an excellent pulpit preacher today!
The old motto is true: Anything worth doing is worth doing well!