Once the work of heavy lifting has been done, it’s time to develop the Introduction, and then to bring the sermon to a Conclusion. Great things can be accomplished in sermons through Introductions.355 The sermon Introduction should arouse interest in the message.356 According to Jay Adams, “The purpose of an introduction is to lead the congregation into the matter to be discussed. If it fails to do that, it fails.357 An introduction must indicate what a message will be about. An introduction that arouses interest but does not focus attention on the subject actually gives listeners a false lead. Confusion and resentment can result.358 It is imperative to keep in mind that while the preacher has studied, prayed, developed, edited, and finalized the entire sermon, the congregation typically has very little idea as to the direction.359 A preacher may
355 According to Mark Dever, “Each preacher will develop his own style, of course, but introductions
should not be thrown away as if they don’t matter or are not spiritualy useful. On the contrary, introductions form a kind of funnel for the congregation’s interest. They draw together all the disparate and conflicting focuses that mark your congregation and pull attention to the themes you’re going to be preaching on.” Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert,
Preach: Theology Meets Practice (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2012), 103.
356 Chapell explains, “An introduction should present listeners with an arresting thought that draws them
away from apathy or competing interests and makes them say, ‘Hey! I need to hear this.’ An introduction may pique curiosity, concern, mirth, or wonder, but no matter what avenue a preacher takes, the task remains the same: Get their attention! If the opening sentence does not stimulate interest when it stands alone, reject it. Make the opening words count.” Chapell, 239.
357 Adams, 59. 358 Chapell, 240.
359 William L. Hogan encourgaes, “You must remember that you come to the pulpit having spent hours in
the study pouring over the passage on which you are to preach. You have been thinking over your subject for days, or weeks, perhaps even for years. But your people have probably not thought about it at all. Indeed, they may not
begin with a thought-provoking question, a story, a quotation, an anecdote, or a host of other attention-getting alternatives. Still, the introduction succeeds only when at its end the central thought in listeners’ minds is the subject of the sermon.360
The purpose of the conclusion is to conclude–not merely to stop.361 In the conclusion, the preacher is preparing the listener to respond with action, by means of volition or of
thinking.362 A conclusion is a sermon’s destination. Ending contents are alive–packed with tension, drama, energy, and emotion.363 The conclusion in the CGES is not the stopping point of the sermon, it is another aspect of transitioning from information to application. Whatever direction the preacher takes, it is imperative that he sets up the listeners for a call to action.
even know what it is going to be before you stand up and speak (pray that they will know after you have finished). The chasm separating their thoughts from biblical ideas may be vast. In the introduction you must enter their world and persuade them to go with you into the world of biblical truth, and specifically the truth that is the burden of the sermon.” William L. Hogan, “It Is My Pleasure to Introduce…,” Expositor 1, no. 3 (August 1987): 1.
360 Chapell explains, “An introduction may illustrate, demonstrate, state, imply, indicate by contrast, or in
some other way signal what a preacher will address. By the conclusion of the introduction, however, every listener should know what the message is about.” Chapell, 240.
361 Acording to Robinson, “You should conclude, and the conclusion should produce a feeling of finality.
Like an able lawyer, a minister asks for a verdict. Your congregation should see your idea entire and complete, and they should know and feel what God’s truth demands of them. Directly or indirectly, the conclusion answers the question, ‘So what? What difference does this make?’ And your people face another question as a result of an effective conclusion: ‘Am I willing to allow God to make that difference in my experience?’” Robinson, Biblical
Preaching, 176.
362 Dever explains, “Ideally we as preachers want the conclusion of our sermon to be weighty. We want it
to bring the full weight and force of our message down, like a wedge, into the hardened sinner’s heart, the complacent Christan’s will, or the wounded saint’s soul. It needn’t be anything loud or dramatic and shouldn’t be anything that would distract from the points we’ve been making from the Scriptures. It should simply drive those points further in with one final, heavy statement or question.” Dever and Gilbert, 117.
363 Chapell continues, “This never means bombast and does not necessitate grandiloquence, since deep
feeling and powerful thought are often expressed in the most quiet, sincere terms. Masterful conclusions sometimes thunder, and other times they crackle with an electricity barely audible to the ears, but the best endings always soundly register in the heart.” Chapell, 254.