COURSE OUTLINE

Winter 1999




HOMILETICS II
Advanced Biblical Preaching

Andrews University Department of Religion Keith E. K. Mattingly GH206 Phone 471-3187 Home 471-3088




BULLETIN COURSE DESCRIPTION

RELP322 -- Homiletics II: Advanced Biblical Preaching (3credits)
This course addresses the crucial nature of expository preaching, stressing proper principles of interpreting and applying the text to practical life. Includes supervised field preaching.





RESOURCES

Textbooks

Haddon W. Robinson. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages..Baker Book House (Grand Rapids, MI: 1980).



Haddon W. Robinson. Biblical Sermons: How Twelve Preachers Apply the Principles of Biblical Preaching.



Recommended Books

Douglas Stuart. Old Testament Exegesis: A Primer for Students and Pastors. Westminster Press. 2nd ed. (Philadelphia: 1984).



Michael P. Green. Illustrations for Biblical Preaching.



Class homepage: http://www.andrews.edu/~matt/courses/expreach/index.html





SUCCESS CRITERIA

For the short sermonnettes

a. Choose a text - Around 5-6 verses.

b. Find a theme for the text

c. Create an outline for the text. The presentation will explain this outline.

d. Supply the teacher with your manuscript and outline, and provide enough copies of the text outline for each class member.

For the full-length sermons

a. This will be an expansion of your five minute sermonette (except those who have to preach full-length at the beginning of the quarter before giving a five minute sermonette).

b. Provide the teacher a full manuscript the Thursday before the Round Table presentation.





GRADING SCHEME

Attendance/Partcipation (30 X 3 + 1 X 10)
100pts
Quizes (as needed)
?pts
Writing (19 X 10) 190pts
5 Sermonettes (5 X 50) 250pts
2 Sermons (2 X 200) 400pts
TOTAL 940pts + Quizzes




CLASS MOTTO

Winter 1999




HOMILETICS II
Advanced Biblical Preaching
Andrews University Department of Religion Keith E.K. Mattingly GH206 Phone 471-3187 Home 471-3088



WHAT I WILL NOT DO:








WHAT I WILL DO:





ASSIGNMENTS

Winter 1999




HOMILETICS II
Expository Biblical Preaching
Andrews University . Department of Religion . Keith E.K. Mattingly . GH206 . Phone 471-3187 . Home 471-3088



DUE
DATE
CLASS
TOPIC
ROBINSON
(TEXT)
MacARTHUR
(TEXT)
STUART
(TEXT)
WRITING
UNIT-LESSON
SAMPLESERMON
5Jan 1/Introduction: techniques to
improve your sermons
(editing/ rehearsals/ critique
. . . A8 - Edit your writing .
6Jan 2/A case for exposition 9-29 3-21 . A18 - Differentiate between
speaking and writing
Mattingly
7Jan 3/The big idea: subject &
complements
31-48 229-233 . Richardson
12Jan 4/Choosing/studying a passage;
gathering materials
51-66 177-208
303-320
. A4 - Control your sentence subject .
13Jan 5/Textual &
foreground/background
issues
. 226-229
291-292
72-78 A5 - Control your sentence
predication
.
14Jan 6/ON STAGE #1 . . . .
19Jan 7/Textual &
foreground/background
issues
. 226-229
291-292
72-78 B6 - Control your information:
subordination
.
20Jan 8/Form & structural issues . . 78-80 B20 - Achieve unity through point of view .
21Jan 9/Form & structural issues . . 78-80 .
26Jan 10/Lexical & grammatical
issues
. . 80-82 A14 - Build poaragraph patterns .
27Jan 11/Lexical & grammatical
issues
. . 80-82 A16 - Define images and ideas .
28Jan 12/ON STAGE #2 . .
2Feb 13/Theological issues . . 82-83 A15 - Develop topics by comparison .
3Feb 14/Application issues . . 83-84 B16 - Express attitude through word choice .
4Feb 15/Exegetical idea &
sermon purpose
66-113 211-215 . .
9Feb 16/Sermon shape 115-127 . . B22 - Convey meaning through tone .
DUE
DATE
CLASS
TOPIC
ROBINSON
(TEXT)
MacARTHUR
(TEXT)
STUART
(TEXT)
WRITING
UNIT-LESSON
SAMPLESERMON
10Feb 17/Sermon outline & flow 127-134

215-216

160-176
233-239
. B23 - Arrive at the controlling idea .
11Feb 18/ON STAGE #3 . . . .
16Feb 19/Sermon parts: introductions
& conclusions
159-173 242-247
252-254
. B10 - Compress and expand ideas .
17Feb 20/Sermon parts: transition &
meaning
137-156 . . B2 - Vary sentence beginnings and lengths .
18Feb 21/Fleshing out the outline:
support & illustration
. 247-51

292-5.

. .
23Feb 22/Refining the words:
specific nouns & verbs,
verb density
175-190 239-241. . A9 - Support judgments with specific information .
24Feb 23/Refining word order for
emphasis & meaning
. . . B7 - Support your statements
with examples
.
25Feb 24/ON STAGE #4 . . . .
2Mar 25/Establishing clear style . . . A17 - Mirror yourself in your
writing
.
3Mar 26/Establishing personal style 191-208 . . A20 - Use figurative language .
4Mar 27/Establishing vivid style 191-208 . . . .
9Mar 28/Using atmosphere &
visualization
191-208 A11 - Organize experience
through images
10Mar 29/Using movement & sound 191-208
11Mar 30/ON STAGE #5
15Mar 31/12:45-2:45am
ON STAGE FINALE
. . . . .



20 Minute Sermon Evaluation

Expository Preaching



Name ___________________________________ Date(s) Preached_____________________



Title _________________________ Text ________________________ Points Received ___

200

Person Evaluating:

Score
Area
Scaling
Comments


__ /20
Introduction

Interesting

Introduce Subject

Right Length

Appropriate



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10





__ /50
Structure

Contains Central Idea

Clear Structure

Good Development

Transitions Clear

Transitions Review



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10







__ /50
Content

Knowledge of Text

Refers to Text

Background Material

Grammar of Text

Word Studies

Relation to other Texts

Theology Addressed

Life Application

Analysis Adequate



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10



__ /20
Conclusion

Builds to Climax

Summarizes Ideas

Appeal



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10













__ /60
Delivery

Appropriate vocabulary

Appropriate grammar

Motivated

Talks to Audience

Looks Audience in eye

Notices audience response

Conversational

Changes Pitch

Changes Rate

Uses Gestures

uses whole body

spontaneous

wide

Posture good

Any distractions



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

5 Minute Sermonette Evaluation

Expository Preaching



Name ___________________________________ Date Presented_____________________



Title ___________________________________ Person Evaluating ____________________



Text ______________________ Points Received __

50



Score
Area
Scaling
Comments




__ /5





Introduction

Introduces Subject







1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10


__ /25
Structure

Contains Central Idea

Clear Outline

Good Development



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10













__ /15
Content

Background Material

Word Studies

Relation to other Texts

Theology Addressed

Life Application



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10





__ /5
Conclusion

Concludes?

Summarizes?



1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10



What is the speaker's theme?





Did the speaker follow this theme clearly through the outline of the presentation? ____________



What is the outline of this speech?

Class #1

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - THE GOSPEL PREACHER'S PRAYER by Tim James

"...Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. Hear me, 0 Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LordGod, and that thou hast turned their hearts back again" (I Kings 18:36-37). This passage of scripture is underlined in my Bible, and I usually read it before I preach. It is not a mantra or a motto, but rather, for me, A REMINDER OF WHAT I'VE BEEN ASSIGNED TO DO AND A PRAYER UNTO GOD, THAT HE MIGHT GET ALL THE GLORY... that He would reveal Himself in His true character, and that if anything is accomplished, folks would KNOW that HE did it.



Study universal holiness of life. Your whole usefulness depends on this, for your sermons last but an hour or two; your life preaches all the week. If Satan can only make a covetous minister a lover of praise, of pleasure, of good eating, he has ruined your ministry. Give yourself to prayer, and get your texts, your thoughts, your words from God. Luther spent his best three hours in prayer. -- Robert Murray McCheyne



Class Motto



Demonstration of "Content-less Preaching

Introduction to the Class (How the class will run)

Writing: Unit-Lesson A8, Edit Your Writing

EDIT YOUR WRITING


In some parts of Africa there is a little less than one Frenchman per twenty British.

When the applause had finally died down, Evans stepped from the rostrum, flushed with excitement and victory, confident that the events of the afternoon would be a millstone in the company's history.



At the age of six, my parents moved to Schenectady with their five children.



Having taken their seats, the principal made his expected announcement.



"...so it is important to learn how to keep the reader on the point without becoming monotonous."



On the shelf were the moth-eaten ladies' hats. Inside the thimble were the purple elephants' helicopters. Outside the tent were the old-fashioned carpenter's tools.



Flying planes can be dangerous.



The teacher was puzzled by the brilliant student's composition.




Proofread your work. No written message is finished until it has been proofread. It is too easy to leave out an important word, add an unnecessary word, or use a wrong word. Errors like these are often no more than slips of the pen, [keyboard, or mouse], easily spotted and corrected; but left uncorrected, they can destroy any serious purpose the writer may have intended. Other errors are much more difficult to find. Proofreading is hard work. You cannot read at your normal speed when you proofread or you will miss the very things you are trying to spot.

The first rule of proofreading is READ SLOWLY.
The second rule of proofreading is READ THOUGHTFULLY.



Recognize ambiguity. A writer who is editing his work has to cope with something much more subtle than typographical errors and "bad grammar." He finds a sentence that has nothing "wrong" with it, but that still needs rewording because it seems to have two possible meanings.



Control your meaning. Writers want always to be in command of their meaning. They do not want to be laughed at when they intend to be serious, nor do they want to be taken seriously when they intend a joke. You can go a long ways towards gaining command of your meaning if you edit your work carefully, correcting the errors that can destroy your purpose.


ASSIGNMENT

Try your skill with ambiguity. Invent or report a 2-sentence conversation that involves a double meaning and has a humorous effect. In other words, write a joke that depends on ambiguity. If possible, use a religious topic or setting.




Class #2

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer Reader's Meditation from the Day of Atonement Service

Poor in worthy deeds, I am horribly frightened in your presence, who is enthroned and receiving praise from your people. I have come to plead before you on behalf of your people who have made me messenger though I am not deserving nor qualified for the task. Hence I beseech you, God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, O Lord, merciful and gracious God of Israel, Almighty and Revered One, make my errand successful when I seek mercy for myself and for those who have commissioned me. Blame them not for my sins, convict them not for my iniquities, for I am a transgressor indeed. Let them not be shamed because of me and my faults, nor let me be shamed because of them. Accept my prayer as if I were entirely qualified and well-pleasing to my fellow men. Rebuke the adversary, that he may not accuse me. May our defaults be pardoned by your love, since love draws a veil over all wrongdoing. Turn all afflictions into joy and gladness, life and peace, for us and for all your people. Let us love truth and peace, and let my prayer be without stumbling.



Class Motto



Review



Case for Expository Preaching

  1. Rhetoric
    1. Used to be a central course for all college students
    2. "That's a bunch of rhetoric" = compliment
    3. When do searches for "expository," look under rhetoric
  2. Can sound like a preacher
    1. Cat in a Hat, Recipe Book, Manual
    2. No relevant content
  3. Goal = Spiritual content based on the Scriptures and the needs of the Audience
  4. Robinson

9-29 A Case for Exposition

  1. MacArthur

3-21 Rediscovering Expository Preaching



Sermon -



Writing: Unit-Lesson A18

Differentiate between speaking and writing

DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN SPEAKING AND WRITING


A few seconds from a popular disc-jockey show were typed out as follows:
That's Patty Baby and that's the girl with the dancing feet and that's Freddy Cannon there on the David Mickie Show in the night time ooohbah scubadoo how are you booboo. Next we'll be Swinging on a Star and sssshhhwwoooo and sliding on a moonbeam. Waaaaaaa how about that...one of the goodest guys with you...this is lovable kissable D.M. in the p.m. at 22 minutes past nine o'clock there, aahhrightie, we're gonna have a Hitline, all you have to do is call WAlnut 5-1151, WAlnut 5-1151, tell them what number it is on the Hitline.


Dave Mickie alternately soars, groans, swings, sings, solos, intones, and scampers, always reacting to his own actions. He moves entirely on the spoken rather than the written area of experience. It is in this way that audience participation is created. The spoken word involves all of the senses dramatically, though highly literate people tend to speak as connectedly and casually as possible.




The Difference is informality--loose structure and irregular pattern. The same expression can have different meanings if it is spoken in different ways, yet the expression would be written practically the same way in each instance. Special ways must be developed to express shades of meaning when we are writing. Written language is deliberate; it proceeds in a straight line, one word after another, one sentence after another. We can take advantage of this deliberateness. We can use fewer words (Moral: Make every word count). We can convey extended lines of reasoning (Moral: Reread a previous sentence while crafting the current sentence so it will link with the following sentence).

The Flexibility of the Spoken Language. When we speak, we can clarify meaning in ways which are not available when we write.

6.We can create emphasis by raising or lowering our voices.

7.We can sound certain words loudly or softly.

8.We can use gestures.

9.We can stop and start over again.

10.We can rely on our listeners to interrupt us and answer us.



The Regularity of Written English. Sentences are self-contained units. Sentences have the following characteristics:

1.A customary sentence structure (subject-verb pattern)

2.Unity--everything in the sentence is related to one topic; there is no shift in direction.

3.The careful signalling of a beginning and ending of a sentence.

4.Sentences are carefully related to one another. All pronouns have antecedents.

5.A consistent patterning of items in a series. Items in a series belong to the same word class.

6.Uniform spelling.




ASSIGNMENT

One can speak the simple greeting "good morning" and mean: 1) "I'm pleased to see you." 2) "Let's get to work." 3) "Here's that pest again." 4) "Please come again." 5) "Goodby." 6) "Duh!" 7) "Surprise!" Choose one of the ways of speaking "good morning" and describe a context, a setting that would make the meaning of the greeting clear to the reader.




Class #3

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer

Father, I want to know You, but my coward heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from You the terror of the parting. I come trembling, but I do come. Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that You may enter and dwell there without a rival. Then You shall make the place of Your feet glorious. Then shall my heart have not need of the sun to shine in it, for You will be the light of it, and there shall be no night there. In Jesus' Name, Amen. -- A. W. Tozer, The Pursuit of God, (Harrisburg, PA: Christian Publications, 1948), 31.



But above all he excelled in prayer. The inwardness and weight of his spirit, the reverence and solemnity of his address and behavior, and the fewness and fullness of his words have often struck even strangers with admiration as they used to reach others with consolation. The most awful, living, reverend frame I ever felt or beheld, I must say, was his prayer. And truly it was a testimony. He knew and lived nearer to the Lord than other men, for they that know him most will see most reason to approach him with reverence and fear. -- William Penn of George Fox



Class Motto



Review

The Big Idea

Robinson

32-33 - Note fragmentation vs. single idea - NOTE OUTLINE DISCUSSION.

33-37 - Note discussion of the importance of a single idea.

37-39 - Defining "idea." Note "says what he means" statement on 39.

39-40 - Defining "subject" and "complement."

41-44 - Examples of "subject" and "complement."

46-48 - EXERCISES

MacArthur

229-233 - Determining the central idea of a passage.



Writing: Turn in Lessons A8 and A18



Sermon -

Class #4

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - E. B. Pusey

O Lord, prepare my heart, I beseech you, to reverence you, to adore you, to love you; to hate, for love of you, all my sins and imperfections, short-comings, whatever in me displeases you; and to love all which you love, and whom you love. Give me Lord, fervor of love, shame for my unthankfulness, sorrow for my sins, longing for your grace, and to be wholly united with you. Let my very coldness call for the glow of your love; let my emptiness and dryness, like a barren and thirsty land, thirst for you, call on you to come into my soul, who refreshes those who are weary. Let my heart ache for you, who stills the aching of the heart. Let my mute longings praise you, crave you, who satisfies the empty soul that waits for you.



You know the value of prayer: it is precious beyond all price. Never, never neglect it -- Sir Thomas Buxton

Prayer is the first thing, the second thing, the third thing necessary to a minister. Pray, then, my dear brother: pray, pray, pray -- Edward Payson



Class Motto



Review

Choosing and Studying a Passage

Robinson

53-57 - STAGE 1 - CHOOSING THE PASSAGE TO BE PREACHED

Advantage of entire year sermon plan. Thought Units. Sermon time. Difference between Topical and Expository.

57-66 - STAGE 2 - STUDYING THE PASSAGE

Context and Tools

MacArthur

177-208 - Study tools for expository preaching

303-320 - Bible Translations



Writing: Unit-Lesson A4

Expressing the big idea by proper control of the subject of your sentence.

Subjects must be concrete and generally before the verb.



Sermon -

CONTROL THE SUBJECT OF YOUR SENTENCE


from The Sweet Science by A.J. Liebling

Then Louis and his seconds ... appeared from a runway under the north stands and headed toward the ring. The first thing I noticed, from where I sat, was that the top of Louis's head was bald. He looked taller than I had remembered him, although surely he couldn't have grown after the age of thirty, and his face was puffy and impassive. It has always been so. In the days of his greatness, the press read menace in it. He walked stiff-legged, as was natural for a heavy man of thirty-seven, but when his seconds pulled off his dressing robe, his body looked all right. He had never been a lean man; his muscles had always been well buried beneath his smooth beige skin. I recalled the first time I had seen him fight---against Baer. That was at the Yankee Stadium, in September 1935, and not only the great ball park but the roofs of all the apartment houses around were crowded with spectators, and hundreds of people were getting out of trains at the elevated I.R.T. station, which overlooks the field, and trying to loiter long enough to catch a few moments of action. Louis had come East that summer, after a single year as a professional, and had knocked out Primo Carnera in a few rounds. Carnera had been the heavyweight champion of the world, when Baer knocked him out. Baer, when he fought Louis, was the most powerful and gifted heavyweight of the day, although he had already fumbled away his title. But this mature Baer, who had fought everybody, was frightened stiff by the twenty-one-year-old mulatto boy. Louis outclassed him. The whole thing went only four rounds. There hadn't been anybody remotely like Louis since Dempsey in the early twenties.




"How do I know what I'm going to say until I've said it?" Any number of writers have testified that IT IS IN THE ACT OF WRITING, THAT THE IDEA TAKES SHAPE. Not understanding this process often accounts for the common complaint: "I know what I mean, but I don't know how to say it." The point is that THE MEANING IS IN THE SAYING (or writing), and if a writer doesn't know how to say it, he doesn't know precisely what he means.


Be aware of the subject territory. The unit selection illustrates a basic quality of the English sentence: The subject of the sentence or the main clause usually comes at the beginning of the sentence before the verb and is seldom preceded by a lengthy construction. The front part of the sentence or main clause is "subject territory."

Make the subject concrete. The kinds of words you select for the subject of a clause/sentence help determine the whole course of the sentence. You can be more direct, to the point, and brief if you select a concrete subject--concrete in the sense that it stands for something that is real and can be touched, seen, or otherwise sensed. You should write "City people are moving to the suburbs" instead of "The urban population exhibits an increasing tendency to relocate in semirural areas."



A main clause is a group of words with a subject-verb combination that can stand as an independent unit. By itself, it can stand as a sentence. Example: He walked stiff-legged ... his body looked all right. A subordinate clause is a group of words with subject-verb combinations that cannotstand as an independent unit. Example: ...as was natural for a heavy man of thirty-seven...when his seconds pulled off his dressing robe.




ASSIGNMENT

A. Identify and mark (underline and annotate) the subjects (with S) and verbs (with V) in the unit selection. How many sentences had the subject come at the beginning before the verb? How many subjects are preceded by introductory construction of some length? How many subjects come after the verb? Write your answers in a brief statement.



B. Notice the absense of words like reason, cause, circumstances as subjects in the unit selection. These words are abstractions. They don't stand for anything that we can point to, can touch, or can see. They don't create the sense of vividness that concrete subjects do. Select a sentence from the unit selection and rewrite it using a word like reason, cause, circumstances for the subject. Note how the number of words you used compares with the number of words in the original?


Class #5

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Martin Luther

Behold, Lord, an empty vessel that needs to be filled. My Lord, fill it. I am weak in the faith; strengthen me. I am cold in love; warm me and make me fervent, that my love may go out to my neighbor. I do not have a strong and firm faith; at times I doubt and am unable to trust you altogether. O Lord, help me. Strengthen my faith and trust in you. In you I have sealed the treasure of all I have. I am poor; you are rich and came to be merciful to the poor. I am a sinner; you are upright. With me, there is an abundance of sin; in you is the fulness of righteousness. Therefore I will remain with you, of whom I can receive, but to whom I may not give.



The principal cause of my leanness and unfruitfulness is owing to an unaccountable backwardness to pray. I can write or read or converse or hear with a ready heart; but prayer is more spiritual and inward than any of these, and the more spiritual any duty is the more my carnal heart is apt to start from it. Prayer and patience and faith are never disappointed. I have long since learned that if ever I was to be a minister faith and prayer must make me one. When I can find my heart in frame and liberty for prayer, everything else is comparatively easy. -- Richard Newton



Class Motto

1. The Motto

2. When you preach, abandon your congregation before your congregation abandons you.



Review

Textual, Foreground, Background Issues

MacArthur

226-9 - Examining the Context

291-2 - Connect the passage with the rest of Scripture

Stuart

72-5 - Text and translation

75-8 - Literary and Historical Context



Writing: Unit--Lesson A5

Controlling your sentence predication and use of expressive verbs.



Sermon -

CONTROL YOUR  SENTENCE PREDICATION


from The New Kid by Murray Heyert



A little nervous chill ran through his back as he saw Paulie Dahler get up to hit. On Gelberg's second toss Paulie stepped in and sent the ball sailing into the air. A panic seized Marty as he saw it coming at him. He took a step nervously forward, then backward, then forward again, trying as hard as he could to judge the ball. It smacked into his cupped palms, bounced out and dribbled toward the curb. He scrambled after it, hearing them shouting at him, and feeling himself getting more scared every instant. He kicked the ball with his sneaker, got his hand on it, and straightening himself in a fever of fright, heaved it with all his strength at Ray-Ray on first. The moment the ball left his hand he knew he had done the wrong thing. Paulie was already on his way to second; and besides, the throw was wild. Ray-Ray leaped into the air, his arms flung up, but it was way over his head, bouncing beyond him on the sidewalk and almost hitting a woman who was jouncing a baby carriage at the door of the apartment house apposite.



With his heart beating the same way it did whenever anyone chased him, Marty watched Paulie gallop across the plate. He sniffled his nose, which was beginning to run again, and felt like crying.




Narrow the focus with the predicate. The subject controls the direction of the sentence, but the predicate particularizes the meaning started by the subject. Once the writer names something, he/she follows the naming with information about it. A name by itself is an unfinished carrier of meaning. A predicate narrows the focus of meaning. When you write man, the reader doesn't have a very good idea of what you are talking about. But when you write The man hesitated before the manager's door, uncertain of his reception, the reader gets a much better idea of what you mean by man. The sentence progressively particularizes the notion of the subject man. The first sentence of the unit selection little nervous chill develops meaning as follows:

Subject Predicate
A little nervous chill .
did what? is what? ran
where? through his back
how? .
when? as he saw Paulie Dahler get up to hit
to whom? .
why? .

Use expressive verbs. The verb is the center of anything we say about the subject. Expressive verbs particularize action and give the reader a more specific or concrete description than a general verb. Talk is a general verb. Chatter, gossip, prattle, jabber are expressive verbs. These expressive verbs give specific, definite qualities to the action and help the scene come to life. Mark the verbs used in the unit selection and note how specific and therefore how expressive they are.




ASSIGNMENT

Write a short description of a happening that made you feel particularly religious and/or spiritual. Do not specifically state the impression that this event created in you. Let your description suggest that impression. Don't say, "I felt really spiritual when ...." Rather describe the event so well that the reader will have the same feeling that you did. Use expressive verbs to recreate your main impression for the reader.




Class #6

Class Agenda

"On Stage" #1



Preacher's Prayer -

During this affliction I was brought to examine my life in relation to eternity closer than I had done when in the enjoyment of health. In this examination relative to the discharge of my duties toward my fellow creatures as a man, a Christian minister, and an officer of the Church, I stood approved by my own conscience; but in relation to my Redeemer and Saviour the result was different. My returns of gratitude and loving obedience bear no proportion to my obligations for redeeming, preserving, and supporting me through the vicissitudes of life from infancy to old age. The coldness of my love to Him who first loved me and has done so much for me overwhelmed and confused me; and to complete my unworthy character, I had not only neglected to improve the grace given to the extent of my duty and privilege, but for want of improvement had, while abounding in perplexing care and labor, declined from first zeal and love. I was confounded, humbled myself, implored mercy, and renewed my covenant to strive and devote myself unreservedly to the Lord. -- Bishop McKendree



There is a manifest want of spiritual influence on the ministry of the present day. I feel it in my own case and I see it in that of others. I am afraid there is too much of a low, managing, contriving, maneuvering temper of mind among us. We are laying ourselves out more than is expedient to meet one man's taste and another man's prejudices. The ministry is a grand and holy affair, and it should find in us a simple habit of spirit and a holy but humble indifference to all consequences. The leading defect in Christian ministers is want of a devotional habit. -- Richard Cecil



Five Minute Speeches

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments A4 and A5.

Class #7

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer

O God, you are my God,

for you I long;

for you my soul is thristing.

I long for you

like dry, weary land without water.

Give me your strength and your glory.

I wish to praise you all my life

fill my soul as with a banquet.

I cling to you;

hold me close in your hands. -- Psalm 63



Blessed are you, Lord Jesus, Savior of the world, for giving your life to save us,

--by your precious blood we are saved.

You promised living waters to those who seek the truth,

--give us that water to quench our thirst.

You sent disciples to announce the Good News to all people,

--sustain those who proclaim your word.

To those who carry your cross today in anguish,

--grant patience and courage.





Class Motto



Review

Textual, Foreground, Background Issues (Continued)

MacArthur

226-9 - Examining the Context

291-2 - Connect the passage with the rest of Scripture

Stuart

72-5 - Text and translation

75-8 - Literary and Historical Context



Writing: Unit-B6

Control Your information: subordination



Sermon

CONTROL YOUR  INFORMATION:  SUBORDINATION


from Men to Match My Mountains by Irving Stone

John Sutter bought a light ship's boat from Captain Wilson; he also rented the schooners Isabel and Nicolas from Nathan Spear and William Hinckley, two Americans who owned the Yerba Buena trading post. With credit earned from his sale of merchandise he had brought from Honolulu to Yerba Buena, Sutter loaded his three boats with equipment to start his colony: guns for hunting; ammunition for the cannons he had brought from the islands; seed and farm equipment; blacksmith and carpenter tools.



The little flotilla then set out across the uncharted San Francisco Bay: Sutter, with his title of captain which he had invented in the same manner that he had conjured up his role of empire builder; the eight Kanaka men and two Kanaka women who had contracted to stay with him for three years and help build his settlement; a fourteen-year-old Indian boy whom he had bought for $100 in the Wind River Rendezvous; a German cabinetmaker; three recruits from Yerba Buena; and several sailors on the beach.



Sutter set out in the lead, four Kanakas rowing the small ship's boat northeast across the wide, choppy bay lying within its frame of soft, sensually shaped hills, haycock tan in the August sun. By dusk they had covered thirty miles, camping where Carquinez Strait emptied into Suisun Bay. The next morning Sutter mistook the San Joaquin River for the Sacramental, and lost two hard days of upstream rowing before he realized that this was not the valley that had been described to him. Several days later he found the mouth of the Sacramento and, leaving messages for his two straggler boats to follow (he placed his messages alongside the Indian tokens of white feathers hanging from bushes to propitiate their gods), made his way up the broad quiet river which flowed between dark jungles of tule and towering trees.




Emphasize basic information. In the unit selection, Stone presents a great deal of information based on extensive research. The final form of his writing indicates the realtive emphasis he wished to give the details of his research. If you were asked to express in one word the subject of this selection, you would not say Wilson, Spear, Hinckley, or Kanakas. You would say Sutter. As a reporter, which of following messages would you have sent your editor to convey the basic information about Sutter in the first paragraph?

John Sutter bought a light ship's boat from Captain Wilson.
Two Americans owned the Yerba Buena trading post.
Sutter sold merchandise he had brought from Honolulu.
John Sutter bought a boat, rented schooners, and loaded boats with equipment.



The first is true, but expresses less than the full meaning of the paragraph. The second and third express only minor facts. the fourth sentence conveys the basic information. Compare this sentence with the sentences of the first paragraph, stripped down to barebone subjects and predicates: Sutter bought boat. He rented schooners. He loaded boats



Another writer might have worked with a different purpose and produced an entirely different paragraph from the same file of research notes. A writer indicates what he thinks is important by the way he selects and organizes details and by the way he shapes his sentences. A second writer might have written



Two Americans, Nathan Spear and William Hinckley, owned the Yerba Buena Trading Post. They stocked all those articles most needed by settles in that pioneer land: guns and ammunition; seed and farm equipment; blacksmith and carpenter tools. They even stocked schooners which they rented to people who had established credit with them, like one Captain John Sutter, who could afford to buy outright only the usual small articles and a light ship;s boat, which he purchased from their friend, Captain Wilson. Now the paragraph is about two Americans, their trading post, and their business activities.



The thread of this rendition is very different from Stone's: Americans owned trading post. They stocked articles. They stocked schooners.



Identify added information. Added infomation is as important as the basic information but it has a special purpose. It supports the basic information by qualifying, clarifying, and specifying it further. Added information appears in subordinating constructions. It joins with the basic information (which is the subject-predicate backbone of each sentence) to give the sentence the full meaning the writer intends.




ASSIGNMENT

By adding specific information of your own in subordinate clauses, increase the interest of the following narrative thread: Joseph walked. His brothers saw him coming. They talked. They put him in a pit.


Class #8

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Teresa of Avila (1515-1582)

From silly devotions and from sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us.



Peter Marshall

Lord, teach us to pray. Some of us are not skilled in the art of prayer. As we draw near to You in thought, our spirits long for Your Spirit, and reach out for You, longing to feel You near. We know not how to express the deepest emotions that lie hidden in our hearts.



In these moments, we have no polished phrases with which to impress one another, no finely molded, delicately turned clauses to present to You. Nor would we be confined to conventional petitions and repeat our prayers like the unwinding of a much-exposed film. We know, our Father, that we are praying most when we are saying least. We know that we are closest to You when we have left behind the things that have held us captive so long.



We would not be ignorant in prayer and, like children, make want lists for You. Rather, we pray that You will give to us only what we really need. We would not make our prayers the importuning of You, an Omnipotent God, to do what we want You to do. Rather, give us the vision, the courage, that shall enlarge our horizons and stretch our faith to the adventure of seeking You loving will for our lives. Amen.



Class Motto



Review

Form and Structure of the Text

Stuart

78-80 - Genre, Structural Patterns



Writing: Unit-Lesson B20

Achieve unity through point of view



Sermon -

ACHIEVE UNITY THROUGH POINT OF VIEW


from Mardi Gras by Lyle Saxon

1. I thought that we would remain on Canal Street as we had done that morning, but Robert assured me that he knew a vantage point that was far superior, and accordingly we went up St. Charles Street for eight or more squares. All along the street men and women lined the sidewalks. Many of them had brought camp-stools or cushions and were sitting along the curb; other spread out newspapers and sat on them. In front of the stores the shopkeepers' families had gathered and were perched on boxes or tables in order that they could see above the heads of those on the sidewalk.



At last we reached Lee Circle....Here the ground has been built up into a sort of round mountain, and at the top of this grass-grown mound there rises a huge fluted column of stone which in turn supports a bronze statue of Robert E. Lee. At the base of the column is a pyramid of stone, like gigantic steps rising one above the other, each step more than a yard high. By scrambling up this giants' staircase, we reached the summit; and there, seated on the edge of the topmost step, we sat leaning back against the stone column which disappeared into the darkness above our heads.



2. There came a whisper which turned into a cry. The parade was coming. I looked with all my eyes up the avenue but at first could see nothing but the flickering rows of lights as they converged far away, but then, after a moment, I was conscious of a red glare in the sky--almost on the horizon it seemed, an aura which seemed to rise from the ground, or to emanate from the air itself. It was something apart from life as I knew it. It was magic itself.



As I looked, smaller lights became visible in the red glare, little twinkling lights of yellow and blue and green, bright pinpoints of flame. Then, as the endless stream of lights moved nearer I was conscious of great wreaths of black smoke which swirled upward into the darkness, smoke which held and reflected the flaring lights and which surrounded this glimmering far-off pageant with a rim of fire. I heard music... first just a broken bar, then another, finally a melody, faint and sweet.



We were high above the parade, and it was coming directly toward us, down the avenue. Little by little objects became visible, dark shapes against the flare--men on horseback clearing the route. Then below each glowing point of flame I could discern a red figure--men holding the torches. And always the bobbing of these lights and their swirling smoke rising toward the dim stars. In the center of each of these circles of light, masses of pale color became visible--the floats, pale in the light, yet brilliant too. And they seemed to glide noiselessly and effortlessly forward; relentless, like a gigantic dragon bearing down upon the crowd.


Convey a physical point of view: the observer's post of observation In descriptive-narrative writing, the angle of vision, the post of observation, from which the events are recorded, is very important. At the outset the writer must decide on the position in space from which he will report the events, for this position will guide the reader's experiencing of the events. Does he, for example, want the reader to experience the events from a psychological distance, from above looking down? Does he want the reader to experience the events through the eyes of an active participant? Or does he want the reader to get more than a single view? The post of observation, which we may also call the physical point of view, can be fixed or moving. It guides the reader's impressions; and, if it is consistently maintained or consistently varied, it contributes to the unity of the entire work.

In the selection above, Saxon gives his readers a view of the parade at Mardi Gras from a stationary position--through the eyes of the boy sitting high above the street level. From this fixed point the author focuses the reader's attention on the area for an extended time as the parade approaches. Saxon uses something of a camera technique here: going from a distant shot to a close-up, increasing the detail of the topography as the parade approaches. Moreover, he organizes the description in the order of appearance of the sights: first, the general impression of things "far away," then, the specific impressions as the parade draws nearer. A definite order in the presenting of details is necessary in achieving a unified effect.



Convey a mental point of view: the observer's attitude In conversation, you know by the tone of a person's whether he is pleased, angry, happy, or excited, even if the words he uses do not necessarily indicate his feeling. In writing, it is more difficult to convey tone because readers do not hear the tone of a voice. You learn the mental point of view of the writer only through his handling of his material. For example, if you are trying to convey the excitement of an event, you would not likely use words like "tiring," wearing," "deadening"; nor would you be likely to use a series of long, involved, hard-to-read sentences. You would be more likely to vary your sentence lengths, constructing short, direct sentences at appropriate junctures to emphasize the excitement. The writer's mental point of view will determine his word choices, his sentence structure choices, and his selection of details.


ASSIGNMENT

Write one paragraph about a supermarket on Friday afternoon from the point of view of a young and tired Sabbath School teacher with three children. Have your narrator participate actively in the scene. Make sure you convey definite physical and mental points of view.


Class #9

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Psalm 23

"The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

In verdant pastures he gives me repose.

Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.

He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.

Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil;

for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage.

You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes;

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.

We bless you, Jesus Christ, our Shepherd,

for the life you have given us this day;

--we rejoice in your love.

Look with favor on the flock that bears your name;

--let no one the Father has give you perish.

Guide your church in the way of your Truth,

by your Holy Spirit make her faithful.

Feed us at the table of your Word and your Bread

that we may follow you forever.



Class Motto



Review



Form and Structure of the Text (Continued)

Stuart

78-80 - Genre, Structural Patterns



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments B6 and B20



Sermon -

Class #10

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - I Tasted and I Hunger - Augustine

Too late loved I Thee, O Thou Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late loved I Thee! And behold Thou wert within, and I abroad, there I searched for Thee; plunging deformed amid those fair forms, which Thou hadst made. Thou wert with me, but I was not with Thee. Things held me far from Thee, which, unless they were in Thee, were not at all. Thou didst call, and shout, and burst my deafness. Thou didst flash, shine, and scatter my blindness. Thou didst breathe odors, and I drew in breath, and pant for Thee. I tasted, and I hunger and thirst for Thee. When I shall with my whole self cleave to Thee, I shall nowhere have sorrow, or labor; and my life shall wholly live, as wholly full of Thee. But because I am not full of Thee I am a burden to myself. Woe is me! Lord have pity on me. My evil sorrows strive with my good joys; and on which side is the victory I know not. Woe is me! Lord have mercy on me. Woe is me! I hide not my wounds; Thou art the physician, I the sick; Thou merciful, I miserable. And all my hope is in thy exceeding great mercy. Give what Thou enjoinest, and enjoin what Thou wilt. For too little doth he love Thee, who loves anything with Thee. O love, who ever burnest and never consumest! O charity, my God! Give me what Thou enjoinest, and enjoin what Thou wilt.



The great masters and teachers in Christian doctrine have always found in prayer their highest source of illumination. Not to go beyond the limits of the English Church, it is recorded of Bishop Andrews that he spent five hours daily on his knees. The greatest practical resolves that have enriched and beautified human life in Christian times have been arrived at in prayer. -- Canon Liddon



Class Motto



Review

Form and Structure of the Text

Stuart

80-82 - Grammatical and Lexical Data



Writing: Unit-Lesson A14

Build Paragraph Patterns



Sermon -

BUILD PARAGRAPH PATTERNS


from The Edge of the Sea by Rachel Carson

The edge of the sea is a strange and beautiful place. All through the long history of Earth it has been an area of unrest where waves have broken heavily against the land, where the tides have pressed forward over the continents, receded, and then returned. For no two successive days is the shore line precisely the same. Not only do the tides advance and retreat in their eternal rhythms, but the level of the sea itself is never at rest. It rises or falls as the glaciers melt or grow, as the floor of the deep ocean basins shifts under its increasing load of sediments, or as the earth's crust along the continental margins warps up or down in adjustment to strain and tension. Today a little more land may belong to the sea, tomorrow a little less. Always the edge of the sea remains an elusive and indefinable boundary.


Understand sentence to sentence relationships.

A sentence may be subordinate to another sentence. For example, just as young man is a specifying of the more general man, so is the third sentence of the above paragraph a specifying of the more general idea of "unrest" of the second sentence. A sentence that is subordinate to another sentence serves to specify some part of the other sentence. On the other hand, coordinate sentences are similar to parallel lines. Coordinate sentences are on the same level of generality; they are equal parts of the scale of generality within the paragraph.



The first three sentences in the unit selection illustrate the kinds of sentence relationships. The first sentence states one broad feature of the sea. The second sentence specifies that idea by focusing on one part; it is subordinate to the first sentence. The third sentence also specifies the idea in the first sentence and is subordinate. The sentences which discuss the two parts of the tide are coordinate to each other.



Use coordinate and or subordinate sequences to develop paragraphs.



Use Coordinate Sequences to Develop Paragraphs



Just as in observing a landscape from a high point, you may take in a large scene and them move from object to object within the scene, so may the writer make an initial observation and then develop the paragraph listing a series of coordinate items that support the initial observation. In other words, the writer develops paragraphs with a coordinate sequence of sentences. We can graph this kind of paragraph development in the following manner:

Level 1 Sentence______________________
Level 2 Sentence_______________
Level 2 Sentence________________


The writer usuall chooses this kind of paragraph when the purpose is to enumerate reasons, examples, results, parts-any series of items that serve as equal points supporting the level 1 idea.



Use Subordinate Sequences to Develop Paragraphs



The writer may develop a paragraph in successive subordinate sentences to make up a picture, an idea, or an experience more specific. The writer may choose to develop one example in depth, or to explain one reason in detail. Wen the writer chooses this narrowing of focus, he constructs a paragraph with a subordinate sequence of sentences. Weu can graph this kind of paragraph in the following manner:

Level 1 Sentence________________
Level 2 Sentence_______________
Level 3 Sentence_____________


The writer chooses this kind of paragraph development when the purpose is to describe in depth, to specify, or to develop a point in detail.



Use Mixed Sequences to Develop Paragraphs



Most paragraphs do not seem to be developed exclusively with a coordinate or a subordinate sequence of sentences. What we find, usually, is a paragraph with mixed sequence.

(1)a primarily coordinate sequence with one or more subordinates

(2) a primarily subordinate sequence with coordinate sentences




ASSIGNMENT

Select one of the following proverbs listed below. Use it as the initial, or level 1, sentence for a brief paragraph of 3 or 4 sentences that you develop with a subordinate sequence. That is, explain the meaning of the proverb by writeing sentences that become progressively specific. Within this subordinate sequence of sentences, try to use a coordinate sentence for emphasis.

Without error there can be no such thing as truth.

He who knows he is a fool is not a big fool.

If you don't wonder at the wonderful it ceases to be a wonder.

Silence is of the gods; only monkeys chatter.

He who tells me of my faults is my teacher, he who tells me of my virtues does me harm.




Class #11

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer

Praise the Lord, all you nations,

glorify God, all you peoples!

For steadfast is God's kindness toward us

and the fidelity of the Lord endures forever. . . Psalm 117

Praise the Lord, faraway space, glorify God,

every home and family!

For God has brought us to the beginning of this day,

and God will see us to its end.

Praise the Lord, world of today,

come with your blessings;

come with your struggles.

Praise the Lord!



O God, you are our blessed light,

--awaken us this new day.

By the resurrection of your Son, you have enlightened the world,

--and given us new hope.

By your Spirit you gave wisdom to the disciples of your Son,

--send your Spirit upon us and make us faithful.

Light of the nations, shine on those who dwell in darkness,

--open their eyes to know you, the only true God.



Class Motto



Review



Form and Structure of the Text

Stuart

80-82 - Grammatical and Lexical Data



Writing: Unit-Lesson A16

Define Images and Ideas



Sermon -

DEFINE IMAGES AND IDEAS


from "Comedy's Greatest Era" in Agee on Film by James Agee

In this movie Lloyd demonstrates beautifully his ability to do more than merely milk a gag, but to top it. (In an old, simple example of topping, an incredible number of tall men get, one by one, out of a small closed auto. After as many have clambered out as the joke will bear, one more steps out: a midget. That tops the gag. Then the auto collapses. That tops the topper.) In Safety Last Lloyd is driven out to the direty end of a flagpole by a furious dog; the pole breaks and he falls, just managing to grab the minute hand of a huge clock. His weight promptly pulls the hand down from IX to VI. That would be more than enough for any ordinary comedian, but there is further logic in the situation. Now, hideously, the whole clockface pulls loose and slants from its trembling springs above the street. Getting out of difficulty with the clock, he makes still further use of the instrument by getting one foot caught in one of these obstinate springs.



from People and Places by Margaret Mead



Science means asking a question and keeping that question in one's head while one watches, over and over again, what happens until one finds an explanation. It means testing out the explanation--watching and watching again to see if the explanation works.




Recognize what the reader will find unfamiliar or unclear.

In writing for a general audience you will find yourself using words, expressions, and ideas with which the reader will most likely be unfamiliar. You want your writing to be natural and to represent you, therefore you don't want to use formal dictionary definitions. Yet you want your reader to understand you without using his dictionary. You want your writing to achieve convenient clarity. There are a number of ways to achieve a balance between "naturalness" and "clarity." You can simply include brief explanations set off by parentheses or commas; e.g. "Those difficult (that is hard to say) words, are slowing me down in French." Or, "The lymphoid, a new dance, is very big here at the moment." But many expressions require more lengthy explanations. For more lengthy explanations you may define unfamiliar or unclear expressions by (1) supplying specific examples, and (2) identifying essential characteristics.



Define by supplying specific examples.



An effective informal way of defining an idea likely to be unfamiliar to your reader is to tell about an event or happening that will illustrate the meaning of the idea. This is what James Agee does in his paragraph on the comic genius of Harold Lloyd. The expression "topping it" is a theatrical term, probably foreign to the general reader. A typical dictionary definition employing a synonym or classifying the term and its characteristics will be of little help here. What is needed is a specific example. Agee therefore describes the old circus gag. Notice how detailed the example is: first the tall man getting out of the auto, then the midget, then the auto's collapsing. A specific example is effective to the degree that it supplies adequate descriptive details.



Define by identifying essential characteristics.



The excerpt from Margaret Mead's People and Places is a definition; she tells us what science means. Her method is actually to list those activities that are characteristic of science: (1) asking a question, (2) keeping the question in your head while watching, (3) watching and watching, (4) finding an explanation, and (5) testing the explanation by watching and watching again to see if it works. This method is especially effective for making ideas understandable because it breaks up ideas into parts which are readily understood. It also translates a concept into concrete human activities: asking, remembering, watching.




ASSIGNMENT

The Seventh-day Adventist sub-culture has a number of expressions which are mystifying to the general public. In your sermons, it is particularly important for you to be easily understood by the uninitiated without seeming unnatural to the "faithful" (your regularly attending church members). Write a clear and natural paragraph which includes two or more of the following terms: "the truth," "the great controversy" (not the book), "Pathfinders," "Sister White," "The Spirit of Prophecy," Desire of Ages, "General Conference," "disfellowship," "time of trouble," "the remnant," "happy Sabbath," "the brethren," or "the cause." Employ the techniques of supplying specific examples and/or identifying essential characteristics.




Class #12

Class Agenda

"On Stage" #2



Preacher's Prayer -

Almighty God, withdraw Your ancient curse of Babel,

Remove from humanity the confusion of tongues.

For we have built radar towers and trusted in them,

Bombs and missiles, and put our faith in them.

Curse us no more with dumb power;

Remove from us these speechless weapons.

Bless us with the blessing of language,

So there can be speech even amidst anger.

Bless us with the blessing of understanding,

So even prejudiced people can understand.

Grant us the divine power of words, Lord,

That we may speak with our neighbors.

Open their ears that they may hear us;

Open their hearts that they may understand us.

Open their mouths that they may answer;

Open our ears and our hearts that we may respond.

O return unto all Your children speech--

That we may once more speak together as brethren of peace.



John Fletcher stained the walls of his room by the breath of his prayers. Sometimes he would pray all night; always, frequently, and with great earnestness. His whole life was a life of prayer. "I would not rise from my seat," he said, "without lifting my heart to God." His greeting to a friend was always: "Do I meet you praying?" Luther said: "If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day. I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer." He had a motto: "He that has prayed well has studied well."



Five Minute Speeches

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments A14 and A16.

Class #13

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Exalt the Lord our god and worship at his footstool, for He is holy.

Exalt God, the faithful King; He is holy and blessed at all times.

Exalt Him who bestows kindness; He is holy and his laws are delightful.

Exalt Him who is hallowed through justice; He is holy and hearkens to supplication.

Exalt Him who spanned the heavens; He is holy and His words are sweet.

Exalt Him who is good to all; He is holy and knows all.

Exalt Him in whose temple everything says "Glory": He is holy and supremely exalted.

Exalt Him who sets the number of stars; He is holy and abides amid the cherubim.

Exalt Him who sustains the world with his arm; He is holy, powerful, and unknowable.

Exalt Him who graciously liberates the faithful; He is holy and the sky declares His truth.

Exalt Him who is near to those who call upon him: He is holy and accepts those who revere him.

Exalt Him who hears prayer; He is holy and glories in assemblages.



The men who have most fully illustrated Christ in their character, and have most powerfully affected the world for him, have been men who spent so much time with God as to make it a notable feature of their lives. Charles Simeon devoted the hours from four till eight in the morning to God. Mr. Wesley spent two hours daily in prayer. He began at four in the morning. Of him, one who knew him well wrote: "He thought prayer to be more his business than anything else, and I have seen him come out of his closet with a serenity of face next to shining."



Class Motto



Review

Form and Structure of the Text

Stuart

Review - (1) Text and Translation, (2) Historical Context, (3) Form and Structure, (4) Grammatical and Lexical Data

82-83 - Biblical and Theological Context



Writing: Unit-Lesson A15

Develop Topics by Comparisons



Sermon -

DEVELOP TOPICS BY COMPARISON


from Two Presidents by Anonymous

Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the United States in 1860. John Fitzgerald Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960. Both Presidents had the legality of their elections contested. Both were directly concerned with the issue of Civil Rights.



Each man was attacked suddenly by an assassin on a Friday, and in the presence of his wife. Each man was shot; in each instance, crowds of people watched the shooting. Lincoln's secretary, named Kennedy, had advised him not to go to the theater where the attack occurred. Kennedy's secretary, named Lincoln, had advised him not to go to Dallas, where the attack occurred.



Booth, Lincoln's assassin, was born in 1839. Oswald, Kennedy's assassin, was born in 1939. Both assassins were murdered before they could be brought to trial.




RECOGNIZE THE POWER OF COMPARISON. Comparison is one of the basic ways of thinking we humans beings use to learn new things and to organize or classify the unaccountable facts and non-facts around us ; the topics in your lesson selection have been developed by the use of comparison. So great is the power of comparison that a particular object which you have never seen before you encountered it can become recognizable on sight: you understand it by comparing it to something you are familiar with.

CONTROL THE DETAILS OF YOUR COMPARISON



There are three steps you should follow when using comparison as a method for giving information to your listener:

4.Make sure your facts are accurate.

5.Make sure you have all the facts you need to accomplish your purpose.

6.Make sure the details you use make your comparison absolutely clear.



ORGANIZE YOUR COMPARISON TO SUIT YOUR PURPOSE. Any effective comparison is well organized. Emphasize a point by placing it first or last in your comparison, since the minds of your listener/reader is affected most strongly by an opening or a closing statement.




ASSIGNMENT


Practice handling comparison of several different topics by following these steps: (1) think of a topic; (2) imagine an audience; (3) decide what you want to emphasize; (4) choose a comparison "strategy" which helps you make your point most effectively. Using the following examples, write a brief comparison of each.

Topic Audience Emphasis Strategy
Two kinds of friends young adult Sabbath school some types are better than others differences
Two sides of the "wedding ring issue" a friend who needs your advice uncertain which side to choose differences
Shared beliefs of Adventist and other religions friend of another religion who has shown an interest in your faith both religions share some common ground likenesses




Class #14

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

O Lord, guard my tongue from evil and my lips from speaking falsehood.

Help me to ignore those who speak ill of me, and to forgive those who offend against me.

May I be humble and forgiving to all.

Open my heart to your law that I may eagerly do your will and pursue all your truths.

Frustrate the designs of those who seek to do me ill; speedily defeat their aims and thwart their purposes--

For the sake of Your glory and Your power, for the sake of Your holiness and law.

That Your loved ones may be delivered, O Lord, answer me and save with Your redeeming power.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart find favor before You, my Rock and my Redeemer.

O You, source of peace, who ordain harmony in the universe, grant peace to me, to those I labor with, and to all humanity.



Archbishop Leighton was so much alone with God that he seemed to be in a perpetual meditation. "Prayer and praise were his business and his pleasure," says his biographer. Bishop Ken was so much with God that his soul was said to be God-enamored. He was with God before the clock struck three every morning.

Class Motto



Review

Application

Stuart

Review - (1) Text and Translation, (2) Historical Context, (3) Form and Structure, (4) Grammatical and Lexical Data, (5) Biblical and Theological Context.

83-84 - Application



Writing: Unit-Lesson B16

Express Attitude through Word Choice



Sermon

EXPRESS ATTITUDE THROUGH WORD CHOICE 


from The Octopus by Frank Norris

1. Then, faint and prolonged, across the levels of the ranch, he heard the engine whistling for Bonneville. Again and again, at rapid intervals in its flying course, it whistled for road crossings, for sharp curves, for trestles; ominous notes, hoarse, bellowing, ringing with the accents of meace and defiance; and abruptly Presley saw again, in his imagination, the galloping monster, the terror of steel and steam, with its single eye, Cyclopean, red, shooting from horizon to horizon; but saw it now as the symbol of a vast power, huge, terrible, flinging the echo of its thunder over all the reaches of the valley, leaving blood and destruction in its path; the leviathan, with tentacles of steel clutching into the soil, the soulless Force, the iron-hearted Power, the monster, the Colossus, the Octopus.

2. The day was fine. Since the first rain of the season, there had been no other. Now the sky was without a cloud, pale blue, delicate, luminous, scintillating with morning. The great brown earth turned a huge flank to it, exhaling the moisture of the early dew. The atmosphere, washed clean of dust and mist, was translucent as crystal. Far off to the east, the hills on the other side of Broderson Creek stood out against the pallid saffron of the horizon as flat and as sharply outlined as if pasted on the sky. The campanile of the ancient Mission of San Juan seemed as fine as frost work. All about between the horizons, the carpet of the land unrolled itself to infinity. But now it was no longer parched with heat, cracked and warped by the merciless sun, powdered with dust. The rain had done its work; not a clod that was not swollen with fertility, not a fissure that did not exhale the sense of fecundity.




RECOGNIZE THE CONNOTATIONS OF WORDS.   Some words primarily communicate facts while others reveal feelings. Most  words contain two kinds of meaning: denotation, which is a word's basic meaning, and connotation,  which refers to any emotional suggestions that a particular word holds for you.  For example, the denotation of the word home might be  the place where one resides, while the connotations might include security, warmth, or even uncertainty and misunderstanding.

Some words, such as paper, course, large,  seem to convey little emotional meaning.  They are neutral words. Of course,  once you start using them in connection with other words or ideas, they may take on a positive or a negative connotation. Because words can be live wires of emotion,  you have a great responsibility to understand your audience and use great care with words that have strong emotional connotations.

USE WORDS THAT EXPRESS A FAVORABLE OR UNFAVORABLE ATTITUDE.   If you want to transfer your own  unfavorable feelings to your audience, you have to choose words that convey negative connotations. In the train selection, Norris expresses an attitude of hatred, fear, and resentment toward the train.  The key word ominous establishes the attitude,  and normally neutral words like hoarse take on an unfavorable connotation.

Conversely, you can also use words to express a positive attitude. Notice that in the second selection,  many of the words are more neutral, but  they are put together in such a way that they convey a sense of pleasant calm.



Also, notice that in both selections, the writers have used color words to help establish a particular feeling.



ASSIGNMENT. 

Write a paragraph  on one of the topics below in which you convey either a favorable or an unfavorable sense to your audience. Carefully choose words which best convey your feelings.

1. You've just come back from a weekend as the guest speaker at a junior camp. (favorable).



2.  You're in charge of the Ingathering campaign for your church, and you know that traditionally, the members haven't been very supportive. You've got to inspire them with this short speech. (favorable)

3.  Review a film or book you recently seen/read. (unfavorable)




Class #15

Class Agenda

Preacher's Prayer -

O God, we have come to your Sanctuary to seek Your presence. Speak to us, we pray,

with the still, small voice of Your Spirit.

If our lives have become shallow, deepen them;

If our principles have become shabby, repair them.

If our ideals have become tarnished, restore them;

If our hopes have become faded, revive them.

If our loyalties have grown dim, brighten them;

If our values have become confused, clarify them.

If our purposes have grown blurred, sharpen them;

If our horizons have become narrowed, widen them.

Make us worthy instruments of Your will,

And help us to live the words we pray.

Class Motto



Review

Determine the Exegetical Idea

Robinson

66 - Stage 3 - determine exactly what the biblical writer is talking about

67-70 - Subject, Complement, Other Literary Forms

79-96 - Stage 4 - Submit the exegetical idea to 3 developmental questions

97-99 - Stage 5 - State the exegetical idea in the most exact, memorable sentence

107-112 - Stage 6 - Determine the purpose for this sermon

MacArthur

212-15 - Observation



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments A15 and B16



Sermon

Class #16

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Michael Hollings and Etta Gullick

Lord, I thank your for teaching me how to live in the present moment. In this way I enjoy each simple task as I do it without thinking that I must hurry on to the next thing. I do what I am doing with all my ability and all my concentration. My mind is no longer divide, and life is more peaceful. Thank you for teaching me how to do this, and please help me to show others the way to learn to trust you more completely and to do everything which has to be done at your time and your speed.



Let us often look at Brainerd in the woods of America pouring out his very soul before God for the perishing heathen without whose salvation nothing could make him happy. Prayer -- secret fervent believing prayer - lies at the root of all personal godliness. A competent knowledge of the language where a missionary lives, a mild and winning temper, a heart given up to God in closet religion -- these, these are the attainments which, more than all knowledge, or all other gifts, will fit us to become the instruments of God in the great work of human redemption. -- Carrey's Brotherhood, Serampore

Class Motto



Quiz



Review

Sermon Shape

Robinson

115 - People need to be reminded as much as they need to be informed

116-127 - Stage 7 - And idea to be explained, proposition to be proved, a principle to be applied, a subject to be completed, a story to be told, other forms - note inductive vs. deductive development



Writing: Unit-Lesson B22

Convey Meaning Through Tone



Sermon

CONVEY MEANING THROUGH TONE 


from Circus at Dawn by Thomas Wolfe

Talking in low excited voices we would walk rapidly back toward town under the rustle of September leaves, in cool streets just grayed now with that still, that unearthly and magical first light of day which seems suddenly to rediscover the great earth out of darkness, so that the earth emerges with an awful, a glorious sculptural stillness.

At the sculptural still square where at one corner, just emerging into light, my father's shabby little marble shop stood with a ghostly strangeness and familiarity, my brother and I would "catch" the first street-car of the day bound for the "depot" where the circus was--or sometimes we would meet some one we knew, who would give us a lift in his automobile.

Then, having reached the dingy, grimy, and rickety depot section, we would get out, and walk rapidly across the tracks of the station yard, where we could see great flares and steamings from the engines, and hear the crash and bump of shifting freight cars, the swift sporadic thunders of a shifting engine, the tolling of bells, the sounds of great trains on the rails.

And to all these familiar sounds, filled with their exultant prophecies of flight, the voyage, morning, and the shining cities--to all the sharp and thrilling odors of the trains--the smell of cinders, acrid smoke, of musty, rusty freight cars, the clean pine-board of crated produce, and the smells of fresh stored food--oranges, coffee, tangerines and bacon, ham and flour and beef--there would be added now, with an unforgettable magic and familiarity, all the strange sounds and smells of the coming circus.




ESTABLISH TONE IN YOUR WRITING  

In conversation the tone of your voice often indicates the real meaning of the words by emphasizing  your attitude. In writing, conveying tone is often more difficult because you do not have voice or expression.  Do not mistake tone for mood.  While they may  occasionally be the same, depending on what you're writing, mood   generally refers to the writer;  while tone refers to the writing.

Tone is made up of many elements including your choice of words, the details you include, the impressions you try to make and the emotion you want to convey. This is why it is extremely important that you carefully read your own writing, as well as the writing of others to make sure you are clear about  the tone; a hurried reading can  produce misunderstanding.

CHOOSE WORDS THAT CONVEY TONE 



The words you choose are very important in establishing tone. If you choose words that are unpleasant in meaning and connotation, the whole tone of your writing will take on the color of these words.  Conversely, notice how Wolfe conveys a tone of pleasure simply by using words that a boy might in describing a circus. Throughout his writing, Wolfe maintains a tone that illustrates his attitude toward his subject.



ASSIGNMENT   

For each topic listed, write one paragraph that expresses the tone indicated. Remember to choose words which appeal to sensory impressions to help you establish a particular tone.

1. A solemn school event (such as a Christmas pageant) that is broken by a humorous incident.  (humorous)

2, A student missionary who's just returned from a year abroad, speaking about their experiences. (excited, joyous)
3. A eulogy for your favorite Religion professor. (respectful, affectionate, humorous)
4. A letter home to your parents describing your first sermon (excited, enthusiastic) or your Homiletics grade (worried, depressed)


Class #17

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

May the prayers of our lips be pleasing to You, O God.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because they are spoken with sincerit5y and with truth.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because they are uttered in humility, as we acknowledge our frailty and our need for Your sustaining strength.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because they are offered in gratitude for Your manifold blessings, too numerous to be counted, too constant to be deserved.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because we firmly resolve to take these noble words with us and to permit them to guide our actions in the days ahead.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because the lips which speak them also speak words of hope to the discouraged, cheer to the distressed, solace to the bereaved, and kindness to all.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because they reflect not only our own needs but also the needs of others, and the needs of all your people.

May our prayers be pleasing to pleasing to You because they remind us of what You expect of us and because they challenge us to become all that we are capable of being.

Class Motto

Quiz



Review

Sermon Outline and Flow

Robinson

128-132 Stage 8 - Outline your sermon

215-16 Sample Text Outline

MacArthur

160-176 Outlining a Text

233-39 Outlining Continued



Writing: Unit-B23

Arrive at the Controlling Idea



Sermon

ARRIVE AT THE CONTROLLING IDEA 


from The Dump Ground by Wallace Stegner

If the history of Whitemud was not exactly written, it was at least hinted, in the dump. I think I had a pretty sound notion even at eight or nine of how significant was that first institution of our forming Canadian civilization. For rummaging through its foul purlieus I had several times been surprised and shocked to find relics of my own life tossed out there to blow away or rot.

Some of the books were volumes of the set of Shakespeare that my father had bought, or been sold, before I was born. They had been carried from Dakota to Seattle, and Seattle to Bellingham, and Bellingham to Redmond, and Redmond back to Iowa, and Iowa to Saskatchewan. One of the Cratchet girls had borrowed them, a hatchet-faced, thin, eager, transplanted Cockney girl with a frenzy for reading. Stained in a fire, they had somehow found the dump rather than come back to us. The lesson they preached was how much is lost, how much thrown aside, how much carelessly or of necessity given up, in the making of a new country. We had so few books that I knew them all; finding those thrown away was like finding my own name on a gravestone.

And yet not the blow that something else was, something that impressed me even more with how closely the dump reflected the town's intimate life. The colt whose picked skeleton lay out there was mine. He had been incurably crippled when dogs chased our mare Daisy the morning after she foaled. I had worked for months to make him well, had fed him by hand, curried him, talked my father into having iron braces made for his front legs. And I had not known that he would have to be destroyed. One weekend I turned him over to the foreman of one of the ranches, presumably so that he could be better cared for. A few days later I found his skinned body, with the braces still on his crippled front legs, lying on the dump. I think I might eventually have accepted the colt's death, and forgiven his killer, it had not been for that dirty little two-dollar meanness that skinned him.

Not even finding his body cured me of going to the dump, though our parents all forbade us on pain of cholera or worse to do so. The place fascinated us, as it should have. For this was the kitchen midden of all the civilization we knew. It gave us the most tantalizing glimpses into our neighbors' lives and our own; it provided an aesthetic distance from which to know ourselves.

The town dump was our poetry and our history. We took it home with us by the wagon load, bringing back into town the things the town had used and thrown away. Some little part of what we gathered, mainly bottles, we managed to bring back to usefulness, but most of our gleanings we left lying around barn or attic or cellar until in some renewed fury of spring cleanup our families carted them off to the dump again, to be rescued and briefly treasured by some other boy. Occasionally something we really valued with a passion was snatched from us in horror and returned at once. That happened to the mounted head of a white mountain goat, somebody's trophy from old times and the far Rocky Mountains, that I brought home one day. My mother took one look and discovered that his beard was full of moths.

I remember that goat; I regret him yet. Poetry is seldom useful, but always memorable. If I were a sociologist anxious to study in detail the life of any community I would go very early to its refuse piles. For community may be as well judged by what it throws away--what it has to throw away and what it chooses to--as by any other evidence. For whole civilizations we sometimes have no more of the poetry and little more of the history than this.




CHOOSE A SUBJECT AREA. Writing a long composition of several paragraphs requires the careful selection of an idea that you can adequately discuss. It's tempting to think that because you are writing a long composition, you can choose any subject, no matter how broad. But it is important to limit the idea to a very specific topic. Once you have done this, you must consider two very important factors: the meaning the topic holds for you, and the meaning you intend to bring to your audience. As you're deciding what you want to discuss, it's important to make sure  that whatever you choose holds interest for you! You can't interest your audience if the topic doesn't interest you as well!

DETERMINE THE SPECIFIC TOPIC.  Although Stegner chose the subject area of town dumps, he obviously could not write about all town dumps, or even about all aspects of one dump. He might have chosen the specific topic of the town dump and health, or the town dump and unsightliness. Instead, he chose the aspect of the town dump and the town's history.  In the same fashion, you must narrow a general topic to one that is more specific; in this way you move toward what will become your controlling idea.


STATE YOUR CONTROLLING IDEA. Once you have decided on a controlling idea it is important to turn that idea into a concrete statement. Just which aspect you select depends both on your interests and the interests of your audience.  Unless you have a specific audience in mind, try to appeal to the largest possible group, to the general reader.





ASSIGNMENT.  Each of the following subject areas could be turned into a good paper, but they need to be narrowed down. Change each of the areas into a specific topic. Then, using a complete sentence, write a controlling idea for each topic.  Finally, choose one of the topics and write a paragraph in which you discuss how you would develop it into a longer paper. Remember to include reasons for your interest in this particular area, the specific audience your paper is geared toward, and any details you would include in your writing.

1. Types of popular music
2. Advantages of a certain career
3. Violence on television
4. Leisure-time activities




Class #18

Class Agenda

"On Stage" #3



Preacher's Prayer - ASV Psalm 51

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; (And) my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16 For thou delightest not in sacrifice; Else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.



Speeches

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments B22 and B23





Class #19

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Jo Carr and Imogene Sorley

Ah, Lord--a blessed time to be alone.

I forget, in the bustle and hustle of busy days, that I need it--that it is as necessary to my emotional equilibrium as food is to my body. I hunger for it.

And when I deny myself this aloneness--which I do in the name of getting-on-with-the-task--I become jumpy and irritable, unable to perform the task.

Ah, Lord--a blessed time to be alone.

First, it's just a time to unwind, and then, somehow, it becomes prelude to prayer. It becomes a time to center down, to re-orient my day.

I thank you, God, for the blessed renewal of my times alone.

And help me remember that everyone around me needs times of aloneness. Let me remember to not intrude--to hush a minute--to prove the possibility of times alone--for all my friends, for my whole family, for my husband(wife), for my children, for me.



I urge upon you communion with Christ a growing communion. There are curtains to be drawn aside in Christ that we never saw, and new foldings of love in him. I despair that I shall ever win to the far end of that love, there are so many plies in it. Therefore dig deep, and sweat and labor and take pains for him, and set by as much time in the day for him as you can. We will be won in the labor. -- Samuel Rutherford



Class Motto



Quiz



Review

Sermon Introduction/Conclusion

Robinson

159-173 - Start with a bang and quit all over

Stage 10 - prepare introduction and conclusion

MacArthur

242-7 - Introductions

252-4 - Conclusions



Writing: Unit-Lesson B10

Compress and Expand Ideas



Sermon

COMPRESS AND EXPAND IDEAS 


from The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson

Even in these days of Diesel power, the coastwise shipping off southern Florida shows a wholesome respect for the Gulf Stream. Almost any day, if you are out in a small boat below Miami, you may see the big freighters and tankers moving south in a course that seems surprisingly close to the Keys. Landward is the almost unbroken wall of submerged reefs where the big niggerhead corals send their solid bulks up to within a fathom or two of the surface. To seaward is the Gulf Stream, and while the big boats could fight their way south against it, they would consume much time and fuel in doing so. Therefore they pick their way with care between the reefs and the Stream.



The energy of the Stream off southern Florida probably results from the fact that here it is actually flowing downhill. Strong easterly winds pile up so much surface water in the narrow Ycatan Channel and in the Gulf of Mexico that the sea level there is higher than in the open Atlantic. At Cedar Keys, on the Gulf coast of Florida, the level of the sea is 19 centimeters (about 7 1/2 inches) higher than at St. Augustine....



Northward, the Stream follows the contours of the continental slope to the offing of Cape Hatteras, whence it turns more to seaward, deserting the sunken edge of the land. But it has left its impress on the continent. The four beautifully sculptured capes of the southern Atlantic coast--Canaveral, Fear, Lookuout, Hatteras--apparently have been molded by powerful eddies set up by the passage of the Stream. Each is a cusp projecting seaward; between each pair of capes the beach runs in a long curving arc--the expression of the rhythmically swirling waters of the Gulf Stream eddies.




EXPRESS THE MAIN IDEA--COMPRESSED FORM

The practice of building paragraphs by repeating  the paragraph idea is essential to making sure your readers understand you, and the compressed statement of the total paragraph idea--the topic sentence--is one of the best ways to make your meaning absolutely clear.  When you read the selection above, note that it is the first sentence that contains all the details of the other four. Each of the remaining four adds new facts, but no single sentence includes all the facts. You must use all four together to state again the main idea in the first sentence. We refer to these four sentences as the expanded statement because it states the paragraph idea at length.


EXPAND THE MAIN IDEA--EXPANDED FORM 



The expanded statement allows you to furnish the particulars, the reasons, the added details that make the compressed statement clear or more reasonable to accept. The expanded statement also reveals your personal viewpoint and your ability to present information that will command your reader's attention. In a well written, unified paragraph, the expanded statement will repeat the same kind of details as those used in the compressed statement.




ASSIGNMENT

Consider a belief or conviction you hold concerning a subject important to you. Think of two or three reasons why you hold this conviction and put each into a compressed statement. Then say it "twice" by developing a paragraph for each that will leave no doubt in your reader's mind concerning what you believe and why.  Take into account that not everyone holds for "truth" what you might consider to be a given.  Below is a list of possible topics

.

1. Appropriate Sabbath activities
2. The role of women in the church
3.  The importance of Christian education
4. Qualities a potential spouse must have




Class #20

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Origen

O Jesus, my feet are dirty. Come even as a slave to me, pour water into your bowl, come and wash my feet. In asking such a thing I know I am overbold but I dread what was threatened when you said to me, "If I do not wash your feet I have no fellowship with you." Wash my feet then, because I long for your companionship. And yet, what am I asking? It was well for Peter to ask you to wash his feet; for him that was all that was needed for him to be clean in every part. With me it is different; though you wash me now I shall still stand in need of that other washing, the cleansing you promised when you said, "There is a baptism I must needs be baptized with.



For nothing reaches the heart but what is from the heart or pierces the conscience but what comes from a living conscience. -- William Penn

In the morning was more engaged in preparing the head than the heart. This has been frequently my error, and I have always felt the evil of it especially in prayer. Reform it then, O Lord! Enlarge my heart and I shall preach. -- Robert Murray McCheyne

A sermon that has more head infused into it than heart will not borne home with efficacy to the hearers. -- Richard Cecil

Class Motto



Quiz



Review

Sermon Transition and Meaning

Robinson

137-56 - Stage 9 - Making dry bones live.



Writing: Unit-Lesson B2

Vary Sentence Beginnings and Lengths



Sermon

VARY SENTENCE BEGINNINGS AND LENGTHS 


from A Modern Instance by William Dean Howells

But winter was full half the year. The snow began at Thanksgiving and fell snow upon snow till Fast Day, thawing between the storms, and packing harder and harder against the break-up in the spring, when it covered the ground in solid levels three feet high, and lay heaped in drifts, that defied the sun far into May. When it did not snow, the weather was keenly clear, and commonly very still. Then the landscape at noon had a stereoscopic glister under the high sun that burned in a heaven without a cloud, and at setting stained the sky and the white waste with freezing pink and violet. On such days the farmers and lumbermen came in to the village stores, and made a stiff and feeble stir about their doorways, and the school children gave the street a little life and color, as they went to and from the Academy in their red and blue woolens. Four times a day the mill, the shrill wheeze of whose saws had become part of the habitual silence, blew its whistle for the hands to begin and leave off work, in blasts that seemed to shatter themselves against the thin air. But otherwise an arctic quiet prevailed.








VARY SENTENCE LENGTHS FOR INTEREST AND EMPHASIS 



Variety is what makes your writing interesting. Material which isn't varied is often unpleasant to  read. If all your sentences are unusually long, paragraphs may seem difficult to understand. If, on the other hand, all sentences are too short, reading becomes choppy and can appear childish. You must develop your subject matter so that you can use variations in sentence length and sentence beginnings. Your ideas  must  have definite relationship to one another,  and you must  construct sentences that emphasize the subject matter  properly.  A definite beginning, middle, and end will give shape to your ideas.


VARY SENTENCE BEGINNINGS FOR INTEREST AND EMPHASIS 



Sentences of the same length can easily produce monotonous, flat writing. This monotony can also result from sentences which have the same beginning pattern. Try to avoid constantly using  the subject-verb-modifiers, which can result in a flat display of ideas. Rather, try to vary the pattern by using introductory words or phrases that stress or bridge ideas, or that show time and space relationships.  The sentence that begins, "When it did not snow" is an example of a smoothness that comes from linking ideas to the preceding sentence.






ASSIGNMENT  



The tick of a clock may be agonizing in its slowness or frustrating in its speed. Write two paragraphs in which you contrast two very different experiences illustrating your idea of the way time passes, one which is speed of time and one of slowness of time.  [ Possible experiences: waiting for an incredibly dull sermon to be over on Sabbath; trying to get all your chores, shopping, etc. done before the sun goes down on Friday evening.]






Class #21

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer - Ramona K. Cecil, ©1991 Dicksons (Thanks to Glenn Gibson)

Oh God, I kneel before you with a humble heart

I pray, may I be Your instrument and work for You each day.



Help me find those lost in sin and bring them back to you,

Let winning others to your kingdom be the daily work I do.



Guide every word that I should say and may I always preach,

The truth you've given in Your work as You would have me teach.



Lord, behold Your humble servant, help me be what You'd have me be.

For I've heard your great commission and I've answered, "Lord, send me."



Study not to be a fine preacher. Jerichos are blown down with rams' horns. Look simply unto Jesus for preaching food; and what is wanted will be given, and what is given will be blessed, whether it be a barley grain or a wheaten loaf, a crust or a crumb. Your mouth will be a flowing stream or a fountain sealed, according as your heart is. Avoid all controversy in preaching, talking, or writing; preach nothing down but the devil, and nothing up but Jesus Christ. -- Berridge



Class Motto



Quiz



Review



Fleshing out the outline: Support and Illustrations

MacArthur

247-51 Illustrations

292-5 Illustrations



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments B10 and B2





Class #22

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Kind and loving Father, we are poor and shortsighted, needing guidance, and particularly when we draw near to You in prayer.

We can only confess our sins, and bring our wants before You as we are taught by Your Spirit.

We bless You for this Your latest gift--the gift of today, and for its accompanying favors, health and strength to enjoy it, in the best of all places, at Your feet and in Your presence.

May we be fully established in Your love and power, and be ever strengthened and encouraged by the assurance of Your goodness and grace.

Show us that Your presence in our midst is not to fill us with fear, but to inspire us to live better, to pray more fervently, and to work with greater zeal.

May the message of Your grace shine through our imperfect speech and fall upon attentive ears and receptive hearts.

May the varied gifts with which we are endowed be used with a consecration, and with a directness in all we attempt for You.

But above all may there be in us a strong attachment to Jesus Christ, and may there be a blessed contagion about our love to Him that will spread as we come in contact with others, through Jesus Christ our Lord, AMEN.



I judge that my prayer is more than the devil himself; if it were otherwise, Luther would have fared differently long before this. Yet men will not see and acknowledge the great wonders or miracles God works in my behalf. If I should neglect prayer but a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith. - Martin Luther



Class Motto

Quiz



Review



Refining the Words

Robinson

175-179 Dress of Thought - MANUSCRIPT

179-183 A Clear Style - Clear Outline, Short Sentences, Simple Structure

183-185 A Direct and Personal Style

185-190 A Vivid Style

MacArthur

239-241 Choosing a Title



Writing: Unit-Lesson A9

Support Judgments with Specific Information



SUPPORT JUDGMENTS WITH SPECIFIC INFORMATION




from Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

And the boat is rather a handsome sight, too. She is long and sharp and trim and pretty; she has two tall, fancy-topped chimneys, with a gilded device of some sort swung between them; a fanciful pilothouse, all glass and "gingerbread," perched on top of the "texas" deck behind them; the paddle boxes are gorgeous with a picture or with gilded rays above the boat's name; the boiler deck, the hurricane deck, and the texas deck are fenced and ornamented with clean white railings; there is a flag flying gallantly from the jack staff....



from Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad



His skipper had come up noiselessly, in pyjamas and with his sleeping-jacket flung wide open. Red of face, only half awake, the left eye partly closed, the right staring stupid and glassy, he hung his big head over the chart and scratched his ribs sleepily. There was something obscene in the sight of his naked flesh. His bared breast glistened soft and greasy as though he had sweated out his fat in his sleep. He pronounced a professional remark in a voice harsh and dead, resembling the rasping sound of a wood-file on the edge of a plank; the fold of his double chin hung like a bag triced up close under the hinge of his jaw. Jim started, and his answer was full of deference; but the odious and fleshy figure, as though seen for the first time in a revealing moment, fixed itself in his memory for ever as the incarnation of everything vile and base that lurks in the world we love....






SUPPORT JUDGMENTS DIRECTLY 

The direct method of supporting judgments or opinions is a natural  in speaking or writing: the judgment comes first.    You might say to someone, "That's a sweet boat."  They might then ask,  "What do you mean by sweet?"  You would then supply the details that define or account for you opinion of the boat. This whole-to-part organization of an idea or image has many advantages for both you and your reader. In order to state a judgment first, you must have thought through your topic beforehand.  Your reader has an immediate overview of the topic--he only has to watch closely as you fill in the supporting details.


UNFOLD YOUR JUDGMENTS



The direct method of supporting judgments is close to the deductive process of thinking in that the conclusion comes first and is followed by supporting details. By contrast, the unfolding method is similar to the inductive process of thinking, for the details come first and lead to a conclusion.  The Conrad selection illustrates this method--Conrad's judgment comes at the end, preceded by a series of vivid details which are carefully arranged which lead the reader naturally to the conclusion.






ASSIGNMENT

Assume that someone whom you've never seen before shows up at your church on Sabbath. By observing their appearance and mannerisms, you will form an opinion about them. You notice at the outset that they are dressed somewhat different from others in the church, and you feel somewhat leery of them. Yet, the person has a pleasant face and seems very friendly; a snap judgment doesn't seem warranted.


In  one paragraph, write a description of the person's appearance and behavior during  church. Make it sufficiently detailed to support your judgment. Place your general statement at the beginning or end--wherever it will be most effective.






Class #23

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

O You, who are infinite and perfect, our all-seeing, all-knowing and all-loving Father, we come to You. Grant us a wider and truer conception of Yourself, and of Your gracious purpose regarding our sojourn here.

Help us to realize, more than we do, that this beautiful world in which we live is Yours, and everything in it, and that we are not our own.

We thank You for such an inheritance, and for the numerous things that point to one richer, better and more enduring. May we regard this world as our present home, and our life as a sacred trust from You.

Help us to scatter those seeds that will bear fruit and yield a glorious harvest. May we ever realize that as we sow so shall we reap; as we live here, so we shall live in the future.

Give us the strength and the courage to live the immortal life every day--the life of faith and prayer--the life of sunshine and hope--the life that grows brighter and clearer until the perfect day.

In the meantime may we make our present inheritance more glorious and attractive to others by pointing them to the Savior of the world as their Friend and Redeemer.

May we take every advantage of getting good and of doing good as the days come and go, and in all our efforts may we be prompted and assisted by the Holy Spirit. This we ask in the name of Christ. AMEN.



One bright benison which private prayer brings down upon the ministry is an indescribable and inimitable something -- an unction from the Holy One . . . . If the anointing which we bear come not from the Lord of hosts, we are deceivers, since only in prayer can we obtain it. Let us continue instant constant fervent in supplication. Let your fleece lie on the thrashing floor of supplication till it is wet with the dew of heaven. - Charles Haddon Spurgeon



Class Motto



Quiz



Review



Refining Word Order For Emphasis and Meaning





Writing: Unit-Lessons B7

Support Your Statements with Examples



SUPPORT YOUR STATEMENTS WITH EXAMPLES 




from Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. He is supported on crutches, but lacks so much support of muscle. He has a fine Geneva watch, but he fails of the skill to tell the hour by the sun. A Greenwich nautical almanac he has, and so being sure of the information when he wants it, the man in the street does not know a star in the sky. The solstice he does not observe; the equinox he knows as little; and the whole bright calendar of the year is without a dial in his mind. His notebooks impair his memory; his libraries overload his wit; the insurance office increases the number of accidents; and it may be a question whether machinery does not encumber; whether we have not lost by refinement some energy, by a Christianity entrenched in establishments and forms, some vigor of wild virtue. For every Stoic was a Stoic; but in Christendom where is the Christian?






CHOOSE EXAMPLES CAREFULLY

Examples are often used to support general statements by giving the statement concrete and specific meaning.  Emerson provides a number of familiar examples to illustrate his rather abstract subject, that of "self-reliance." The first example of man's loss of self-reliance is well chosen because all of Emerson's readers would be familiar with a coach, just as you would be with an automobile. This kind of example draws the reader in. Emerson also cites notebooks and libraries as examples of the "crutches" that take the place of memory and learning through direct experience.  A well chosen example not only supports a statement; it also makes the statement more meaningful.





ARRANGE EXAMPLES IN AN EFFECTIVE ORDER 



In the first four sentences, Emerson contrasts what man has gained with what he's lost, so that point is immediately clear.  Though both sides are given, Emerson stresses the negative by placing it last. He gains added emphasis in the first three sentences by using the contrasting word but.  By mentioning only the negative in the fifth and sixth sentences, he strengthens his position and makes a solid impression on the reader.  Notice also that the order of examples moves from familiar to unfamiliar, simple to complex.  The examples are arranged here in order of their importance; if  you can convince your reader to accept your minor ideas, the way is paved for the reader to accept the major ones as well.






ASSIGNMENT



Write a paragraph in which you use examples to support your position in a matter relating to your school or church. Be sure to select examples that are reasonable and effective. Arrange them in an order which suits the subject matter.
A few suggestions are provided.

1. The spiritual atmosphere on campus
2. The recent building addition at PMC
3. The amount of work required for Homiletics class
4. Your choice




Class #24

Class Agenda

"On Stage" #4



Preacher's Prayer - ASV Psalm 51:1

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions; And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, And done that which is evil in thy sight; That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest, And be clear when thou judgest. 5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. 6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts; And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8 Make me to hear joy and gladness, That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9 Hide thy face from my sins, And blot out all mine iniquities. 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; And renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; And take not thy holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; And uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; And sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation; (And) my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15 O Lord, open thou my lips; And my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16 For thou delightest not in sacrifice; Else would I give it: Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 18 Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: Build thou the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then will thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt-offering and in whole burnt-offering: Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.



Speeches

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.





Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments A9 and B7

Class #25

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Lord, I want to love you, yet I'm not sure.

I want to trust you, yet I'm afraid of being taken in.

I know I need you, yet I'm ashamed of the need.

I want to pray, yet I'm afraid of being a hypocrite.

I need my independence, yet I fear to be alone.

I want to belong, yet I must be myself.

Take me, Lord, yet leave me along.

Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.

O Lord, if you are there, you do understand, don't you?

Give me what I need but leave me free to choose.

Help me work it out my own way, but don't let me go.

Let me understand myself, but don't let me despair.

Come unto me, O Lord--I want you there.

Lighten my darkness--but don't dazzle me.

Help me to see what I need to do and give me strength to do it.

O Lord, I believe; help thou my unbelief.

If some Christians that have been complaining of their ministers had said and acted less before men and had applied themselves with all their might to cry to God for their ministers -- had, as it were, risen and stormed heaven with their humble, fervent and incessant prayers for them -- they would have been much more in the way of success. -- Jonathan Edwards



Class Motto



Quiz



Review



Establishing Clear Style



Writing: Unit-Lessons A17

Mirror Yourself in Your Writing

MIRROR YOURSELF IN YOUR WRITING 




from Pigeon Feathers by John Updike

He dug the hole, in a sport where there were no strawberry plants, before he studied the pigeons. He had never seen a bird this close before. The feathers were more wonderful than dog's hair, for each filament was shaped within the shape of the feather, and the feathers in turn were trimmed to fit a pattern that flowed without error across the bird's body. He lost himself in the geometrical tides as the feathers now broadened and stiffened to make an edge for flight, now softened and constricted to cup warmth around the mute flesh. And across the surface of the infinitely adjusted yet somehow effortless mechanics of the feathers, played idle designs of color, no two alike, designs executed, it seemed, in a controlled rapture, with a joy that hung level in the air and behind him. Yet these birds bred in the millions and were exterminated as pests. Into the fragrant open earth he dropped one broadly banded in slate shades of blue, and on top of another, mottled all over in rhythms of lilac and gray. The next was almost wholly white, but for a salmon glaze at its throat. As he fitted the last two, still pliant, on the top, and stood up, crusty coverings were lifted from him, and with a feminine, slipping sensation along his nerves that seemed to give the air hands, he was robed in this certainty: that the God who had lavished such craft upon these worthless birds would no destroy His whole Creation by refusing to let David live forever.






WRITE LIKE A PERSON, NOT LIKE A MACHINE  

Sometimes writing is a machinelike assembling of words, an automatic response. You could write a letter, for example, without doing any original thinking at all. If a machine  had recorded the burying of six pigeons it might have written something like this:  "Today I buried six pigeons. They had beautifully colored feathers." The machine has given an account, but it has not responded to it. It has not taken the outside event within itself and mixed it with complex and absolutely personal memories, ideas, bits of information, ideas. There has been no personal response.  If you're going to write anything that is "real" than  you must not write like a machine.  Good writing can come only from creative thinking.


REFLECT BEFORE YOU WRITE 



Sometimes people get the idea that writing well is just a matter of taking pen in hand and assembling sentences. It isn't. An idea has to be born before there can be any good writing. And ideas are born only from the depths of our thinking minds. The sentences come at the end of our very personal assembly line. Otherwise an automaton may as well be doing the writing. You may find that you need to jot down some ideas for a piece of writing, then let them be for a little bit while you attend to something else. Or you might want to set aside some specific time to explore your thoughts and ideas on a particular issue. Whichever way you choose,  time for reflection is integral to good writing.






ASSIGNMENT 

Think about some thought, description,  event , or passing comment /quote that you might record in a journal entry and write a paragraph  that gives a full, detailed account of what was in your mind. 






Class #26

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Out of the depths have we cried unto You, O Lord, as we have thought of the magnitude of our sin. If You should mark iniquity, who could stand?

But there is forgiveness with You that You may be feared. Suffer us then to lay at Your feet the vows we have not kept, the obligations we have failed to meet, and the many transgressions of which we have been guilty.

Our hasty words and bitter feelings, our languid wills and cold affections, our wasted moments and selfish ambitions all rise before us, and we find no answer in our heart to the tremendous charge.

Our only hope is in the cross, for the greatness of Your mercy is the measure of our guilt. May that large and tender word of cheer and comfort uttered on earth by the sinner's Friend, be renewed from heaven to us here and now--your sins are forgiven; go in peace.

Thus may we enter upon a new chapter in our life, conscious that the past has been forgiven and blotted out. To this end hallow all our inclinations, and purify all our aspirations, and give us a grander conception of the Christian life, and establish our work, seeing we ask all in the Name of our Savior and divine Lord.



Class Motto



Quiz



Review

Establishing Personal Style



Preaching so People will Listen

Robinson

191-196 Some tidbits

196-198 Grooming and Dress

198-201 Movement and Gestures

201-202 Eye Contact

202-208 Vocal Delivery



Writing: Unit-Lessons A20

Use Figurative Language

USE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE 




from The Heart of the Hunter by Lauren's van der Post

We were still deep in the Kalahari moving slowly through a difficult tract of country into which the rains as yet had been unable to break. Since it was already late in the year, the plight of the desert was frightening. Almost all the grass was gone and only the broken-off stubble of another season left here and there, so thin, bleached and translucent that its shadow was little more than a darker form of the sunlight. The trees, most of them leafless, stood exposed against the penetrating light like bone in an X-ray plate. The little leaf there was looked burnt out and ready to crumble to ash on touch. Under such poor cover the deep sand was more conspicuous than ever, saffron at dawn and dusk, and sulfur in between. There was no shade anywhere solid enough to cool its burning surface. What there was seemed scribbled on it by the pointed thorns like script on some Dead Sea scroll.



There was no game. Yet the animals had been that way and clearly found it wanting. They had dug all over the surface with hoof and claw for the roots and tubers on which their lives depend until the rains come, leaving large holes and trenches behind. Vast areas looked as if a bitter battle had been fought over them, and there was always a moment at the climax of the day when the sunstroke racking the earth produced the hallucination that one was moving across the pockmarked surface of some yellow wasteland of the moon. Even the birds were rare and inconspicuous, except for a vulture always dangling over the deathbed scene like a spider suspended from the blue on a silky thread of air. The few birds we saw no longer sang and darted about their business with a desperate look.




RECOGNIZE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

In the example above, the writer wants you to understand what it is like to be deep in the parched Kalahari;  he also wants to convey his feeling for this area and for the thirsty animals that suffered here and left. Figurative language helps him achieve this purpose.  The writer has shown you how the desert really looked by talking about things and this may seem strange--that were not literally a part of the scene.  The trees are no bones on X-ray negatives; they are bare trees. The sand does not contain saffron or sulfur, but it does contain their shades of yellow and orange. The enrich the pictorial quality  of his language, the writer has brought in what is literally not on the scene.  This is the essence of figurative language: comparing imaginatively a similar quality in things that would  otherwise be thought of as totally unlike.





USE FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE WISELY



The best way to learn to use figurative language well in your own writing is to observe its use in the works of good writers. No one should use figurative language unless they are willing to think hard, to imagine precisely, and to seek patiently the right image. Figurative language is not an ornament that decorates language and makes it more elegant. You use figurative language  when you have something that you urgently want to express, something that seems to demand more of you and your use of language. All good writing reflects the sincere effort of an active, searching mind. If you are not thinking deeply, if you are showing off, if you are more interested in impressing someone than in saying something clearly--you figurative language will give you away.






ASSIGNMENT 



Using one of the trite statements below, write a short paragraph developing the statement into an idea, using figurative language where necessary. Before you write, carry on a conversation with yourself about your topic and make sure you see a picture in your mind.

1. There are many obstacles on the rocky road of life
2. To climb the great ladder of success we must start at the bottom rung
3. Hope is a lamp that guides us on our dark and perilous journey
4. She is always busy as a bee
 




Class #27

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

O Lamb of God, suffer us to gather at the foot of the cross, there to acknowledge our guilt, there to confess our shortcomings and transgressions, and there to receive from Your own gracious hand the blessing of absolution.

Never can we be sufficiently grateful to You for this sacred spot which offers to the truly penitent the gift of solace and rest, the favor of pardon and peace. When we think of our weakness and foolishness in quest of worldly pleasure and gain; when we recall our proneness to evil, and our indifference to the greatest blessing of life, we know not where to look or what to say.

Have mercy upon us, o God, and grant us Your forgiveness. We praise You for Your grace which is mightier than the law, and wider than our need, and higher than our reach, and infinitely more precious than all the gems of the earth. By it You do accomplish wonders.

The weak are made strong, the unclean are purified, the defiant are reconciled, while those that are afar off are brought nigh.

Send out Your light and Your truth this day, most merciful Savior, and may the saving power of the cross be seen in many hearts, and lives, and homes, and the praise and glory shall be Yours.



Class Motto



Quiz



Review



Establishing Vivid Style



Preaching so People will Listen

Robinson

191-196 Some tidbits

196-198 Grooming and Dress

198-201 Movement and Gestures

201-202 Eye Contact

202-208 Vocal Delivery



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignments A17 and A20

Class #28

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Give us, most merciful Father, the secret of waiting on You. Show us how to approach You, and teach us how to speak, and what to ask when we come into Your holy presence.

Graciously lift us as preachers into the heavenly places where we shall see sights, and hear voices that bring to us renewed strength and courage for our work, and increased joy and confidence in You.

We have been living and toiling in the lowlands of the world; our feet are covered with the dust of the road; our lips are parched with the heat of the day; or vision has become blurred by unholy sights; and our robes are soiled by contact with evil.

Come, blessed master, with the towel, the basin, and the water and wash our hands and feet and our whole nature, and we shall be clean.

Come and light again our lamp so that we may not only see our own way but help to shed a gleam along the dark road of others.

Come and rekindle once more the fire upon the altar of our hearts, and then we shall burn with loyalty and enthusiasm in our service for You and for our fellow men, and to You we shall ascribe all the praise and the glory through the atoning work of Your Son our Saviour.



Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven on earth. God does nothing but in answer to prayer. -- John Wesley



Class Motto



Quiz



Review

Using Atmosphere and visualization



Preaching so People will Listen

Robinson

191-196 Some tidbits

196-198 Grooming and Dress

198-201 Movement and Gestures

201-202 Eye Contact

202-208 Vocal Delivery



Writing: Unit Lessons A11

Organize Experience Through Images

ORGANIZE EXPERIENCE THROUGH IMAGES 




from Of Time and the River by Thomas Wolfe

October is the richest of the seasons: the fields are cut, the granaries are full, the bins are loaded to the brim with fatness, and from the cider press the rich brown oozings of the York Imperials run. The bee bores to the belly of the yellowed grape, the fly gets old and fat and blue, he buzzes loud, crawls slow, creeps heavily to death on sill and ceiling, the sun goes down in blood and pollen across the bronzed and mown field of old October.




RECOGNIZE AND CREATE IMAGES 

In language, an image is a mental impression, a visual unit of meaning, created for the reader by a word group formed for this purpose by the writer.  It is a  "slice of life," a minute scene which makes  a sharp impression or powerful impact on the reader's senses. Images are one of the writer's most potent instruments. They make a general statement specific, and they inject the energies of life into language. You may create images by representing sensations or touch, taste, smell, sound, or vision. For instance, Wolfe's choice of "buzzes" imitates the actual sound of a fly.  The effectiveness of any image depends upon the kinds of words the writer chooses; the words are successful if they create an image that clearly conveys a sense of physical reality to the reader.




ARRANGE IMAGES IN A SEQUENCE  



If you read Wolfe's paragraph carefully, you will notice a plan. The images he unfolds follow a certain scheme.  He opens with a wide statement. Then, he begins generating images to show us what he means.  He begins and ends with October, and this gives a sense of unity to the paragraph.  But in between, he moves from the large to the tiny and then back to the large. Wolfe might have chosen some other method of arranging his images. But he chose to go from a distant to the "close-up" and then,  once more to a wide sweeping image.  His last image provides a frame or background for the entire scene; such an image is often called a frame image because it helps you join individual elements of your scene to form a single impression.






ASSIGNMENT



Use one of the following sentences as your organizing sentence to develop a short paragraph. Draw on your memories to build a series of vivid images which make a clear, direct appeal to the reader.

a. July, the month of heavy, blinding heat, had arrived.
b. The world is oblong in October
c. Winter reveals the inner machinery of life.
d. "April is the cruelest month," wrote T.S. Eliot.




Class #29

Class Agenda



Preacher's Prayer -

Eternal and Holy Father, in the glorious radiance of Your dear Son we now bow before You, and, and in His omnipotent Name we now pray to You.

For the precious thought that calls us to worship, for the love that has provided a place in which to present it, for the calm of this quiet time, and for the rich provisions which You have in store for all thirsting souls and wearied pilgrims, we lift to You our grateful praise.

Awaken within us a new passion for service, a new yearning for the souls of men, a new perception of truth, and a new ambition to live a higher and holier life.

Generate within us those graces of character that will make us unremitting in our fidelity to You, and uncompromising with the forces of evil. Give us, we pray of You, an ever widening and deepening interest in the glorious message which You have called us to accept and proclaim, and an ever increasing joy in all that it contains.

Forbid that we should ever neglect its teachings or ignore its warnings or despise its appeals.

Please hear in heaven, Your dwelling place, this our prayer and graciously absolve us from our sins which we now confess before You at the cross in the Name of Him who died upon it--Jesus Christ our Lord.



Speak for eternity. Above all things, cultivate your own spirit. A word spoken by you when your conscience is clear and your heart full of God's Spirit is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin. Remember that God, and not man, must have the glory. If the veil of the world's machinery were lifted off, how much we would find is done in answer to the prayers of God's children. -- Robert Murray McCheyn



Class Motto

Quiz



Review

Using Movement and Sound



Preaching so People will Listen

Robinson

191-196 Some tidbits

196-198 Grooming and Dress

198-201 Movement and Gestures

201-202 Eye Contact

202-208 Vocal Delivery



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignment A11 tomorrow

Class #30

Class Agenda

"On Stage" #4



Preacher's Prayer -

Grant unto me, O God, my Father, this day, for the sake of Your Son, the power of God and the wisdom of God; that by the Holy Spirit I may receive the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, not judging to-day after seeing of the eyes, or the hearing of the ears, but with Your Spirit's help have the discerning power to discern between him that serves God and him that serves Him not; the power to discern between that which is good, and that which is evil; to hate the evil, and hold fast to the good; to help my fellowman to walk in Wisdom's ways of pleasantness, which are peace, and that I may this day be so justified that when the night has come you shall be glorified and Wisdom shall be justified in my life by her work.



This perpetual hurry of business and company ruins me in soul if not in body. More solitude and earlier hours! I suspect I have been allotting habitually too little time to religious exercises, as private devotion and religious meditation, Scripture-reading, etc. Hence I am lean and cold and hard. I had better allot two hours or an hour and a half daily. I have been keeping too late hours, and hence have had but a hurried half hour in a morning to myself. Surely the experience of all good men confirms the proposition that without a due measure of private devotions the soul will grow lean. But all may be done through prayer -- almighty prayer, I am ready to say -- and why not? For that it is almighty is only through the gracious ordination of the God of love and truth. O then, pray, pray, pray! -- William Wilberforce



Class Motto



Review



Speeches

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.



Writing:

Turn in Writing Assignment A11 today