! Course Syllabus Course: Homiletics: Building Effective Sermons and Lessons Instructor: Rev. Patrick Dotson M.A. Counseling, Northern Arizona University M.Div., Urshan Graduate School of Theology Cell: 314-323-6402 (call or text message) Email: pdotson@azsom.com I. Course Description This course is an introduction to homiletics, the art of preaching. Emphasis will be placed on the expository preaching task. II. Required Reading Textbooks Robinson, Haddon. (2014). Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. Third Edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic. ISBN: 978-0-8010-4912-5 III. Course Objectives Upon completion of the course, students will be able to demonstrate knowledge and skills in the following areas: COURSE OBJECTIVES 1. Increase effectiveness and confidence in the oral interpretation of Scripture. 2. Prepare and deliver biblical sermons that are exegetically accurate, clear, and effective in application to contemporary life. 3. Apply a multi-disciplinary pedagogical approach to effective preaching ministry.!1
4. Examine Pentecostal distinctives of preaching, including stylistic considerations, spiritual sensitivity, and following the direction of the Spirit during sermon preparation and delivery. 5. Achieve inspiration to be lifelong students of the preaching task and effective oral communication of the gospel. IV. Course Assignments Assignment Summary Percentage of Grade Reading Declaration 12% Sermon Review 12% Exhortations 12% Sermons 64% Assignment Name Due Date Point Value Exhortation A (100-200 words) Monday, 2/23 25 Exhortation B (100-200 words) Monday, 3/9 25 Reading Declaration for Biblical Preaching Friday, 3/13 50 Sermon Review Monday, 3/23 50 Sermon A Manuscript (400-500 words) Monday, 4/6 50 Sermon B Manuscript (800-1000 words) Monday, 4/20 75 Sermon C Manuscript (1800-2000 words) Saturday, 5/9 100 Sermon C Live Delivery (18-20 min.)* Saturday, 5/9 50 GRAND TOTAL 425 Totals/Grade: 425-382 points = High Pass, 381-297 points = Pass, 296 points and below = Fail *Sermon C Delivery, whether live or pre-recorded, is required to pass the class. Delivery time may be reduced based on class size. Pre-recorded deliveries will receive a 20% penalty to their overall delivery grade. Extra Credit (recommended):!2
Video record the delivery of Sermon A for 5 minutes max upload to Youtube or send via Dropbox for evaluation and receive 15 points extra credit. Extra Credit Sermon A delivery recording is due by Monday, 4/13. Video record your delivery of Sermon B for 10 minutes max and upload to Youtube or send via Dropbox for evaluation and receive 25 points extra credit. Extra Credit Sermon B Delivery Recording is due by Monday, 4/27. Assignment Descriptions Exhortations A and B 25 points each, due 2/23 and 3/9 Students will imagine a scenario within an Oneness Pentecostal worship service in which they would provide an exhortation to inspire the church to worship. The exhortation must include at least part of a scripture verse and include the reference (book/chapter/verse), but does not have to be based on the scripture verse. The exhortation should be in manuscript form (i.e. what would you say, exactly) and must remain within the word count range of 100-200 words. Any exhortation submitted outside of the 100-200 word range will not be accepted. Possible scenarios: Altar call following a sermon (student may imagine what the content of the sermon was) Exhortation before, during, or after a worship song Exhortation before, during, or after a testimony Exhortation before receiving an offering Any scenario that would be part of a worship service Once a scenario is chosen, students will provide the following on a Microsoft Word document and email to pdotson@azsom.com: 1) Brief description of the scenario and the goal of your exhortation. For example, This exhortation follows our worship team singing Every Praise is to our God. Several in the church are worshipping, but my goal is to inspire the church to unify in giving praise to God. 2) Provide your exhortation manuscript within the 100-200 words range. Spelling, grammar and syntax will not be evaluated per se, but the instructor must be able to understand what you are communicating. Remember, this is a manuscript, so type what you would actually say. Outlines will not be accepted. Reading Declaration for Biblical Preaching 50 points, due 3/13 Each student is required to read pages 1-169 in the assigned textbook, Biblical Preaching, by March 13. Reading declarations will be required at the class sessions on March 14. Students will declare their pages read, and then a percentage will be construed from the page declaration!3
to determine a grade. For example, if pages 1-140 were read, then 140 pages read/169 total pages= 83%. 83% x 50 points possible = 42 points. If reading is not completed by 3/13, a 10% penalty will be assessed to the final reading declaration grade. Sermon Review 50 points, due 3/23 Students will choose a sermon video recorded and provided online by a Oneness Pentecostal church/preacher and write a review. Sermons preached by a member of the Arizona District may NOT be reviewed. Reviews will follow the structure provided below (applying the Biblical Preaching text), including at least 2-3 sentences for each question. Students will provide the following in a Microsoft Word document and email to pdotson@azsom.com: 1. Provide the web address (URL), church name where sermon was delivered, name of the preacher, and sermon title (if applicable). 2. Provide the subject and compliment that leads to the big idea of the sermon you are reviewing (See chapter 2 of Biblical Preaching). Write the big idea down as well. How well does the preacher communicate the core message, and what did he/she do to accomplish this? If you are unable to discern the big idea from the sermon, why? How could the preacher have structured his/her sermon in a more effective, clear way? 3. What function does the biblical text take in the sermon? Is the sermon anchored on a central text (expository), anchored on several texts (topical), or not anchored on any particular text? (See chapter 3) 4. Submit the preacher s sermon to each of Robinson s 3 developmental questions, and provide an answer for each: What does this mean? Is it true? What difference does this make? (See chapter 4) 5. What is the preacher s purpose in the sermon? How should the congregation respond to the message? (See chapter 5) 6. Is the sermon structured as deductive, inductive, inductive-deductive, subject-compliment? How does this structure serve the sermon? (See chapter 6) 7. What illustrations, quotes, or facts did the preacher use to provide support for the sermon? (See chapter 7) 8. Comment on the introduction and conclusion of the sermon, and their effectiveness. (See chapter 8) 9. Comment on the style of the preacher s sermon, as well as his/her delivery. How did the preacher use gestures, movement, eye contact, vocal pitch, etc. to accentuate their message and gain attention? (See chapters 9 and 10)!4
Sermon A Manuscript 50 points, due 4/6 Students will write a sermon manuscript that communicates New Birth salvation, selecting a biblical text that supports their particular sermon idea. The manuscript must be within the 400-500 word range, and sermons that fall outside of that range will not be accepted. Once a biblical text is chosen, students will provide the following on a Microsoft Word document and email to pdotson@azsom.com: 1) Provide the subject, compliment, and resulting big idea for your sermon. (2-3 sentences) See chapter 2 of Biblical Preaching. Be sure your big idea is stated in one sentence. 2) Who is the audience for your sermon, where is the sermon being delivered, and why are you preaching it? (2-3 sentences) Are you preaching to the adult congregation at your church, youth group, district ladies ministry, bystanders on the street? Identify your audience and where you envision your sermon being preached. State why you are preaching this particular sermon to this particular audience in this particular location. 3) Provide your sermon manuscript within the 400-500 words range. Follow the model provided in Biblical Preaching to complete this short sermon. Use the sermon rubric provided in class and the questions you answered for your sermon evaluation as a guide to help you evaluate your sermon as you prepare it. Spelling, grammar and syntax will not be evaluated per se, but the instructor must be able to understand what you are communicating. Remember, this is a manuscript, so type what you would actually say. Outlines will not be accepted. Extra Credit (recommended): Video record your delivery of Sermon A for 5 minutes max and upload to Youtube or send via Dropbox for evaluation and receive 15 points extra credit. Extra Credit Sermon A Delivery Recording is due by Monday, 4/13. Sermon B Manuscript 75 points, due 4/20 Students will write a sermon manuscript, selecting a biblical text and formulating a sermon idea from that text. The manuscript must be within the 800-1000 word range, and sermons that fall outside of that range will not be accepted. Once a biblical text is chosen, students will provide the following on a Microsoft Word document and email to pdotson@azsom.com: 1) Provide the subject, compliment, and resulting big idea for your sermon. (2-3 sentences) See chapter 2 of Biblical Preaching. Be sure your big idea is stated in one sentence.!5
2) Who is the audience for your sermon, where is the sermon being delivered, and why are you preaching it? (2-3 sentences) Are you preaching to the adult congregation at your church, youth group, district ladies ministry, bystanders on the street? Identify your audience and where you envision your sermon being preached. State why you are preaching this particular sermon to this particular audience in this particular location. 3) Provide your sermon manuscript within the 800-1000 words range. Follow the model provided in Biblical Preaching to complete this sermon. Use the sermon rubric provided in class and the questions you answered for your sermon evaluation as a guide to help you evaluate your sermon as you prepare it. Spelling, grammar and syntax will not be evaluated per se, but the instructor must be able to understand what you are communicating. Remember, this is a manuscript, so type what you would actually say. Outlines will not be accepted. Extra Credit (recommended): Video record your delivery of Sermon B for 10 minutes max and upload to Youtube or send via Dropbox for evaluation and receive 25 points extra credit. Extra Credit Sermon B Delivery Recording is due by Monday, 4/13. Sermon C Manuscript 100 points, due 5/9 Students will write a sermon manuscript, selecting a biblical text and formulating a sermon idea from that text. The manuscript must be within the 1800-2000 word range, and sermons that fall outside of that range will not be accepted. Once a biblical text is chosen, students will provide the following on a Microsoft Word document and email to pdotson@azsom.com. 1) Provide the subject, compliment, and resulting big idea for your sermon. (2-3 sentences) See chapter 2 of Biblical Preaching. Be sure your big idea is stated in one sentence. 2) Who is the audience for your sermon, where is the sermon being delivered, and why are you preaching it? (2-3 sentences) Are you preaching to the adult congregation at your church, youth group, district ladies ministry, bystanders on the street? Identify your audience and where you envision your sermon being preached. State why you are preaching this particular sermon to this particular audience in this particular location. 3) Provide your sermon manuscript within the 1800-2000 words range. Follow the model provided in Biblical Preaching to complete this sermon. Use the sermon rubric provided in class and the questions you answered for your sermon evaluation as a guide to help you evaluate your sermon as you prepare it.!6
Spelling, grammar and syntax will not be evaluated per se, but the instructor must be able to understand what you are communicating. Remember, this is a manuscript, so type what you would actually say. Outlines will not be accepted. Sermon C Live Delivery 50 points, due 5/9 Every student will preach their Sermon C to the class, though delivery time may be reduced based on class size. The instructor will use the sermon grading rubric provided in class to assign a grade for the delivery. 20% of the Live Delivery grade (10 points) is derived from student participation in providing written feedback for each of their peers as they provide their sermon, using the peer feedback form provided by the instructor. Students who are absent on 5/9, or otherwise choose not to provide live delivery of their sermon, are required to video record their sermon delivery and upload via Youtube or Dropbox for the instructor to evaluate. These students will automatically receive a 20% reduction (10 points) in their Live Delivery grade. Students are required to provide a Sermon C Live Delivery, whether in person or video recorded, and will not pass the class without completion. Assignment Late Policies All assignments for this course are due by 11:59pm of the assigned due date. Any assignment that is submitted late will receive a 10% penalty. Students have until Monday, 5/11 to complete any late work. Class Lectures Date Saturday, 2/14 Saturday, 3/14 Class Lecture Topics Session 1 & 2: Syllabus Overview, Preaching 101: The Basics of Preparation Session 3: Preach Like a Park Ranger: Applying Tilden s Principles of Interpretation to the Task of Preaching!7
Session 4: Preach Like an African-American: Structuring Celebration into Your Message Saturday, 4/18 Saturday, 5/9 Sessions 5 & 6: Guest Lecturer TBD Sessions 7 & 8: Sermon Deliveries and Peer Feedback VI. General Course Policies Attendance Because of the limited number of class meetings, it is vital to be in attendance at every class. Only one absence will be allowed in any semester and only in case of genuine emergency. Any absence must be approved by the Administrative Dean. Two absences will require the tuition be forfeited and the course retaken. Academic Freedom Students have freedom to express views in class discussion and written assignments that may be contrary to the views presented by the instructor. The instructor, however, reserves the right to inform students when academic freedom may not be permitted for a particular assignment, or when time constraints prohibit the adequate discussion of a contrarian view. This notification will occur in writing in the assignment instructions, or verbally from the instructor during class discussion. Students grades will not be penalized for advocating a particular view contrary to the instructor. All students, regardless of their views, will have their written assignments evaluated on their ability to properly support their ideas using the biblical text, assigned readings, application of biblical doctrines, application of Apostolic doctrine and practice, and additional research. Academic Honesty Plagiarism, cheating, and dishonesty are in direct opposition to a Christian life and the goals of Arizona School of Ministry. It is assumed that all students enrolled at Arizona School of Ministry have done so for the primary purpose of learning. Students are expected to refrain from those actions that contradict this purpose and which would jeopardize their Christian character and testimony. Any suspected incident of academic dishonesty will be submitted by the instructor to the Administrative Dean for review. The final decision on the nature of the offense (unintentional or flagrant), and any corresponding disciplinary action will rest with the Administrative Committee, which consists of the Administrative Dean, District Superintendent, and the Sectional Presbyter of the student s church. Course Evaluation!8
Students are encouraged at any point during the course to offer the instructor any comments that may be helpful to the improvement or refinement of the course. Comments/concerns may be addressed during or after the course (via e-mail message, phone conversation, and/or face-toface). A course evaluation form will be available in the final class session, and may be submitted anonymously. Grading Policy While grades are not the most important thing in education, they are an indication of comprehension of the subject matter. Arizona School of Ministry uses a grading system of Pass/ Fail. It must be determined that 70% of reading and assignments have been satisfactorily completed to pass the class. Any tests given in a course must also be successfully completed. Outstanding completion of a course will be awarded a high pass designation and qualify the learner for honors status. The following scale will be used to derive each student s final grade for the course. In addition, this grading scheme should be used to determine academic progress on each of the required assignments. Grade Percentage Score Range Rationale & Meaning of Grade High Pass 90-100% Superior work in all areas, exceeding the instructor s written expectations. Exemplary performance, participation, creativity, and writing. Pass 70-89% Fair to good work in most areas, meeting the instructor s written expectations. Minor to serious need of improvement in various areas, such as form, content, or procedures. Fail 69% and below Minimal conformity to instructor s expectations; requires repeat of the course!9
In-Class Cell Phone And Other Personal Electronic Device Usage Policy Cell phones and other personal electronic devices must be turned off and out of sight during class. These electronic devices may be turned on and set on silent mode only with the expressed consent of the instructor. Laptop Usage Students may use laptop computers during class, with the consent of the instructor, for the purpose of taking notes or other purposes that are directly related to and supportive of participation in class and the furthering of education. VII. Academic Due Process Students dissatisfied with classroom or academic procedures should use the following due process: 1. Students will attempt to settle differences with an instructor conference within 2 weeks of receiving the disputed grade. The time for settling the difference is extended to 4 weeks in the case of a disputed final grade. 2. If students are dissatisfied with the instructor conference or a decision made, they then will file a written complaint with the Administrative Dean within 1 week of the instructor conference. The written document should fully describe the issue in dispute and steps taken to resolve the conflict. The Administrative Dean will consult with the instructor before any decision is made. The Administrative Dean will make a decision within 2 weeks. 3. If students are dissatisfied with the Administrative Dean s decision, they will then file a written complaint with the Administrative Committee within 1 week of the Administrative Dean s decision. The Administrative Committee consists of the Administrative Dean, District Superintendent, and the Sectional Presbyter of the student s church. The Administrative Committee will review the steps taken by the student, instructor, and Administrative Dean prior to making a decision. The Administrative Committee will make its decision within 2 weeks. The decision of the Administrative Committee is final. VIII. Resources Books Galli, M. & Larson, C. B. (1994). Preaching that Connects: Using Journalistic Techniques to Add Impact. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.!10
Greidanus, Sidney. (1988). The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literarure. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. Kalas, J.E. (2014). Preaching in an Age of Distraction. Downers Grove, IL: Intervarsity. Stott, J. (1982). Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan. Thomas, F.A. (2013). They Like to Never Quit Praisin God: The Role of Celebration in Preaching. Revised and Updated. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press. Tilden, F. (1957). Interpreting Our Heritage. 4 th edition. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. Websites www.biblegateway.com This website is a great resource for accessing different translations of the New Testament for comparison. It also has a good concordance function. www.biblestudytools.com This website has some outdated commentaries, bible dictionaries, etc. that can be helpful. www.churchleaders.com This website has articles for all aspects of church ministry, organized by senior pastors, youth pastors, worship leaders, etc. They often post interesting articles about preaching under the senior pastor section.! 11