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How to Sweeten Your Sermons with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 4 alliteration)

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C.R.E.A.M. stands for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor. From a human perspective, they represent five ways preachers create words and phrases that are pleasing to the ears of those that have ears to hear. You’re working hard with the Spirit to understand your preaching portion. You’re also working hard with the Spirit to best communicate that meaning. Lord willing, your words will work and worship will occur.

When done subtly, alliteration can help you communicate God’s Word effectively. Alliteration is using the same letter repeatedly. Most preachers are familiar with alliteration as an outlining tool. It can also be used in a sermon manuscript to help listeners hear God’s Word and respond.

So, before Sunday, look at the sermon manuscript you’re building. See if there are strategic places where alliteration could help communication take place. Check your sermon title. How about your main idea? What about in the application?

Classmates have used alliteration effectively. David Deters preached Mark 4:35-41 and talked about Jesus, “the nobody from Nazareth.” Or, in his sermon, Ken Carozza described someone having been “numbed with novocain.”

If you’re so inclined to work with C.R.E.A.M., a thesaurus will help you immensely. It’s especially helpful when creating phrases that use alliteration.

If you read part 1 of this series, then you heard me talk about how paying attention to style (word-choice) was not a strong suit of mine. I have to work at it, but I’m still average at best.

It is my desire to effectively communicate in the power of the Spirit. I am vexed at times not knowing for sure whether working with words crosses the line into human-wisdom territory. That might be a great assignment for my next class (Does working with words violate Paul’s model not preaching with human wisdom? Defend your answer.). Not you, though, because you’ve got a sermon to prepare (*smile*).

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 3 Echo)

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A couple of posts ago I mentioned my plan to spend an hour or so in class talking about the importance of using an effective preaching style. We were emphasizing word-choice, the way preachers use words to move listeners in the power of the Spirit toward acts of worship.

It assumes we’ll spend some time thinking about the words we use while we preach. That might mean working on specific words and phrases or working on a full-blown, word-for-word orascript (a manuscript written for the ear).

You realize, of course, that your congregants who listen or watch any media are bombarded by carefully crafted messages. Watch, for instance, how advertisers frame their sales pitches. Watch what journalist do with words to report the news.

C.R.E.A.M. is an easy way to remember five ways to create phrases that parishioners will remember and resonate with. So far we’ve briefly discussed contrast and rhyme. This week we explore the use of echoes, echoes, echoes, echoes… (sorry).

In Galatians 4:4-5 you could say that Jesus Christ was delivered into this world of sin so we could be delivered from this world of sin. Working through the Gospel of Luke recently, I kept reminding our faith-family that Luke wrote to help us be sure our faith is well-placed and well-executed.

Or, in Luke 22:3 we read, “Then Satan entered into Judas…” You could say, “Satan possessed Judas because Judas didn’t possess Jesus.

Notice that, in these examples, content isn’t sacrificed on the altar of cuteness. The goal is to enhance the hear-ability of the content by carefully selected words.

So, before Sunday, look over your manuscript–I know you’re using one!–and see if there are places where echoes could help move your listeners to worship.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon with a Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 2 Rhyme)

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One of the ways I work with words during sermon development is by implementing C.R.E.A.M. The letters stand for contrast, rhyme, echo, alliteration, and metaphor.

These five approaches can be applied to the sermon in two ways.

First, you can sprinkle phrases built from these approaches in strategic places throughout a sermon. Work with the key words in your sermon.

Second, you can create a quotable quote surrounding your major theme. If you have that one point that you want to state and restate, that’s a good place to apply C.R.E.A.M.

In both cases and places, listeners’ ears will pick up on these well-crafted phrases and statements.

Last week we began with “C” for contrast. This week it’s the “R” for rhyme.

Before Sunday, see if there are any strategic words with which you can rhyme.

Just this week I responded to an email with: “Christians often experience bouts of doubts.” I could have said it differently, but I felt bouts of doubts sounded better than periods of doubts.

In Romans 8 Paul lists the entities that are groaning as they wait for final redemption. So, in a sermon I went with a synonym to create “a choir of sighers.”

I just watched a creative YouTube ad for Bertolini Sanctuary Seating entitled: Pastor Piper in Great Preaching…Gone Bad. The ad ended with: “The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.”

While I don’t spend a lot of time on this kind of packaging, I do try to be aware of how the Spirit of God might use my words to help those who have ears to hear hear even better.

Preach well for God’s glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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How to Sweeten Your Sermon With A Little C.R.E.A.M. (Part 1 Contrast)

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Lord willing, this Wednesday and Thursday (April 15 and 16, 2015) I will enjoy the privilege of teaching PAS 513 Advanced Homiletics for Lancaster Bible College’s graduate school. Besides spending time making sure we preach with accuracy, I am planning to spend some time making sure we preach with an effective style. I’m especially interested in the aspects of a preacher’s style that deal with word-choice.

My plan is to introduce the students to Humes’ C.R.E.A.M. concept. Years ago I learned of this approach while reading Humes’ book, The Sir Winston Method. In that book Humes records the results of his research into the communication method of Sir Winston Churchill.

The Sir Winston Method: The Five Secrets of Speaking the Language of Leadership

C.R.E.A.M. is one way for preachers to work on their words. It’s a way for us to create quotable quotes or packaged persuasion. It’s about finding just the right way to say what God is saying in our preaching portions. It’s about using language in the power of the Spirit to drive home God’s message.

C.R.E.A.M. stands for:

Contrast

Rhyme

Echo

Alliteration

Metaphor

Let’s start with “C” and using contrast. The old preacher, Vance Havner once said, “Too many of our services start at 11 sharp and then end at 12 dull.”

An ad for the Radisson Plaza Hotel said, “Modern convenience. Historic charm.”

A county-western song contained the phrase, “the city put the country back in me.”

Yesterday during our current in-between-book-studies series, Well-Versed, I preached on Romans 8:28-30 which says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good.” My first thought block in the sermon was defining the kind of person who could claim that promise. It’s the person who loves God. It was easy to work the contrast between being a God-lover and a God-hater: “All things work together for bad for those that hate God.”

Before Sunday, see if you can create contrasts to communicate key concepts in your sermon.

Preach well for God’s reputation in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. If you enjoy reading some history about an important figure in world history and gaining some insights into effective communication, you’ll enjoy Humes’ book. It’s certainly one of my top five non-Christian books on communication.

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Believing Your Sermons, Especially When They Don’t!

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Can you tell when your listeners don’t believe you? If you’re an expositor you could ask it this way: Can you tell when your listeners don’t believe God (because you’re telling them what God is saying)?

One of the values of preaching without notes or with few notes is that you have lots of time to look at your listeners. The only problem is that you get to see them not reacting to the message. Do you ever see this look on Sunday?

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It would be easier on us if we didn’t!

I see this most often when God’s Word asks for praise and thanksgiving. Probably I’m part of the problem. I’m from Maine and Mainers (not, “maniacs”) aren’t known for celebrating. Probably part of the problem is being in Lancaster County. Folks in the County aren’t famous for showing much emotion (okay, maybe for the Eagles, Steelers, Flyers, and Phillies). And then, we’re a fundamental kind of Bible Church. I often joke about what that does to our emotions.

But, as you know, much of the problem lies with our carnality. We simply are not gripped by God’s grace like we should be. We seldom relish our riches in Christ. But I need to.

It is important for me to believe my own sermons, especially when some congregants don’t. And I need to fight the urge to allow their look to pull me into the same lack of feelings. It’s a good thing I really believe this Word of God. Sometimes preachers have to believe for the congregants. And in doing so, sometimes God’s Spirit will prompt me to ask them, “Do you believe that?” Sometimes my question will actually help them realize they really do believe it, even though they haven’t been showing it.

Before Sunday, make sure you’re ready to react emotionally to God’s Word and be prepared to help your listeners do the same.

Preach well for His glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

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What Kind of Questions Are You Asking This Sunday?

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I just completed three weeks of learning with some excellent Doctor of Ministry students. One of the things I was watching for during their in-class sermons was the kind of connection they were making with their listeners, one of which was me.

More than once, a question was asked in such a way that did not get any reaction from any listener. In other words, the preacher asked a question, but was not wanting or expecting an answer. They asked the question while looking down and did not wait for any response. They quickly moved on to the next statement in their sermon.

I strongly believe that asking the right questions in the right way is one of a preacher’s most important rhetorical devices. So many good things can happen pastorally when we take time to bring our listeners along with the right question asked in the right way (the right way meaning, asking the question in such a way that your listeners know you want them to think and answer quickly).

Last weekend I preached James 5:13-18. One scholar reminded me that James asks over 20 questions in 5 chapters, a lot of questions for that little letter. When you’re studying James, take a look at the kinds of questions he asks. One thing I learned is that James was aiming for an immediate response. For instance, in James 2:4, after telling us not to show partiality, he asks, “have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?” Yikes! We want the Holy Spirit to do just as much convicting during our preaching as was happening when James was first heard. Asking the right question in the right way may be one way to achieve that goal.

So, how many and what kind of questions are you asking this Sunday?

Preach well for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in the world.

Randal

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How to Balance Saint-Sanctifying and Seeker-Sensitive Preaching (part 4)

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This series of blog posts is built off the premise that seekers can be reached with messages that are designed for the saints (cf. 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 and the outsider that is reached with an insider-directed message). What follows is another way in which effective preachers, ancient (Jonathan Edwards), past (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones), and current (Tim Keller), reach both kinds of audiences with the same message.

They motivate their listeners through both love and fear.

Edwards, for instance, writes: “No other principles will ever make men conscientious, but one of these two, fear or love….Hence, God has wisely ordained, that these two opposite principles of love and fear, should rise and fall, like the two opposite scales of a balance; when one rises the other sinks” (p. 376 in Carrick’s, The Preaching of Jonathan Edwards, quoting Edwards’ Religious Affections).

First, motivating through love means inquiring about our listeners’ love for God (not God’s love for us). Motivating through fear does refer to our being afraid of the wrath of our holy God.

You’ll notice in Edwards’ quote that he is arguing for both of these elements being included in our sermons. It caused me to look at my preaching and ask, first, if I am motivating my listeners to respond appropriately to the Text and, second, how I am motivating my listeners to respond to the Text.

Some of our preaching portions actually do motivate through one or the other, so when that happens, we simply urge everyone along just as God Himself does. Yesterday I preached on Hebrews 10:24-31 which contains the terrifying warning: “a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries….It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” And that was meant for the Saints!

However, many, if not most, preaching portions do not contain explicit motivation from either angle. In those Texts, during the application segment(s) of our sermons, it is important for us to motivate through love for God and fear of God. According to Edwards, this is one way to unmask the listener and bring him or her to faith.

Preach well for the sake of His reputation in the Church and in the world.

Randal

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How to Balance Saint-Sanctifying with Being Seeker-Sensitive (part 3)

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This post is part of a brief series on how to create sermons that sanctify the saints and justify the sinners at the same time. I’m building off the foundation of Paul’s analysis of the effectiveness of prophesy recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25. The prophetic Word unmasked the man. An insider-directed message reached an outsider. Through my observations of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards (ancient), D. M. Lloyd-Jones (recent history), and Timothy Keller (current), I’ve started a list of ways these effective preachers reach both Christians and non-Christians with the same message. Here’s how they unmasked the man:

1. They categorized their listeners according to their spiritual condition (see previous posts)

2. Search the heart through questions.

In his book, The Preaching of Jonathan Edwards, Carrick cites Kimnach’s observation that Edwards was “perceived by the people of Northampton to be ‘a searcher'” (p. 304). All three preacher’s I read used searching questions to force their listeners to evaluate their spiritual condition. In one of Lloyd-Jones’ sermons on Genesis 3:8-9, I counted 46 of these kinds of questions! That’s 46 searching questions in the span of less than 10 pages. Through these questions, the conscience is pricked. Or, at least that’s the goal.

Here’s one example from Edwards: “Examine yourself as to this matter, and ask what has been the nature of your anger….Has it not been of the nature of ill-will….Has not your anger been…” (Carrick, p. 308). It’s almost as if you are acting on God’s behalf in interrogating someone on His witness stand.

This is different from asking rhetorical questions, questions that don’t really ask for an answer. These questions are effective because the listener’s spiritual condition is being exposed. See if you have opportunity in your sermon this coming Sunday to probe the hearts of your listeners and force them to come face to face with their sin and need of Christ’s righteousness (both saints and sinners).

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation.

Your brother in Christ,

Randal

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How to Balance Saint-Sanctifying with Being Seeker-Senstive (part 2)

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For many of us preachers, Paul’s hypothetical situation recorded in 1 Corinthians 14:24-25 brings us comfort and encouragement. It reads, “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.” The unbeliever takes the posture of a worshiper; he has become a Believer as a result of the insider-directed message.

However, did you notice what the preached Word did? “He is convicted…called to account…the secrets of his heart are disclosed.” The preached Word did that and this made me ask whether all exegesis and sermon preparation do this. In his commentary on 1 Corinthians, Conzelmann states, “The passage is important…for the Pauline understanding of prophecy: it is not prediction of the future, but unmasking of man.”

Do our sermons get to the point where God unmasks our listeners? I recently studied the methods of three effective pastors from three eras of history who addressed both saints and seekers through exegetical/theological/philosophical sermons: Jonathan Edwards, David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Timothy Keller. Here’s what I learned from them:

1. They categorized their listeners according to spiritual condition. They also spoke directly to these categories. Often we think about application by categories of gender, occupation, age. But what about: the genuinely saved; those who profess Christ, but are struggling dearly with sin; professing Christians who show no evidence of being saved (absolutely no fruit); and those who profess to be non-Christian.

Keller suggest, for instance, that you should speak to the skeptics or doubters as though they are there each Sunday. He says that’s one way to ensure that they will show up. Word will get around that your church is a place where such attitudes will be discussed and where such attendees are welcomed. Look for places in your sermon where God’s Word is addressing these categories of listeners. See if this doesn’t help you to begin to unmask the man.

Preach well for the sake of God’s reputation.

Randal

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Do You Let Your Listeners Know You Love Them While You’re Preaching And Does It Matter?

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I recently read the lead article of Crosswalk.com’s newsletter which arrived in my inbox on November 1, 2013. The article was, How to Spot a Healthy Church–Quickly, by Ray Pritchard. Ray suggests there are two indicators of a healthy church that visitors can spot immediately. The first one is hearty congregational singing. The second one caught my attention: obvious affection between the pastor and the congregation. It made me wonder what we can do while we preach to show genuine affection.

I’m a firm believer that people skills have a greater affect on a sermon’s hearing than exegetical skills. I must love my listeners as much as, if not more than, I love to study and preach to them. And the affect of interpersonal relationships on communication are well documented. Every communication event, including preaching, contains a content element and a relational element. The relational element affects how we receive the content and what we do with it. When our relationship with our congregants is healthy, they place more importance on our content. When our relationship is unhealthy, they place less importance on our content. In an unhealthy relationship, the words don’t mean as much or the same thing we intend. That’s part of the reason why when two people are arguing during tense times, you’ll hear something like, “That’s not what I meant!”

So, what can we do to let our listeners know we love them while we’re preaching?

  • smile at them
  • laugh with them
  • dialogue with them (besides being an effective teaching tool, dialogue during a teaching time is a great way to build rapport)
  • tell them (say things like, “you know I love you dearly…”, at appropriate times
  • join them as a fellow struggler on the Way
  • (add some others…)

Does your faith-family know you love them? Let it show while you’re preaching. Our best listeners are the ones who feel the love.