Building Main Points - First Time Bible Teacher Episode Notes

This article shows the notes I used in recording an episode of the First Time Bible Teacher Podcast. The episode was about building the main points of your sermon in a ways that people will be able to follow. To listen to the episode, click on the links below.

The Purpose of Main Points

  • Creates manageable thoughts for the audience
  • Shows the thinking of the passage
  • Becomes an easy summary of your teaching

The Practice of Main Points

  • In Exegetical Preaching - Determine how your passage all flows together
  • In Topical Preaching - Answer big questions with each point
  • Use your main points as sections for your teaching (think of them like headings)
  • Do your best to make them memorable

What To Avoid with Main Points

  • Don’t make them niche, they are big picture
  • Don’t make them random, they should flow
  • Don’t get too predictable

Closing Practical Tips 

  • Understand how these points work, then name them
  • Make these really clear when you preach them (No one should have to guess which point you’re on)
  • Structure your notes around these points

 

3 Examples of the Main Points From Sermons I've Taught

1. Better That I Go (John 16:5-13)

Main Points
I. The Help of the Advocate (v. 5-7)
II. The Roles of the Helper (v. 8-11)
III. Guided Into All Truth (v. 12-13)

Why I used them
This passage is entirely about the Holy Spirit. When a passage is about one subject, it's helpful to break that up into subpoints so people can understand the different elements of that one subject.  This outline helped people see the fact that the Holy Spirit helps, then the ways the Holy Spirit helps, and finally the results of the Holy Spirit helping us.

2. I Have A Heart Condition (Mark 4: 4-18)

Main Points
I. The Story (v. 4-8)
II. The Explanation (v. 9-15)
III. The Meaning (v. 16-18)

Why I used them
This outline is easy to pull out of the text as Jesus creates a clear divide for us. It is, however, easy to get lost in the parable being told for a second time. By making these divisions, people were able to really track with the application of the parable, that the way we hear deeply impacts what we'll take away from God's word.

3. Living By The Spirit (Galatians 5:19-26)

Main Points
I. The Works of the Flesh (v. 19-21)
II. The Fruit of the Spirit (v. 22-23)
III. Living By The Spirit (v. 24-26)

Why I used them
This passage has a clear contrast between the works of the Spirit and the works of the Flesh. To help emphasize that, I built my outline around that distinction. This made it very easy to follow along with the passage.

Brian Higgins