Topical Sermon Outlines! There are different types of biblical sermons. There are expository sermons, evangelistic sermons or topical sermons. You can write them deductively, inductively or a bit of both.
However, this post will explain what is a topical sermon and how to create a topical sermon from a deductive model.
A topical sermon usually explains a biblical principle or truth. You may want to teach on the topic of grace, faith, money, forgiveness, persecution, suffering, spiritual warfare, heaven, hell, prophecy and so on.
To write a topcial sermon, you need to choose a topic. Recently, I preached a topic message on heaven from Revelation 21-22.
Once you have chosen your topic, you need to create an angle or perspective to your topic. In the sermon about heaven, I took the perspective of looking at the wonders of eternal heaven.
The topical sermon outline is as follows:
There are four wonders of eternal heaven. They are:
- Heaven is a new place (Rev. 21:1-8)
- Heaven is a beautiful place (Rev. 21:18-21)
- Heaven is a populated place (Rev. 21:1-8)
- Heaven is a personal place (Rev. 22:4-5)
When I create topical sermon outlines, I keep three features in mind.
1. The Main Preaching Point
When I develop an angle or perspective to a topic, I usually call this the main preaching point. The main preaching point of the above sermon is The Wonders of Heaven. Everything that I talk about in this topical sermon will be about the wonders of heaven.
2. The Hinge Word or Key Word
Once I have created the main preaching point, I then look for a hinge word or key word to swing all the subpoints off the topic. In the above sermon, I have used the word wonders.
The hinge word or key word must be a plural noun. If you construct your topical sermon like this, you will have a natural flow to your sermon. For example, the first wonder of heaven is… the second wonder of heaven is… the third wonder of heaven is… and the fourth wonder of heaven is…
3. The subpoints and incidental points
The subpoints must expand or explain your main preaching point. When you do this, your topical sermon has cohesion and sequence.
The incidental points simply expand or explain your subpoints. In the above sermon, I expanded the subpoint Heaven is a populated place with three incidental points.
God is there (Rev. 21:3)
Jesus is there (Rev. 21:6)
Christians are there (Rev. 21:7)
Concluding Comments
As I said before, there are different ways to prepare topical sermon outlines. However, I find the method that I have explained above the best way for me.
The method above is a discipline that I have embraced as I prepare sermons week in and week out. You can find more information by clicking on Sermon Outlines.