Congregants approach Scripture with all sorts of questions—especially questions about how the Scripture makes claims on our lives. One of our best connection points in sermons, then, is to start with curiosity that invites our congregations to experience the text freshly and stay curious about God’s invitation for their lives.
Here are 3 important ways to use introduction questions (with examples of each, connected with a passage).
Questions Can…
1) Shine light on shared experience:
Example: “What do you do when you’re faced with a choice between saying what’s expected and saying what’s true?”
(Connected with John 20:24-31, in which Thomas must decide whether to pretend he believes the disciples have seen Jesus, or say what’s true: that he is unconvinced, and needs more proof).
2) Reimagine something familiar:
“What would you gain–and what would you lose–if you said what was true?”
This could relate to Ephesians 4: “Putting off falsehood and speaking truthfully to neighbor,” and help a congregation grapple with the reasons many of us avoid truthful conversation (fear of discomfort, rejection, tarnished relationships).
3) Focus the listener on the intersection between life and Scripture:
“If you had to run from God, where would you go?” (Could work for the story of Jonah, or Psalm 139… “if I ascend or descend, God, you are there.”).
Questions do more than spark interest: they invite the hearer to focus their attention. That is one of the first interpretive tasks of the sermon: helping congregants hear the text freshly, so they can live out its implications.
The question above (for example) focuses the hearer on their own lives and allows the preacher to move on to the Scripture with the congregation more conscious of their own relationship to the characters.
Introductions in general–and questions in particular–should lead naturally into fresh connections between the world of the text and the world of the hearer.
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Author: Rev. Ethan Linder
Rev. Ethan Linder is the Pastor of Discipleship at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and Contributing Editor at The Wesleyan Church’s Division of Education and Clergy Development. Outside of church work, Ethan serves as a frequent freelance writer, working closely with liminalfoundation.org and wesleyansermons.com. Ethan and his wife, Sarah, live in Marion with their three sons: Ezra, Isaiah, and Jack.