If a point sounds too much like an idea that has already been covered, or if various points do not seem to build to a higher purpose, ire grows and interest withers. No one wants to waste time listening to a sermon leading nowhere.

Instructional specificity uses biblical principles to establish what contemporary people should do, but if preachers never specify where in real life these principles apply, the instructions remain irrelevant abstractions.

David Larsen recommends that his students spend two-thirds of their time on the last one-third of a message.

Personal abilities. Even though you want your knowledge and skills to grow, there is no good reason to jump into an expository series on Ezekiel or Revelation if you do not yet have the background to handle accurately its contents.

Crisis results from having sufficient, relevant facts to create a problem that listeners have an interest in solving and that forces them to journey through a narrative to discover the resolution found in the climax. If preachers do not bring an audience to the edge of wonder, grief, anger, confusion, fear, or discovery, then their words have no

Preachers should not try to memorize the entire introduction word for word. Beyond the opening sentence(s), they should memorize concepts, not words, so that their delivery has a natural, conversational flow.

Be real. This is the age of conversational speech. Although highly impassioned or argumentative comments have a definite place in preaching, they usually do not serve introductions well.

To Prepare for the Proposition Homiletics texts unanimously agree that an introduction prepares listeners for the body of a sermon.

Fallenness is rather the daily reality that corrodes our souls unless we receive the balm and the correction of Scripture.