How To Write An Inductive Sermon: I began my preaching ministry focusing mainly on the deductive method of sermon preparation. As the inductive method gained greater attention, I decided to study the inductive method in order to understand the inductive approach to sermon preparation and to use it in my preaching.

I discovered that to understand inductive preaching, I needed to know what is the inductive method of sermon preparation, how to prepare inductive sermons and why use the inductive method of sermon preparation? I will examine these three subjects below!

How To Write An Inductive Sermon

There are several ways to deliver a sermon to an audience. However, I have discovered during thirty or so years of delivering weekly sermons that this process is made easier if you develop a structure to deliver those sermons.

I began my preaching ministry by using a deductive method to sermon preparation but during postgraduate studies I decided to complete a unit of study on the inductive method to sermon preparation. This was only the beginning of the journey to discovering the inductive model.

Now when I teach students homiletics, I encourage them to get their head around the differences between the deductive method and the inductive method of sermon preparation so that they can develop varied skills in presenting God’s word to God’s people.

We all use a structure to deliver a message even if we do not fully understand that structure. In my experience, I found that many students did not fully understand the structure they used to present their material.

Therefore, I want to examine three subjects on how to write an inductive sermon. I want to examine what is the inductive method of sermon preparation, how to prepare an inductive sermon and why use the inductive method.

1. What is the Inductive Method?

I have discovered the best way to explain the inductive method to students is to compare the deductive method to the inductive method with a brief example.

The deductive method begins with the topic of the message followed by sub-points and incidental points and usually this is delivered in three parts, an introduction, the body of the message and a conclusion.

A deductive message may look a bit like this: This morning I want to share with you the three areas in which the Bible speaks to us. The bible speaks in the area of sin (Romans 5:12). The Bible speaks in the area of death (Romans 5:12-14a) and the Bible speaks in the area of life (Romans 5:14b-15).

The inductive method begins with several points which are brought together or narrowed down in order to deliver the main topic of the message and this is usually delivered in several stages. I will look at these different structures and stages below.

An inductive message may look at bit like this: We live in an age of information and yet humanity still does not have all the answers to life. When the hard questions of life confront us, some people look to the sciences for answers, others look to psychology or philosophy but still others look to God and His word to find the answers to life’s most difficult questions. The Bible speaks to us about sin (Romans 5:12) and death (Romans 5:12-14a) and most importantly life (5:14b-15). With humanity we only get part of the story (the bad news – sin and death) with God we get the whole story (the good news – sin, death and life). Will you allow the Bible to answer your questions about life?

How can I explain the inductive method in one sentence from the example about? The inductive message is a journey in which the speaker or preacher presents several points and narrows them down to one main point in order to deliver the main message.

If you were to only present one or two inductive messages in your life time, you wouldn’t need a structure. However, when you present inductive messages regularly, you need a structure or paradigm to package the information in order to deliver that information to your audience. That’s what I want to look at next: How To Prepare An Inductive Sermon?

2. How To Prepare An Inductive Sermon?

I had the privilege of mentoring a young preacher while he was studying at seminary. He had a God-given ability to preach inductively; however, he didn’t have a predetermined structure to writing his sermons.

I challenged this young preacher to analyze how he prepared his inductive sermons so that he understood his method of sermon preparation. I believed this would be the key to his development as a preacher – to understand how he prepared his inductive sermons.

The secret (if there is a secret) to inductive preaching is to understand the method or structure for crafting the inductive sermon and applying that method or structure to your style of preaching.

I want to look at three different structures and their stages for crafting an inductive message. By the way, there are many structures but for this article I want to look at three commonly known structures presented in book form.

A. Lowry’s Loop Inductive Structure

I studied and adopted Lowry’s Loop as one way to provide a structure or paradigm for inductive messages. Eugene L. Lowry explains his structure in The Homiletical Plot: The Sermon as Narrative Art Form (Check it out at Amazon Books). The structure of Lowry’s Loop has five stages.

OOPS – Upsetting the Equilibrium

The OOPS stage of Lowry’s Loop is the introduction stage that provides tension in relation to the main preaching point.

The tension in the OOPS stage creates interest for the audience in order to engage the audience in the message and the tension creates a need to resolve the issue.

UGH – Analysing the Discrepancy

The UGH stage is where the preacher begins to analyse the tension or discrepancy in order to develop movement to a resolution.

AHA – Disclosing the Clue to Resolution

The AHA stage is where the preacher bridges the gap between discrepancy and resolution.

It is during this stage that the preacher skilfully takes the audience to the resolution by revealing the situation in a different light.

WHEE – Experiencing the Gospel

The WHEE stage is where the preacher explores the God factor in the whole experience.

YEAH – Anticipating the Consequences

The YEAH stage is where the preacher deals with the audiences’ respond. If God has done this great thing, how should we respond?

Summary: Lowry’s Loop is a structure or paradigm for writing and delivering inductive sermons. I used Lowry’s Loop to preach a passage of Scripture from Romans 5:12-15. I also preached this message deductively.

Let me show you the deductive outline and the inductive outline!

A DEDUCTIVE OUTLINE OF ROMANS 5:12-15

Introduction

There are three AREAS in which the Bible speaks to us about life (Romans 5:12-15). They are:

1. The Bible speaks in the area of sin (5:12) Two questions:

Where does sin come from? (5:12a)
Why do I sin? (5:12d)

2. The Bible speaks in the area of death (5:12-14a) Three statements:

Death comes through sin (5:12b)
Death comes to all people (5:12c)
Death reigned from Adam to Moses and beyond (5:13-14a)

3. The Bible speaks in the area of life (5:14b-15) Two facts:

Adam brought death (5:12)
Jesus brings life (5:14b)

Conclusion

AN INDUCTIVE OUTLINE OF ROMANS 5:12-15

1. We live in an age of information overload (OOPS)
2. And yet, humanity does not have all the answers to live (UGH)
3. The Bible answers the hard questions about life (AHA)

The Bible answers the questions about sin (5:12)
The Bible answers the questions about death (5:12-14a)
The Bible answers the questions about life (5:14b-15)

4. You know, God tells us the whole story about life (WHEE)
5. Will you allow God to answer your questions about life? (YEAH)

[NOTE] In the deductive approach, I introduced the message with the fact that God tells us the whole story about life in the Bible and I explained that whole story through three points.

[NOTE] In the inductive approach, I took the audience on a journey of discovery by creating tension and discrepancy leading to resolution and action.

B. Stanley’s Inductive Structure

I have read and studied Stanley’s inductive structure which also uses five stages for preaching inductive sermons. Andy Stanley explains this structure in his book, Communicating For A Change (Check it out at Amazon Books). Here are the five stages of Stanley’s inductive approach!

ME – Here is a problem I have or have had

The ME stage is about engaging the audience by building common ground. People engage and listen when preachers insert their struggles and weaknesses into the opening story.

WE – Here is how this affects all of us

The WE stage takes the struggles and weaknesses by broadening the tension so as to include everyone listening. You want your listeners to say: “Yeah, me too!”

This is where you create tension to the point that your audience is dying for you to resolve.

GOD – Here is what the Bible says about this problem

The GOD stage resolves the tension by noting what God says about this situation. This is where you allow the Scriptures to explain the situation.

YOU – Here is what you should do

The YOU stage is where you tell the audience what to do with what they have heard. This is where we answer the questions “so what?” and “now what?”

This is where you find one point of application in order to challenge the audience to embrace.

WE – Here is what would happen if we all did this?

The final WE stage is about vision casting. This is where the preacher draws a verbal picture of what it would be like if we put this into practice. Just imagine what the church would look like if we put this into practice! Just imagine what our families would look like if we put this into practice! Just imagine what our community would look like if we put this into practice!

AN INDUCTIVE OUTLINE USING STANLEY’S APPROACH

I have not preached Romans 5:12-14 using Stanley’s approach of outlining an inductive message. However, to demonstrate Stanley’s approach, I have put together a tentative outline.

1. I live in an age of information overload (ME)
2. Humanity does not have all the answers to life (WE)
3. God has the answers because He tells us the whole story (GOD)

God tells us about sin (5:12)
God tells us about death (5:12-14a)
God tells us about life (5:14b-15)

4. You need to listen to God’s answers about life (YOU)

5. Just imagine what would happen if our church, families and community embraced God’s answers to life! (WE)

C. Kelley’s Inductive Structure

Kelley presents a structure for what he calls a “sticky sermon.” However, it is simply another way to present a Bible truth inductively. In some ways, it is very similar to Lowry’s Loop and Stanley’s Inductive Structure. The only different is that he changes the names of each stage and adds one more stage to the outline. Kelley briefly explains his six stages in his book, Preaching Sticky Sermons (Check it out at Amazon Books). Here are Kelley’s six stages to inductive outlining.

ENGAGE – Engage The Audience

This is where the preacher gains the attention of his audience with a story, interesting facts or a provocative quote.

TENSION – State The Problem

In the engage stage, you shared a story. Now you need to raise a problem in order to create tension. The tension you create should draw your audience in and give them an opportunity to anticipate the tension’s resolution.

TRUTH – Embrace The Bible

During this stage the preacher goes to God’s word to resolve the tension. This is where you set the context of the passage of Scripture you wish to teach to the audience.

APPLICATION – Apply The Truth

Once you explain the truth (this is what it means), you will need to apply the truth (this is what it means to you). The idea here is to develop a statement that drives the truth home.

INSPIRATION – Cast The Vision

This is the stage where you paint a picture of what would happen if we all embrace the truth and apply that truth to our lives.

ACTION – Take The Step

This is where you point out again what you want the audience to do in light of the message and you spell it out plain to them.

INDUCTIVE OUTLINE USING KELLEY’S APPROACH

Again I have not used Kelley’s approach to outline an inductive sermon. However, I will outline Romans 5:12-15 for demonstration purposes.

1. We live in an age of information overload (ENGAGE)

2. And yet humanity does not have all the answers to life (TENSION)

3. God has the answers in His word (TRUTH)

The Bible speaks about sin (5:12)
The Bible speaks about death (5:12-14a)
The Bible speaks about life (5:14-15)

4. We must listen to God and obey His word (APPLICATION)

5. Imagine what would happen if we listened and obeyed God’s Word (INSPIRATION)

6. God answers our questions to life, what are you going to do about it? (ACTION)

3. Why Use the Inductive Method?

The main inspiration behind the inductive method of sermon preparation is to capture the audience’s attention and take them on an interesting journey to a biblical truth in order to deliver an important message – a message that will change their lives for Jesus.

Another inspiration behind the inductive method of sermon preparation is to help preachers teach through the narratives of Scripture. Narratives generally tell a story with a single message and the inductive sermon can hammer home that message.