ACT III: Redemption
The Redemption Sequence
Regardless of the sermon form you are using, the part of the sermon you need to plan most carefully is the end. This is the moment of highest intensity, the time for decision, the point at which the truth of the sermon comes either to a triumphant climax or a tired fizzle. It is time to “land the plane” and if you do not have a checklist to follow, you may well find yourself circling the runway (or just flying out to sea) until you run out of gas and sputter to a crash landing.
I find it best to have a clear sequence to follow when planning the end of the sermon. This is as true for a story-shaped sermon as it is for a deductive one. Here is the sequence I recommend for Act III:
The Exegetical Clue
Immediately following your Act II climax, launch Act III with your Exegetical Clue. Here is the moment to bring out that critical bit of exegetical information that you set aside in the “Taking Aim” stage. Again, this could be a lexical or grammatical detail, an observation from the historical or literary context, or even a gospel-driven insight that emerged from your theological reflection.
The essential characteristic of this piece is that it clears the path to the Controlling Idea. There may be a moment to develop the thought, to walk the path, to climb the last few yards to the summit. But at the end of this last burst is the main truth of the text, the answer to the question that you have been exploring for the entire sermon.
The Controlling Idea
There is not much to say about the Controlling Idea that we have not said already, but I would emphasize that this is moment when this central truth is unveiled for the first time in the sermon. I often find that, when I get to this point, I am not satisfied with my original wording. The process of developing the sermon has brough out nuances I hadn’t seen before, or the idea has simply matured over time. It’s fine to tweak the wording, as long as it still reflects the central truth of the text. I suggest going back and changing it in your Homiletical Conclusions as well, just to keep your written material consistent.
As you state this idea, be sure to connect it back to the rest of the sermon. Make it clear that this is the destination you have been seeking. This is the answer to the question, the solution to the problem, the resolution of the tension that has been fueling the entire journey.
If your Controlling Idea grew out of the process of gospel-driven theological reflection, the statement should also represent a gospel “turn,” a moment when the provision of God’s grace overtakes the struggles of our own efforts. The human agenda is abandoned. The divine agenda is embraced. We experience the restful truth of the gospel.
The Crisis
Once the truth of the Controlling Idea is on the table, it is time to put before our hearers the decision they must make. This crisis of belief presents a choice between two mutually exclusive options.
The crisis of the grand narrative of the Bible is the cross of Jesus. As Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, the entire story from the garden of Eden to the new creation hung in the balance. As he prayed, “Not my will but thine,” the door was opened to redemption.
The crisis of the sermon is analogous to the cross. We are asking our hearers to choose between life and death. As Jesus said, when we cling to our lives, we lose them. But when we give up our lives, we save them. The question at this point of the sermon is, “In what way must we die if we are to experience the grace of this truth?” Discern the answer to this question and put it before your hearers as a choice that is final, clear, and defining.
The Climax
If the crisis of the narrative sermon is analogous to the cross of Christ in the redemption story, the climax is his resurrection. The climax is the final action that performs several key functions at once. It defines the life change of the characters. It carries the meaning of the story. It signals the end of the story, because it is so final in nature that nothing new could come after it. Everything that follows is defined and motivated by the climax.
The climax of your sermon may take many forms. It could be a final analogy or word picture that captures the essence of the controlling idea. You might use a story or quote that fits the occasion perfectly, making the truth vivid for the hearers. The climax could be a moment of confessional transparency or pointed application. It might even return to a story or illustration used earlier in the sermon, to provide a different ending, or a fresh perspective in light of the truth discovered in the text. The possibilities are varied and virtually endless. However, the following checklist of qualities of a good climax might guide you as you prepare this crucial movement, and to evaluate it once it is done:
Clear. If the controlling idea has been implicit up to now, it is no longer. Your carefully crafted statement of the central truth of the sermon, drawn from the central truth of the text, provides the centrepiece of the climax.
Conclusive. The sermon’s climax should vividly demonstrate in some way that the truth of the sermon (controlling idea) answers the question, solves the problem, and resolves the tension raised in Act I.
Unexpected and Inevitable. In retrospect, your hearers should have the sense that this was the only possible conclusion to the sermon, even though its exact nature was unexpected until it was revealed. It should make sense of the entire journey, by seeing it all in a new light – the light of the gospel.
Definitive. Gospel living begins with a new identity in Christ. Your climax should call your hearers to see themselves with new light, to accept a new identity based on their journey through death (the choice of the crisis) to resurrection (their new reality based upon what God has done).
Final. The climax must be irreversible. There is no return. Once a believer grasps the truth, and chooses the way of the cross, the result is a new reality. Something has changed forever. The climax renders the thought of going back unthinkable. The human agenda has disappeared. From now on, the divine agenda is the only one that matters.
Moving. Emotion is essential to narrative climax, but it must not be emotion for emotion’s sake, or emotion contrived through shallow manipulation. The emotion of this climax should flow from meaning. When we recognize the truth of the gospel, and see the new reality to which this truth calls us, we are deeply moved as a result.
The Resolution
If a film were to end on the climax, movie-goers exiting the theater would likely exhibit an unsettled, uncomfortable, perhaps even haggard appearance. Moving directly from dramatic intensity into everyday normalcy is a shock to any system. The audience needs time to regain its composure, to gather its emotions, to prepare to re-enter the world. But the resolution is more than just a lag time for blood pressure to subside, and eyes to be dried before the lights come up. It has an important job to do. The intense change brought about by the climax begs a question that must be answered, even if very briefly, if the ending is to be ultimately satisfying. What will life look like on the other side of this change?
In the narrative sermon, the preacher may use the resolution to paint a picture of the new reality beyond the discovery of God’s resurrection work in the climax. How should our lives be different after experiencing His redemption in this area of life? You can paint this picture in several ways. You might accomplish this simply by telling a story of a person who has put this truth into action in their lives. Or you could, in a more confessional mode, describe the impact of this truth on your own life.
Another option is to see this as a moment for clear, specific application. Your hearers have accompanied you on a journey from the Inciting Incident, through the Quest, to the Crisis and Climax. They have grasped the gravity of the choice before them, understood the death that must take place, and experienced the gospel as you revealed the Controlling Idea, the life-changing truth of God’s word. What will you ask of them now? If in this process you have done a good job, you should have before you a very teachable moment, a moment of openness and readiness to follow God’s direction. What will it be? Don’t hesitate to give them the direction they need.
