The Principle Movement

McKay Caston

Learn about the principal movement in sermon structure, which follows the scripture reading and introduces the sermon's main idea or 'big idea.' This principle statement is a universal truth about God or human experience, derived from the text, and sets the stage for the entire message.

Transcript

00:00
Hey, McKay, back to introduce the principal movement.
00:03
This is the first PPGR movement of the sermon.
00:06
It's not where we begin the sermon.
00:08
However, if you remember, the principle is going to follow immediately after the scripture reading, which follows the prelectio, which is our sermon introduction.
00:18
We go prelectio scripture reading, then immediately into the principle.
00:24
So what is a principle statement?
00:27
A principle is essentially the big idea we are teaching from the text.
00:33
It generally will be a universal truth about God or a universal about how we commonly experience reality, the common human experience that everyone can understand and relate to.
00:48
Or it's going to be something related to the keyword.
00:51
It may even be defining the keyword.
00:54
Whatever it is, it is going to be.
00:56
The main idea of the message is going to be, let's say, something explicitly stated in the text or implicitly derived from the text, and it's going to set the stage for the entire rest of the message.
01:11
We can think of it as the.
01:13
The first domino, where you have the principle, which is going to then fall into the problem, fall into the gospel, and fall into the response like dominoes knocking each other down, which is to emphasize that we're not preaching points independently, but that we're preaching movement.
01:32
It starts in the prelectio, it begins to build momentum, goes to the text, and then we go through our storyboard idea of stage conflict, hero and resolution.
01:44
That's what we're working on here with our movement, where we're reflecting the gospel story through creation, fall, redemption, and restoration.
01:55
So the principle should be stated as a simple sentence, make it as focused, as clear, as clean, as punchy as possible.
02:04
But it must include the sermon's keyword.
02:08
So a short sentence with the keyword, that's what we're doing in stating our principle.
02:15
So how do we develop the principle movement once we've made our statement, what do we do next?
02:23
It really is simple.
02:25
We're just going to explain the principle from the text, and then we don't have to, but we could illustrate the principle.
02:32
So explaining it with words in the text, with phrases, with word studies that might help us cross references.
02:40
We don't want to go overboard with this.
02:43
We're not trying to explain the entire text, but simply place and prove the principle that we have stated the text, and we're going to use the text, the entire passage, in all four movements.
02:55
So we're not just limiting the text to the principle.
02:59
We're also going to weave it through the problem, the gospel and the response as well.
03:03
An example of this is Isaiah 55, 8, 9.
03:07
We read, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are, your ways my ways, declares the Lord, as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts your thoughts.
03:18
So I'm using the word better as the keyword anchor illustration of a two year old.
03:23
And in the principle I simply would say God's ways are better than our ways.
03:27
That's what this passage teaches.
03:28
That's the idea of being higher than ours.
03:31
That might then go into the problem by simply saying that we tend to live as if our ways are better than God's and introduce this idea of being a two year old who thinks that they know better than the parents.
03:44
So that's essentially what we would do and explain the principle.
03:49
Just explain from the text maybe how this idea of higher means better and illustrate it with the two year old and move into the problem.
03:58
that's the transition we this being true, the next movement, however the problem is, and we'll get to that in the next lesson.
04:07
Look forward to seeing you there.
The Principle Movement — Tella