for those who know, i hated the braga book because it was so dry. it was like a lecturer's notes all compiled into a book giving you examples after examples of sermon outlines and methods on how to construct them, and definitions of the styles of sermon preparation etc. soo BORING to the max! i tried reading the book but took nearly one month to get to it cos my brain would freeze and go dead when i attempted to read it. It was when I decided and told myself: "clarice zhang, just burn one day to do this once and for all and get it over and done with." So i finally managed to pass this major hurdle, submitted my work. As you can see from the picture below, I got 92% for it.. full marks for my content, near full marks for presentation and conclusion... But i won't show you how many marks got deducted out of that for late submission. BOO.

but come to think of this, i really dunno how i managed to summarize and distill the whole book... i really hated the book... i'm amazed after reading it that i wrote this... :x

Nothing to be proud of actually... cos i handed in late.

P.S Clarice to Clarice :
clarice, just wanna tell you, you can do it if you set your mind into it.
Focus on the right things at the right time.
Seek first the KOG and all these things will be added unto ya.

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After reading How to prepare Bible Messages by James Braga, I feel that preaching is an act that is to be treated as sacred. It is a privilege bestowed by God, a responsibility that to discern His Word and deliver it. It is a platform in which we build a foundation for the presence of God to rest on; for the Holy Spirit to move and impact the congregation.

Before developing the necessary techniques of delivering the message, I believe first and foremost, the preacher must have an intimate close walk with God and be sensitive to the Holy Spirit, in order to bring forth a word in season. The preacher must be able to build an atmosphere where the presence of God would rest upon the congregation, and the Word would thus be like a seed imprinted in their hearts and spirits, to come into fruition as they apply the Word in their daily lives.

As Paul has said in 1 Corinthians 9: 27 “ But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” The preacher must have the necessary character, to have applied the Word to his/her life before preaching it. Only then can the preaching be of conviction and truth, only then can the preacher be a vessel for God’s Word to be delivered to the congregation. And as the book states in the last chapter, the preacher would be seen as understanding to their needs, circumstances, nature and personalities.

Having then established the foundation of ‘the preacher is the message’, preaching techniques should then be developed and honed progressively over time. The book teaches us that discovering the proposition and the main Bible text, the preacher can decide on different styles of sermon he/she would deliver, namely, topical, textual or expository. He/she should start on an outline, to derive the main points and sub-division points of the sermon, and also decide on how the sermon should be concluded. After which, the outline or skeleton of the sermon should be “fleshed out” further by writing the introduction, “beefing up” the main and sub-points, with quotations, text or illustrations, constructing transitional sentences that would bring the congregation from introduction to the main points, and from the last main point to the conclusion. The preacher would by then be clear about his/her objective of delivering the sermon and would have been able to come up with an appropriate and memorable title for the sermon.


The preacher’s proposition must be “a clear declarative statement of a fundamental, timeless truth that has universal application.” They can be interrogative, hortatory (exhorting/encouraging in nature) or exclamatory (emphatic). Transitional sentences should be carefully worded as an awkward sentence can lose the sermon’s effectiveness. Each main point or sub-division should be distinct, formed in progression, and be parallel in structure (wording). Conclusions can either be a recapitulation of what was preached, an illustration, motivation or quotations, be it from scripture, poem, hymn or an anecdote from a powerful person.

Most importantly, I believe it is that good preaching is always one that interprets the truth for the congregation and one that makes the Word applicable in our daily lives and in our current times. Ultimately, we should all aim for preaching that transforms lives and glorifies God


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