What are the essential ingredients in a sermon? We could say simply, “The Word of God,” but that could mean different things to different Lutheran preachers. The gospel, the good news about Jesus’ work for us—that’s essential. And if the gospel is essential, is the law as mirror just as essential, to expose our need for Jesus? What about takeaways for our listeners? Does every sermon need to have truths to believe (points for appropriation) and truths to put into action (points for application), or can some sermons have one but not the other? Since the sermon offers the pastor a rare opportunity to instruct, should most sermons include the teaching of one or more Scriptural doctrines? What about the sermon text? Should the sermon unpack every detail, or should the preacher forego some parts of the text in favor of preaching the “big picture” truths of the Bible—or vice versa? Or should the answer be “all of the above” or even “all of the above and more”?

One way of determining essentials in a sermon that I and others have found helpful is “The Tapestry of Preaching.” This framework for assessing the content of sermons is articulated in an article by David Schmitt of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. His full essay can be found here. WELS preachers may have heard of this from me or others. (Jacob Haag, for instance, referred to it about one year ago.) For the next few issues of the Devote Yourself newsletter, I’d like to introduce the Tapestry of Preaching to those who don’t know it and to refresh the memory of those who do.

The image behind the Tapestry of Preaching is, as its name suggests, that of threads woven together skillfully. Preachers, David Schmitt writes, weave together four “threads of discourse” when they preach a sermon. Put simply, what a preacher talks about in a sermon can be broken down into four things:

1. Textual Exposition. A preacher expounds, unpacks, and illustrates the meaning of a section of the Bible in its original historical context.
2. Theological Confession. Not only does a preacher talk about his text, but he also speaks other parts of Scripture, confessing theological truths referred to by his text but sometimes beyond it.
3. Evangelical Proclamation. A preacher proclaims the good news about Jesus for the forgiveness of his listeners’ sins, and for their life and salvation. We would include in this thread proclaiming the law to alert hearers to the need for Christ’s work.
4. Hearer Interpretation. The sermon includes takeaways for the listeners, helping them see how their new lives in Christ look when lived out in their unique circumstances.

I appreciate this way of looking at sermon essentials for several reasons. One is that it’s robust enough to encompass several important parts of preaching. At times I’ve had thoughts like this: “You know, what preaching in our synod really needs to do better is…” and then I filled in the blank with one critical element of preaching I felt was lacking. Have you had similar thoughts? “The one thing we need to hear from our pulpits is. . . Clearer law and gospel. Less formulaic law and gospel. Encouragements to sanctified living. Specific direction for how to live. Less third use of the law. Applications that meet people where they’re at. More instruction for a biblically illiterate culture.” These all have merit, but which one is the thing? Which of these is the one element that, if done more/less/better/differently, could substantially improve our preaching? Here’s my answer: it’s not just one thing. In every sermon, there are multiple priorities to consider. In every opportunity to speak God’s Word to people, there are several things a preacher should keep in his mind and articulate with his mouth. The Tapestry of Preaching’s four threads of sermonic discourse help us name what those essentials are. Once we have identified them, we can work with them.

A related quality that commends The Tapestry of Preaching is that it provides a way to talk about preaching with less risk of talking past one another. One brother, through countless hours of listening and talking with people, he has come to believe that preaching must connect with the real lives of real listeners. Christian preaching must speak to people in their language and communicate in a way that hits home. It must address people’s real lives, not with generalities but with specifics they can relate to. For this preacher, Hearer Interpretation is key. A different brother knows that many of his hearers are new to the faith. There’s so much in Scripture they don’t know. He covered the basics with them in his instruction class, but there was hardly time to ponder every subject. Therefore, he values Theological Confession in his preaching. The Tapestry of Preaching values both of these priorities. So, instead of each of us focusing on one aspect of preaching to the exclusion of others—and arguing about which one should be foremost—the Tapestry can help us remember to prioritize one or more thread without leaving the others unattended.

A final strong point of the Tapestry is its flexibility. The four threads of discourse listed above are not meant to be a sermon outline. (In other places Schmitt does, however, suggest that in some situations, walking through the four threads might work well. But he warns that, done too often, that would quickly become formulaic.) The four threads of discourse can be woven together in any number of ways, utilizing many different sermonic forms and structures. Do you like to stick with deductive, theme-and-parts outlines? You can weave the four threads into your parts. Are you a preacher who likes to think and preach more inductively, moving from specific details of a text or listeners’ situations toward a key point or idea? You can weave the four threads into such structures. Do you like narrative or storied preaching, connecting the true stories of the Bible to your listeners’ stories? Do you like relational or dialogical approaches to preaching? Do you like to work from a central image and use it to tie your sermon together and to make it memorable? The four threads of the Tapestry can be woven into a wide variety of sermon structures.

In upcoming articles we will focus on each one of the four threads, taking time to discover what each thread contributes to the sermon. We will also discuss how to weave the four threads based on sermon texts, listeners’ situations, and other factors. Finally, we will look at using the Tapestry of Preaching as a self-assessment tool with the aim at improving our preaching.

What are the essential ingredients of a sermon? Together, we will look at a robust yet flexible way of answering that question from a confessional Lutheran perspective.