How to Preach from an Epistle

The Epistles are letters written to the fledgling churches and individual believers in the earliest days of Christianity. The apostle Paul wrote the first 13 of these letters, each addressing a specific situation or problem. In terms of volume, Paul’s writings constitute about one-fourth of the entire New Testament. The others were written by an unknown author (Hebrews), Peter (1 and 2 Peter), James, John (1, 2, and 3 John), and Jude.

  • 1 KNOW THE BACKGROUND OF THE EPISTLE.

Find out as much as you can about the background of the epistle. Who wrote this? To whom? Why? What was going on before, during or after this letter? Is this the first letter? The last? Are we missing any information? When was this written? What are the major theological themes of this letter? What are the significant things that are being emphasized or repeated in this letter? How is this letter structured overall?

  • 2 DIVIDE THE EPISTLE INTO PREACHABLE SEGMENTS.

Trace the flow of the Epistle. You should notice its segments. Is there a way to group them? One way to do this is to consult a bible dictionary or commentary. Usually somebody has done this already. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Epistles are usually rich in theological themes so usually several preachable segments can be discerned even in a short epistle. What is important is to categorize them from bigger to smaller categories, so you would know where the parts fit as far as the whole Epistle is concerned. Don’t get lost in the forest of details. Know the big picture as well as its constituted parts.

  • 3 SELECT A SEGMENT AND STUDY IT.

Review the teaching or preaching situation, and find out which segment is most appropriate. Each segment will have its own theme and topic (that’s why it’s a stand-alone preaching segment, otherwise you may have segmented it in the wrong way). Study the passage to determine its theme and topic. You do this by discovering the details, interpreting the details and generating summaries. The details include the structure, atmosphere of the passage, literary features and terms used in the passage. Each time you discover a detail, you must try to ask interpretative questions. Then look for answers in the text itself, in the surrounding text (co-text), the whole book, or other books by the same author. Validate your answers by checking the whole Bible, or other Biblical authors, as well as other people who have studied the passage. Then summarize it by identifying the truth and thrust of the passage. The truth is the main message in summary, while the thrust is the main application of that message. Both must undergo three stages. First, start with the original audience (exegesis), then all audiences for all times (exposition), and then your present audience (exhortation). Always ask yourself the question, “What is God saying to… (the original audience, all audiences, and my present audience).” After you’ve done this, decide on your Take Home Message, which is either a Turning Point (i.e. a principle) or a Tagline (i.e. an application).

  • 4 PREPARE A SERMON BASED ON THE SEGMENT.

When it’s time to preach, you must start with a good INTRO (Interesting beginning, Need raised, Theme, Topic and the Text used, Revelation or Relevance of the theme, topic and text, and Overview of your approach). You must answer your topical question using your chosen segment of the Epistle as the basis. Then you must expound on each point, citing the part of the passage you got it from, so that you can explain, prove and apply each point. Remember to always refer to the Take Home Message of your sermon. Then you must END properly (Emphasize the Take Home Message, Nudge for application, and Direct initial response).