Exegetical Work & Sermon Guidelines

Exegetical Work & Sermon Guidelines

Adopted 1/30/2008

Statement
One sentence will be required that explains the core statement of the passage.

Supporting Paragraph
A complete paragraph will be written that elaborates the theme by giving insights from the translation.

Exegetical Work to Substantiate the Derivation of the Statement

  1. Translation of the original language
  2. Discussion of authorship and historicity
  3. Keyword study parsing all of the significant Hebrew or Greek words with an explanation of any theological, contextual, or linguistic factors that contributed to the original translation by the candidate; parsing should be applied to words whose meaning are significant for the passage, verb forms in particular; the commissioners are looking for confirmation that the candidate has a working knowledge of how the parsing impacts the translation of and meaning of a given word
  4. Theological analysis of the significance of the passage and thoughts about the theological implications of the passage for other Biblical passages
  5. Discussion of the significance of the passage in the context of its own Biblical book
  6. Pastoral application and relevance of the passage today
  7. Bibliography
  8. Sermon

The exegetical portion of the paper, in addition to the written sermon, will be 10 to 15 pages in length,
double spaced, and include all of the components.
NOTE: The biblical exegesis from the ordination examination cannot be used.

Preaching & Hearing the Sermon

  1. Good communication skills: hand gestures, eye contact, well-composed, articulation, and enunciation.
  2. Attentiveness of the congregation. Was the sermon appropriate for the listening congregation?
  3. Accuracy of sermon relative to text and exegesis, and relevancy of the illustrations and practical application.