Easy Wins – Asking Questions

This “Easy Wins” series is intended to help you preach and teach with greater clarity, creativity, and passion. Each post will address one element in the process, creation, and delivery of a message. These are not “the only way to do it.”  Instead, they are things I’ve discovered and implemented in my own 20+ years of preaching. If you use them, I think you’ll find they are easy wins for your ministry.

TOPIC: How To Apply With Questions (aka, The Case For Letting The Audience Sit With Questions)

You’ve put in the hours of diligent study. You’ve spent time lingering and meditating on the text you’ll be preaching. You’ve prayed often, seeking the Lord’s help. The sermon outline is coming into focus. You can see the main points of the message emerge. 

As you craft the first main point, you know the historical context. Any word studies are completed. There is clarity on what this means. Maybe you even have a idea for an illustration that will give the truth velcro. 

How do you apply it, though? How do you get the audience to take action with the truth of Scripture? Is there an effective way of helping them not only see the truth of Scripture but also implementing it into their life?

The Easy Win for how to apply the truth is this: Apply With Questions. That is, craft thought-provoking questions and let the audience sit with them. These questions won’t be the only means of application but they can be a highly effective one if used correctly.

Here’s the HOW:

1. Pray As You Prepare – As you do the work of sermon research, the hope is that you are constantly praying and asking God to help you see the truth (Psalm 119:18). When you are working through that process, think deeply about what the Holy Spirit is showing YOU. Seek Him always as you work.
2. Write What Challenges You – As you are confronted with the truths you are finding, what comes to mind? Of course, you want to picture the audience and think about how the text would apply to each of them. However, first and foremost, what is hitting you? Write out any questions the Scripture make you consider. At this phase, just write; no editing, no word-smithing… just write the way the Scripture is challenging you.

3. Craft And Edit – As you refine each draft of your message, this is when you can hone those questions into what they will become. Spend time here to make them succinct and thought-provoking. Generally, I try to keep it to two questions for each of my three main points. This would yield six questions (in a three-point outline) I’m leaving with the audience for the message. 
4. Announce And Wait – Use questions as a firm transition point. For example, before I end each main point of the sermon, I say “Here are some questions to consider.” I will also have a slide showing the questions so they have a visual of what the questions I am asking. I will then read both questions aloud and try to pause a moment for each. I’m not seeking an auditory answer – but I do want to let the question hang in the air. Let it land with them.
5. Slow Down – This is something I’ve been working to improve. I am trying to change the pace when I get to the questions. The audience needs time to process and actually realize: “these questions are for ME.” If you rush through, they may miss out on the good type of confrontation the questions are meant to produce. Additionally, I cannot tell you the amount of times I’ve seen people use their phone to snap pictures of these question-slides as I’m presenting. I’m not actively looking for it, but anecdotally it feels like every single time I see that happening (and I speak to a diverse collection of audiences). So as you ask the questions, slow down and let it linger with them.

Optionals:

Callback to Illustration

How did you illustrate the point you were just making? How did you help make a connection for them? Is there a way you can weave that into the summary questions you will ask? 

An example, in a sermon I wrote about worshipping with others and how it can be an encouragement in hard times, I used the illustration of my young niece and her first time trying pancakes. She loved them immensely, but when her parents told her there were “no more pancakes” she literally dropped her head on the table in sadness. In the sermon I show the picture of her in her state of grief and it’s a humorous moment.

Thankfully, her parents flagged down the waiter and ordered a couple more pancakes and Kenzie (my niece) sees that life is worth living once more. In the sermon, I talk about how the enemy can use adversity/suffering to make you think “there’s no more pancakes.” He can discourage you. So, in the questions to consider section, I ask, “Who do I know that might be feeling like ‘there’s no more pancakes,’ and how can I encourage them? How can I be a reminder of God’s amazing love in the midst of hard times?”

Using this callback to the illustration gives it one more chance to stick. Now, hopefully, that illustration-text connection grows stronger and it becomes even more personal for the audience to apply.

Use “I” In The Questions 

As noted in the example above, state the questions with “I” in them. Not “who do you know that may feel discouraged,” but “who do I know that may be discouraged?” I want each person to be asking it of themselves. Personal investigation and personal investment, even in the wording.

Here’s The WHY:

1. Jesus Used Questions Often – It’s been estimated that Jesus asked over 300 questions in the Gospels. Clearly, it was a tool He used often and to great impact. Not all of the 300 questions were used in the context of a preaching moment but they were always aimed at stirring the person/audience to real reflection. “Have you not read?” “Who do you say that I am?” “Why do you doubt?” “What good is it for man to gain the whole world and lose his soul?” These are powerhouse questions and we see Jesus employ them. We would be wise to do similar.
2. Questions Leave Room For Holy Spirit To Surprise – Sometimes, just letting a person sit with a question will yield different areas/ways of applying the Scripture to their lives that I would not have articulated in the preaching moment. As I’ve had conversations with people after preaching a sermon, this has happened plenty of times. I do want to point to applications during the message – but in offering questions to sit with, I see the Holy Spirit has shined light on areas I didn’t even think about. I want to build that into the sermon.
3. Can Assist In Small Group Or Family Discussions – By posing those six questions during the message, I’ve also aided in on-going discussions that may be had in a small group setting or around a family dinner table. Instead of a father asking “so, kids, what did you think of the message today?” – he is armed with at least six questions to drive a family discussion at lunch.
4. Promotes Biblical Meditation On Scripture – A series of well-crafted questions will invite the listener to actually meditate on the text that was preached. This is excellent for their spiritual growth and health. And as noted above, it can foster/deepen community with on-going discussions about the Scripture. Wins all around.  
5. Aids Those Who Struggle To Stay Focused – When the audience knows that the questions you announce also signal the end of one main point and the transition to the next, it can aid in refocusing. Perhaps they let their mind drift some during the first point – a good set of questions will summarize/connect the material and at a minimum leave them with something to think about.

There is the Easy Win: utilizing questions as an aid in applying the text you are preaching. 

Have you prioritized this type of approach? What have you seen work well? Let me know in the comments.

**Be sure to check out the Easy Wins page on the blog where you will find more topics just like this. No expensive course or paywall here – my goal for the series is to bless and help others as they seek to improve. 

If you have a topic or question about preaching you’d like to see addressed here, email me at joshhumbert@gmailcom. If you’re interested in me delivering these as live training/development sessions, just email me that as well.**