Hey

HEY – getting attention:

Goal: Address the audience’s feelings (shock, compassion, anger, fear, curiosity, …)

to make them trust you! You stand at the foot of a mountain and you show them the top in the clouds. Your listeners want to know what it’s all about!

Ask yourself: Does the audience have a burning question, problem, or hunger in the area of the sermon topic?

Methods: – a provocative assertion

• Own experience for identification
• An introduction that appeals to one of the 5 senses
• Questions on the subject that shake you up
• Interview
• History
• Statistics or other interesting facts

Practice:

Example: Hearing the voice of God.

Take this Bible passage for the entire exercise that follows.

John 10, 27 My sheep listen to my voice. I know them, and they follow me.

Problem: When do I know whether God is talking to me or I myself?

Start Question in the round: If you hear your 1 ½-year-old child suddenly explain to another child: “If you scold me, Jesus is very sad! Where do you think these thoughts come from: From the child himself, or from the children’s teacher who has been going over this very subject for the last three meetings?”

Your listeners are irritated and curious: You can’t answer the question clearly. The child has of course had the thought himself at that moment, but originally it comes from the children’s hour! What now?

Write your HEY introduction…