Unit Classification
Rhetorical Function
Every sermon is broken into functional units — segments defined by a shift in rhetorical purpose, not paragraph length. Each unit is classified by one of nine functions that describe what the preacher is doing at that moment.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| exposition | Direct engagement with the biblical text. Exegetical work: explaining words, verb tenses, historical context, passage logic. The preacher is working the text itself. |
| theological_claim | A doctrinal assertion derived from or supported by the exposition. Moves from "the text says this" to "therefore this is true about God, humanity, or the world." |
| illustration | A story, analogy, historical example, or hypothetical scenario that serves the argument. Its job is to make the claim vivid — not to be the claim itself. |
| application | Direct address about what to do, believe, or become in response to the truth established. Imperative verbs. Second-person address. The sermon turning toward the congregation's actual lives. |
| introduction | The opening frame — sets up text, problem, question, or tension. Makes the congregation care about what's coming. |
| conclusion | The closing frame — summarizes argument, reiterates thesis, issues final charge, or lifts into worship. |
| transition | Connective tissue between major sections. Signals structural shifts. Often a single sentence. |
| pastoral_aside | The pastor steps outside the expositional flow to address his people personally. The voice shifts from teacher to shepherd. |
| prayer | An opening, closing, or mid-sermon prayer. Rhetorical register shifts from horizontal (pastor-to-people) to vertical (pastor-to-God). |
Interpretive Approach
Hermeneutical Method
The dominant interpretive lens a preacher uses to move from text to meaning. Most preachers combine methods, but each has a characteristic default — the approach they reach for first when the text opens.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| grammatical_historical | Close attention to original language, historical context, and authorial intent. The primary question: What did these words mean in their original setting? |
| redemptive_historical | Reads the passage as a moment in the unfolding drama of redemption. Christotelic — every text points toward or is fulfilled in Christ. |
| canonical | Interprets the passage in light of the whole canon. Scripture interprets Scripture — other biblical texts brought to bear on this one to illuminate its meaning. |
| applicatory | Primary emphasis on "what does this mean for us today." Moves quickly from text to life without extended exegetical scaffolding. |
| polemic | Marshals the passage to refute an error or defend a contested doctrine. The text as weapon against a specific theological threat. |
Affective Register
Tone
The emotional and relational register in which a unit is delivered. Tone is not about volume or passion — it's about the nature of the relationship the preacher is enacting with his audience at that moment.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| pastoral | The voice of the shepherd — warm, caring, personally engaged with the listener's struggles and spiritual condition. |
| prophetic | The voice of confrontation — addressing sin, complacency, or spiritual danger with urgency and moral weight. |
| didactic | The voice of the teacher — information-dense, explanatory, structured for comprehension. |
| celebratory | The voice of worship — joyful, exultant, marked by wonder at who God is and what he has done. |
| lament | The voice of grief — honest about pain, loss, or tragedy without rushing to resolution or false comfort. |
| polemic | The voice of contention — arguing against a specific error, false idea, or theological drift. |
| evangelistic | The voice of invitation — addressing the unconverted and urging them toward Christ, often with appeals, urgency, and personal directness. |
Theological Categories
Doctrinal Loci
Every theological unit is tagged against one or more of sixteen doctrinal categories. The distribution of these tags across a preacher's corpus reveals their theological center of gravity — what they return to, what they neglect, and what they assume.
| Category | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Theology Proper | The doctrine of God himself — his existence, nature, attributes, and works (creation, providence, decree). |
| Christology | The doctrine of Christ — his divine and human natures, his three offices (Prophet, Priest, King), and his saving work. |
| Pneumatology | The doctrine of the Holy Spirit — his person, role in salvation, gifts, indwelling, and sanctifying work. |
| Soteriology | The doctrine of salvation — justification, redemption, reconciliation, adoption, election, perseverance, and the ordo salutis. |
| Hamartiology | The doctrine of sin — its origin, nature, extent, and consequences. Includes original sin, total depravity, and the fall. |
| Anthropology | The doctrine of humanity — the image of God, the nature of the soul, human dignity, gender, embodiment, and creatureliness. |
| Ecclesiology | The doctrine of the church — its nature, marks, mission, ordinances, governance, membership, and discipline. |
| Eschatology | The doctrine of last things — death, resurrection, judgment, heaven, hell, Christ's return, and the new creation. |
| Bibliology | The doctrine of Scripture — inspiration, authority, inerrancy, sufficiency, clarity, and the canon. |
| Sanctification | The ongoing process of becoming more like Christ — growth in holiness, the means of grace, mortification, and the battle against sin. |
| Providence / Sovereignty | God's active governance of all things — history, nations, circumstances, suffering, and individual lives. |
| Covenant Theology | God's relationship with his people through covenants — continuity and discontinuity between Old and New Testaments. |
| Ethics / Moral Theology | How Christians should live — moral reasoning, natural law, ethical principles, and specific behavioral instruction. |
| Doxology / Worship | The theology and practice of worship — why we worship, how we worship, and when the sermon itself becomes doxology. |
| Spiritual Warfare | The reality and dynamics of spiritual conflict — Satan, demonic opposition, and the believer's armor and resistance. |
| Pastoral Theology | The theology of care — ministry to people in suffering, doubt, and grief. Also covers the pastoral calling, its nature, and its weight. |
Intertextual Connections
Biblical-Theological Moves
A biblical-theological move is the moment a preacher reaches across the canon to connect two texts, two eras, or two moments in redemptive history. These moves reveal how a preacher reads the whole Bible — and what canonical patterns they find themselves drawn to.
| Move Type | Definition |
|---|---|
| typology | An OT person, event, or institution presented as a divinely intended prefiguration of an NT reality. The type points forward; the antitype fulfills and surpasses it. |
| fulfillment | A direct prophecy-to-fulfillment connection — an explicit OT promise shown where and how it landed in history. |
| progressive_revelation | The same doctrine shown to develop and deepen across the canon — what was dimly understood in Moses becoming clear in Paul. |
| narrative_arc | Connecting the passage to the larger story of Scripture — creation, fall, redemption, consummation. Situating this text within the whole drama. |
| intertextual_echo | Shared language, imagery, or themes between two passages suggesting one author drew on the other — the canon whispering to itself. |
| contrast | Two canonical moments placed side by side to show how they differ — the contrast illuminating what makes each distinctive, often showing the superiority of the new covenant. |
| thematic_thread | A recurring theme traced across multiple books or eras — showing the through-line that runs from Genesis to Revelation. |
Source Architecture
Three-Tier Citation Architecture
Every citation in a sermon is classified into one of three tiers depending on its source and function. The distribution across tiers reveals a preacher's relationship to Scripture, the broader canon, and human intellectual tradition.
Tier 1
Primary Text Citations
Verses from the passage being exposited — the sermon's source material, not quoted in support of an argument, but as the argument itself.
Tier 2
Cross-References
Scripture from outside the primary passage, brought in for support, contrast, illumination, or typological connection. Reveals hermeneutical instincts.
Tier 3
Human Quotations
Words from human authors only — theologians, hymn writers, secular authors, church fathers. Tracked with verbatim text, attribution, and function.
| Cross-Reference Function | Definition |
|---|---|
| authority | Brought in as proof — another passage settling the question or lending decisive canonical weight. |
| contrast | Shows the difference between two realities — the passage juxtaposed to illuminate what makes this text distinctive. |
| echo | A softer connection — shared imagery or vocabulary, the canon whispering to itself without an explicit link. |
| fulfillment | Shows a promise-fulfillment relationship — OT prophecy finding its realization in an NT event or person. |
| parallel | Structural or thematic parallel — similar situations or patterns illuminating each other without explicit fulfillment logic. |
| corrective | Guards against misreading the primary text — "you might think X, but this passage clarifies Y." |
| Quotation Function | Definition |
|---|---|
| authority | Cited because the author carries weight — a trusted theologian, church father, or confessional document. |
| illustration | Serves as an illustration — a vivid, memorable way of saying what the pastor is already arguing. |
| provocation | Cited to shock, challenge, or disrupt complacency — from ally or opponent. |
| devotional | Cited for affective power — to move the heart, not just the mind. Hymns, poetry, prayers. |
| opponent | Comes from someone the pastor disagrees with — cited in order to be refuted or corrected. |