Using Outlines to Communicate Well - Brian Bell

[00:00:00] So an outline is first of all, are a map to make sure you arrive at the proper destination.

[00:00:06] What we're looking for is a clear roadmap, first for you and for them.

[00:00:11] And so with that, it's first from my own head in presenting it, but it's also going to become sticky, right?

[00:00:16] For them to be able to hold on to whoever your audience is.

[00:00:19] And so it's really not about memory, it's about organization, organize your thoughts.

[00:00:25] If you can't remember it, they're not going to remember it.

[00:00:28] Hi, welcome to the Expositors Collective podcast, episode 331.

[00:00:35] I'm your host, Mike Neglia.

[00:00:36] The voice that you heard is our guest for this week.

[00:00:39] This is Pastor Brian Bell from Calvary, Marietta in California.

[00:00:45] And this is a recording that we did at one of our training events in nearby

[00:00:52] Temecula, California at Reliance Church.

[00:00:55] Brian gave a very short, very punchy, very easy to listen to talk about communicating well.

[00:01:04] He speaks a lot about the importance of crafting an outline that makes sense, but he also just smuggles

[00:01:10] in a lot of wisdom about homiletics and good communication and teaching the Bible

[00:01:16] in a way that sticks in people's hearts and minds.

[00:01:22] I know that you are going to benefit from this short, punchy, compact wisdom

[00:01:30] that is going to help you in your personal study and public proclamation of God's word.

[00:01:36] Hi, Pastor Brian Brodersen here, and I would like to invite those of you who are pastors,

[00:01:41] ministry leaders, anyone serving in the church to join us for this year's CGN International

[00:01:48] Conference. Our theme this year is hope, suffering and glory.

[00:01:53] And we're going to be studying through the first epistle of Peter.

[00:01:58] It's going to be a fantastic time.

[00:02:00] We've got nine speakers who are going to be our main session speakers.

[00:02:04] We've got a number of fantastic workshops caring for your own soul.

[00:02:10] It's going to be a fantastic time.

[00:02:12] The dates are June 23rd to the 26th, and that's going to be held at Calvary Chapel

[00:02:19] Costa Mesa. So if you're interested and would like to find out more,

[00:02:23] you can go to conference.calvarychapel.com.

[00:02:27] That is conference.calvarychapel.com.

[00:02:30] God bless.

[00:02:38] Doctors, practice medicine.

[00:02:41] You and I, we get to practice homo-letics or preaching or teaching whatever you want

[00:02:46] to call it. I communicate to our staff a lot.

[00:02:50] We're perpetual learners.

[00:02:52] We have to remind ourselves of that.

[00:02:54] There isn't one of us that have arrived, right?

[00:02:56] And so we're going to constantly be learning.

[00:02:58] I love everything that we'll be doing.

[00:03:00] I've been learning from the guys in my group and it's just just absolutely

[00:03:05] beautiful to be able to learn together.

[00:03:08] When I grew up, I went to elementary school.

[00:03:11] I was a Catholic until age 19.

[00:03:14] And so when I was a little guy, we had to wear uniforms.

[00:03:17] And in these uniforms, we had to wear these geeky sweaters.

[00:03:21] They're button-up sweaters, dark blue.

[00:03:23] And every recess, our murmur is a little kid going out there

[00:03:26] and we'd pick foxtails, you know, those little weed things kind of looks like wheat.

[00:03:31] And you would chuck them when somebody isn't looking.

[00:03:33] It'd chuck them on their back and it would stick.

[00:03:35] And the reason I say that is because John Phillips said this,

[00:03:38] outlines are the burrs that lodge themselves in the minds of the listeners.

[00:03:43] That's a good picture, right?

[00:03:44] OK, and so that's where as we just start off in doing that,

[00:03:48] for those of you that check the box, just don't know, I don't I don't do outlines.

[00:03:51] Just listen, that's all there might be something that you're going to be

[00:03:54] able to glean, grab on to and be able to say, oh, maybe outlines are kind of important.

[00:04:00] Why you need an outline?

[00:04:01] We'll start with that.

[00:04:02] Why you need an outline?

[00:04:04] You can share a message that is random thoughts of a bunch of Bible verses,

[00:04:09] a collection of truths might be disconnected thoughts, but they're truths.

[00:04:14] And that works and people can do that.

[00:04:16] My early sermons were that way.

[00:04:18] I think my early sermons had like 32 point message.

[00:04:21] It was just like I was so excited.

[00:04:23] Everything that I studied, I wanted to share with you everything.

[00:04:25] And so I learned this from this commentary and I'd quote this guy and that guy.

[00:04:29] And it was just a whole bunch of just random points that were put together in that way.

[00:04:34] Like a dump truck, I'd back up and just dump information on everyone.

[00:04:38] But have you heard no one likes to be dumped on?

[00:04:41] And so we realize information is giving out.

[00:04:45] Communication is getting through.

[00:04:47] That's a good one.

[00:04:48] Information is giving out.

[00:04:49] I don't know who I stole it from, but it was really good.

[00:04:51] Information is giving out.

[00:04:52] Communication is getting through.

[00:04:54] Ultimately, that's what we want to do.

[00:04:57] And so I think a better way to get through is to build an outline

[00:05:01] that's thoughtful.

[00:05:02] It's going somewhere.

[00:05:03] It's progressive and ultimately has a conclusion or a destination that we're trying to get to.

[00:05:09] And so a clear focus, an end goal.

[00:05:11] That's what we're going for.

[00:05:15] My wife Kelly and I, we had a van that we're giving away to a friend

[00:05:18] that lived in Denver, Colorado.

[00:05:20] I asked one of my pastors, hey, you ever been to Denver?

[00:05:23] He says, yeah, I've been there three or four times.

[00:05:24] I said, awesome.

[00:05:25] I told him we were giving him a van.

[00:05:27] I said, do you mind driving with me and we'll fly back?

[00:05:29] And so we were talking about it.

[00:05:30] He says, yeah.

[00:05:31] And so we basically knew the way there.

[00:05:34] And so it's, you know, go up the 15 and just cut across the 70 and start shooting in.

[00:05:37] So I'm halfway through Utah.

[00:05:39] And my friend Dan was taking his turn.

[00:05:41] He was driving.

[00:05:41] I said, are we almost there?

[00:05:43] He says, I don't know.

[00:05:45] And I said, what do you mean?

[00:05:46] You said you've been to Denver a number of different times.

[00:05:48] He says, oh, I've always flown there.

[00:05:51] True story.

[00:05:52] And so we pulled out a map and we're able to go.

[00:05:54] So an outline is first of all, are a map to make sure you arrive

[00:05:58] at the proper destination.

[00:06:00] What we're looking for is a clear roadmap.

[00:06:02] First for you and for them.

[00:06:05] And so with that, it's first from my own head in, in presenting it, but it's

[00:06:09] also going to become sticky, right?

[00:06:10] For them to be able to hold on to whoever your audience is.

[00:06:14] And so it's really not about memory.

[00:06:15] It's about organization, organize your thoughts.

[00:06:20] If you can't remember it, they're not going to remember it.

[00:06:23] Not talking about whether you write out everything you're going to say

[00:06:26] or whether you do a few bullet points.

[00:06:28] We all do that a little bit differently in that way, but it's thought through.

[00:06:32] We're going point to point to point ultimately to get to this

[00:06:35] conclusion that we're going to talk about.

[00:06:39] Used to be really jealous of somebody who could just stand up

[00:06:42] and open up their Bible and then just preach extemporaneously, which is

[00:06:46] just a fun big word to say, right?

[00:06:48] But with that, I realized until I wasn't and until it's not

[00:06:52] about just getting up and being able to, I'm kind of locked to my notes.

[00:06:56] And it's I think it's good for me because when I put them together,

[00:06:59] they're usually pretty linear and it's going somewhere.

[00:07:03] Right? But if I just stand up and talk, I'll be all over the place

[00:07:06] and there'll be rabbit trails and all of those different things.

[00:07:08] Not that everybody that speaks contemporary easily is does it that way.

[00:07:12] But second part, how to build an outline.

[00:07:16] So my outline has an outline.

[00:07:18] So our next one, how to build an outline.

[00:07:20] Right? So outlining is a map, but it's also a process.

[00:07:24] There's again, a destination in mind.

[00:07:26] You've already heard it said the big idea.

[00:07:28] That's our destination.

[00:07:30] That's who we want to get to, which we arrive at by mapping out

[00:07:33] our steps on how to get there.

[00:07:36] Have you ever told a joke and then forgot the punch line?

[00:07:39] If there's anything about jokes, you have to keep the punch line in mind.

[00:07:43] And so if you've either heard someone do that or I've done it before

[00:07:47] and again halfway through is like, I forgot what the punch line is.

[00:07:49] And unfortunately, you and I, we've sat in a lot of sermons

[00:07:52] where they forgot the punch line or never figured out the punch line.

[00:07:56] It's just our teachings like, OK, we'll see you next week.

[00:08:01] Nick Katie said, it's a good quote.

[00:08:04] The goal is to present a cohesive message that faithfully exposes

[00:08:09] or exposes or explains the tax, which is a beautiful alliteration.

[00:08:15] But but it's not alliteration for alliteration sake, right?

[00:08:18] Just because the whole three words start with E.

[00:08:20] What what it's saying that exposes and explains

[00:08:23] is already explaining to us what this expository method is all about.

[00:08:28] See, the first thing we're going to do once we have our text

[00:08:33] is figure out the big idea.

[00:08:37] What is your sermon in one sentence?

[00:08:39] Like if you were stopped on the way to church that morning

[00:08:41] or you're stopping to get your coffee, hey, Pastor, what are you?

[00:08:44] What are you teaching on this morning?

[00:08:46] And instead of just saying, oh, Luke chapter four,

[00:08:48] instead to be able to have it succinctly into a sentence

[00:08:53] and so this is a destination again to get to.

[00:08:56] That might be or, you know, inside of it is a doctor

[00:09:00] or an argument or a thesis or a proposition.

[00:09:04] This is after you study the text and you figure out this is what it's about

[00:09:09] and then build a case or develop this idea through your main points

[00:09:13] on how to how to get there.

[00:09:16] So identify some main points from your text.

[00:09:19] If you're taken, let's say a chapter

[00:09:21] and you can kind of break it out that way or from other texts in the Bible.

[00:09:25] If you're teaching from one little verse

[00:09:26] and you're going to be running to other other verses

[00:09:29] to be able to kind of back up your thoughts on that.

[00:09:31] But our goal again is to take our listeners on a journey

[00:09:35] by building this progression.

[00:09:38] Point one leads to point two leads to point three,

[00:09:41] however many points that you have in that,

[00:09:42] which leads to a definite conclusion.

[00:09:45] Again, the big idea help the listeners

[00:09:49] see what the text is saying,

[00:09:52] why it's important to them personally,

[00:09:55] how it applies to their lives and how to respond to it appropriately.

[00:09:59] As we were talking about that third step of application.

[00:10:02] So outlining doesn't only give you a roadmap,

[00:10:06] but it also gives you a process.

[00:10:09] And so our third one is what's my process?

[00:10:13] Five step process here.

[00:10:14] Number one, we already talked about big idea just to go over it.

[00:10:17] One sentence.

[00:10:19] I had said that again,

[00:10:22] a little bit earlier, what is your sermon in one sentence?

[00:10:25] In the destination, doctor, doctrine, is it an argument?

[00:10:28] Is it a proposition?

[00:10:30] And then again, the second part of that would be the main points

[00:10:35] to maybe four.

[00:10:37] It's not hard fast.

[00:10:39] I read about Richard Baxter.

[00:10:40] He was a theologian back in the 1600s.

[00:10:42] And he says once he said this and 65thly,

[00:10:46] I don't feel so bad about my 32 point and 65thly.

[00:10:49] So OK, that's probably too much.

[00:10:51] Right? OK, so usually the Baptist always said,

[00:10:54] three points in a poem, something close to that right in there.

[00:10:58] And then illustrate each of your main points.

[00:11:01] Somebody said illustrations are not necessary, but they're very helpful.

[00:11:05] It's usually what people remember on a Sunday morning,

[00:11:08] if I'm going and talking to them, oh, I love this.

[00:11:10] And it's usually one of the illustration points

[00:11:12] that because again, it's sticky.

[00:11:14] And so I think a way to do it is you make your point

[00:11:17] and then illustrate your point and make your point again

[00:11:20] and then illustrate it again.

[00:11:22] That might be a formal process, but again,

[00:11:24] it's something that you can just jot down in an outline

[00:11:27] as you're studying and and make sure you fill all those in.

[00:11:30] Now, every time when you have two, maybe not,

[00:11:33] but it's a good basic structure to go with.

[00:11:36] Also make your main points,

[00:11:39] bring it into the present tense for your listeners.

[00:11:42] For instance, in Exodus, chapter 18 is where Jethro gives

[00:11:47] his son-in-law, Moses, some good advice.

[00:11:51] And so you could call it what Jethro taught.

[00:11:53] That could be a main point, right?

[00:11:55] But instead of let's let's bring it from, you know,

[00:11:57] three thousand years ago and bring it in today.

[00:11:59] How about leadership tools for today or something like that?

[00:12:01] Anything to take it from old Bible times up into the present time

[00:12:05] is oftentimes helpful on our main points.

[00:12:08] Spring from the Bible world to the present world.

[00:12:12] Also remember, it's not about being clever and sensational,

[00:12:14] but clear and appealing.

[00:12:16] That's what we're going for. Clear and appealing.

[00:12:20] Alliterations again, if you're three points,

[00:12:22] I'll start with the letter P.

[00:12:24] Alliterations are helpful, but just don't get cheesy with them, right?

[00:12:27] Don't make them forced.

[00:12:29] Useful aids of the listener's memory.

[00:12:32] It's usually easy to remember what we said earlier.

[00:12:35] Exposits, exposas, explains, you know,

[00:12:37] that they're all speaking to something.

[00:12:39] They're all teaching us, OK, that's what we need to be about

[00:12:42] as we're looking at our text.

[00:12:46] They act as barbs on a fishing hook.

[00:12:49] They cause the hook to stick well.

[00:12:53] If you fish, if you fly fish, you make sure that you fish barbless.

[00:12:56] Matter of fact, you have to fish barbless

[00:12:58] because you're going to catch and release the barb.

[00:13:01] Is so once the hook gets in the jaw, it doesn't come back out

[00:13:04] because there's a barb going the other way and it it sticks.

[00:13:07] And that's where we want these to be able to stick.

[00:13:11] I never forgot an outline that I heard on Judges 1621

[00:13:14] to the end of Samson's life.

[00:13:16] And it says this, I'll just give the court of the verse, verse 21.

[00:13:19] And the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes

[00:13:23] and brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze shackles.

[00:13:28] And he ground at the mill in the prison.

[00:13:31] And what their three points were blinding, binding and grinding.

[00:13:36] What sin will do to you, you know?

[00:13:37] And but it's one of those I heard it years ago, but it was just like it's

[00:13:41] I brought in my Bible.

[00:13:42] It was just like, OK, that works, right?

[00:13:47] In having an introduction,

[00:13:50] you know, it's worked the best for me when it comes to preaching.

[00:13:52] Think of a letter. I used to be electrician.

[00:13:54] I'm electrician turned pastor.

[00:13:55] And so I have this wooden ladder in my garage.

[00:13:57] And so picture with my wooden ladder here, I was going to bring it

[00:14:00] and set it up and I got lazy.

[00:14:02] But but you can picture five steps. OK.

[00:14:04] So you have your introduction, point one, point two, point three

[00:14:07] and your conclusion. OK.

[00:14:09] And so that's our ladder. Is that only five?

[00:14:10] Yeah, that's five steps.

[00:14:12] And so with that, that's our ladder this way.

[00:14:14] But you also if you have these two rails on the side to hold them together,

[00:14:19] what what might those be that should be holding our intro point one,

[00:14:23] two and three together and also our conclusion?

[00:14:26] What should be what what two things should be holding them together?

[00:14:28] I think the big idea and Christ centered, right?

[00:14:33] Those could be the rails that way.

[00:14:35] And if you want to take the analogy further, I've heard you can

[00:14:37] lead it up against a fruit tree and then you're actually walking up this ladder

[00:14:41] and you're bringing your audience with you to go get the fruit of whatever

[00:14:44] that whatever is in the text.

[00:14:46] I guess we can go farther with that is be careful like with timing

[00:14:50] and all of that because have you ever heard an introduction

[00:14:53] that goes for about 20 minutes?

[00:14:55] And all of a sudden they said, well, let's get to the text now.

[00:14:57] And you're going, oh, my gosh, if that was just the intro,

[00:14:59] that's the first step of the ladder being about that high.

[00:15:03] Right. And so again, think about how letters ladders are laid out.

[00:15:06] There's exact amount of inches, same with their steps going up.

[00:15:10] There's OSHA approved, right?

[00:15:11] Seven and a half or eight inches, whatever it is, everyone is the same.

[00:15:14] Right. And so it's good to think of it that way.

[00:15:17] Also, I'm getting way too much or after my third point.

[00:15:21] So I'll just wrap up what I just said with those three points

[00:15:24] and have no conclusion at all, which sometimes I do.

[00:15:27] That's the one I mess up on the most, which is the most important one

[00:15:30] we're saying it's the big idea.

[00:15:32] That's where we're getting to.

[00:15:33] That means I've been lost in my study.

[00:15:35] I'm excited about the text.

[00:15:36] Just sharing here's some truths and forgetting about where we're going.

[00:15:42] An intro, you're laying foundation for why they want to listen to this.

[00:15:47] Build a bridge from again, Bible times to today.

[00:15:51] Why does this matter to them?

[00:15:52] Why should they care?

[00:15:57] Think Nick or Dari talked about tension.

[00:15:58] You can set up tension.

[00:16:00] What what the text is going to resolve?

[00:16:02] Don't resolve it right away.

[00:16:04] But here's here's the tension.

[00:16:05] This is a problem.

[00:16:06] How can the Bible say this and say that and then just leave them with it

[00:16:09] and then answer it by the end?

[00:16:10] Please answer. Don't don't make them leave without you.

[00:16:12] But you want to get there, but leave that that that that tension that's

[00:16:16] that's there, but draw him in just things last Sunday or the Sunday before

[00:16:19] last Sunday.

[00:16:21] I'm going through first Thessalonians and I was starting chapter four

[00:16:26] and I started one of the services with

[00:16:29] hey, this morning if you're a heterosexual, a homosexual, an L,

[00:16:32] a G, B, T or Q.

[00:16:34] This is for you today.

[00:16:36] What makes everybody's all of a sudden?

[00:16:37] Well, they're they're listening for what it is.

[00:16:39] And I said, listen to one of the verses.

[00:16:41] It's it's the main verse in this first half of first Thessalonians four.

[00:16:45] This is the will of God.

[00:16:47] Like you don't have to guess like I wonder what the will of God is for my life.

[00:16:50] Here's one of them.

[00:16:51] It's it's pretty clear the will of God is your sanctification.

[00:16:54] And then he narrows it down even further, specifically saying that

[00:16:58] it has to do with sexual immorality.

[00:17:01] And so what I asked all of us to do in the room was to say,

[00:17:04] don't don't be thinking of them or that group or those other people.

[00:17:08] But all of us where we get challenged in that.

[00:17:11] And so it's from right from the very beginning of an intro of kind of

[00:17:14] bringing him in. Why should I listen to this?

[00:17:17] With a conclusion against the big idea of the tax is where we land the plane.

[00:17:21] We've probably a lot of us have been on, you know, different plane flights

[00:17:24] where all of a sudden they can't land and they have to circle.

[00:17:26] They did that over Haiti once, so we were going and going and going.

[00:17:29] And it seemed like such a long time and it's just on a bank of about a 45.

[00:17:32] We're just going, going, going.

[00:17:34] Well, we were running out of gas.

[00:17:35] So we had to go over to the Dominican side of the island, get gas

[00:17:37] and then come back and then we could land again.

[00:17:40] We've all heard messages that way also.

[00:17:43] No, this is the time to land the plane, right?

[00:17:45] We're not going to spend a whole lot of time on this.

[00:17:48] And don't miss the key.

[00:17:50] Jesus is the answer to all of life's riddles and problems and questions.

[00:17:56] That's where we're making it Christ centric all the way through it.

[00:17:59] But not to focus on a list for people to do in their own strengths,

[00:18:03] but to send them away with an understanding and assurance

[00:18:05] and a confidence of what Jesus has done for them.

[00:18:10] I've enjoyed what I've heard about.

[00:18:11] It's not about moralism.

[00:18:13] I call it Christian Buddhism.

[00:18:15] You know, Buddhism, they don't have a God.

[00:18:17] We think of the different Buddhas that are there.

[00:18:19] They've in individuals, humans that have reached and reached enlightenment,

[00:18:23] supposedly, and but with that, it's not looking after a God.

[00:18:27] It's an eightfold path of Buddhas.

[00:18:29] It's about morals.

[00:18:30] It's about ethics. That that's what they're about.

[00:18:33] And so we don't that's not our goal to be Christian Buddhists, right?

[00:18:37] It's not about just being good boys and good girls.

[00:18:39] And that's what a lot of us have learned kind of in church growing up, maybe.

[00:18:43] But no, it's about Jesus, Jesus, Jesus all in with this.

[00:18:47] Here's my example to our last point.

[00:18:51] Here's my example.

[00:18:52] In First Thessalonians, too, as I said,

[00:18:54] I was kind of going through that and looking at that.

[00:18:56] I in reading through the chapter there,

[00:18:58] I saw the word gospel come up four times, verse two, four, eight and nine.

[00:19:03] Wow. So that that caught my attention is being about the gospel.

[00:19:07] And so this time I didn't do an order.

[00:19:10] Normally, I'm taking this section and this section and this section

[00:19:13] of my chapter or half chapter is usually what I do on a sunny morning.

[00:19:17] But I just took the time and I read through all the verses 12 or 13,

[00:19:21] 12 verses and went through it that way.

[00:19:24] I titled what message was gospel action, emphasis on the action part.

[00:19:28] There's something that we're going to do with whatever this gospel is.

[00:19:32] It's easy for us to be able to check First Corinthians 15 box.

[00:19:34] It's death, burial and resurrection of Christ.

[00:19:36] I think it's more than that.

[00:19:37] I think it's deeper than that.

[00:19:38] I think there's some action involved in that, but we'll set that over here.

[00:19:42] My big idea is when sharing the gospel, check your motive, method and message.

[00:19:46] Those are my three main points.

[00:19:48] I actually had two other ones, but those are the three big idea was kind of how do I

[00:19:54] see a lot of times they say if you're building a big idea, what you can do.

[00:19:56] And I think this was in Haddon Robinson's book that somebody mentioned earlier

[00:20:00] is make it into a question and then three answers.

[00:20:04] So what is the question and the three answers would be your points back it up?

[00:20:08] Like how do I share the gospel?

[00:20:10] I share the gospel by checking my motives, by remembering my method

[00:20:13] and by knowing my message.

[00:20:15] And that's really was the heart of what I wanted to get into, because if all of us

[00:20:20] had a little three by five cards, I don't know if they still make those or not.

[00:20:23] But and I passed them all out and you had to write down in a sentence or two,

[00:20:27] what is the gospel?

[00:20:30] Would we be able to do it?

[00:20:31] What is that?

[00:20:32] And so I really spent a lot of time in in doing that.

[00:20:35] And so that was my outline.

[00:20:36] Gospel motives got the message, gospel message, gospel oppositions

[00:20:40] and gospel outcomes is just a little short thing at the very end of what

[00:20:44] what that was.

[00:20:46] So I picked gospel motives because Paul says we were gentle.

[00:20:49] We were gentle among you.

[00:20:52] Like a new nursing mother, like a father with children.

[00:20:57] And it was this beautiful heart of before we just go share the gospel,

[00:21:01] tell somebody how to get saved.

[00:21:03] There's this the motives behind it, at least from Paul was just so beautiful

[00:21:08] and endearing and loving in that way.

[00:21:09] The gospel methods was positive and negative.

[00:21:12] We had boldness, but then we didn't have these things.

[00:21:14] It wasn't for flattery or greed and he goes on with this list.

[00:21:17] We're trying to seek glory or putting any demands on us.

[00:21:20] And then the gospel message.

[00:21:22] And that was my opportunity to point into the gospel is what has been done

[00:21:25] for us by God in Jesus.

[00:21:28] I have on my notes on my phone.

[00:21:30] I love grabbing people's just I just collect.

[00:21:34] I collect gospel sentences of how people have done that.

[00:21:39] And I I love that one.

[00:21:40] The gospel is what has been done for us.

[00:21:43] That's not something I'm doing right?

[00:21:44] The gospel, the good news.

[00:21:46] I couldn't do it.

[00:21:47] I tried to do it for 19 years of my life.

[00:21:49] I failed pretty miserably.

[00:21:51] We can't do it.

[00:21:52] The gospel is what has been done for us by God in Jesus.

[00:21:59] And I won't worry about those two things.

[00:22:01] Lastly, I'll just say this.

[00:22:03] Trim the fat off your message.

[00:22:05] It's more of what you don't say rather than what you do say.

[00:22:08] And once I am finished, I still go through my notes three times.

[00:22:13] Two times that evening before and one time when I get there in the morning,

[00:22:17] I'm fresh and I go through it.

[00:22:18] What can I take out?

[00:22:20] What has been repeated?

[00:22:21] What doesn't need to be there?

[00:22:22] Trim the fat.

[00:22:23] That's all I got.

[00:22:24] God bless you.

[00:22:25] Have a wonderful rest of your evening and fun learning along with you guys.

[00:22:29] Thank you.

[00:22:32] OK, thanks for listening all the way to the end.

[00:22:35] There was a lot of great stuff packed into such a short time frame.

[00:22:40] And so I'm thankful to Brian for communicating so well

[00:22:43] and thanks to you for listening all the way to the end.

[00:22:47] Maybe you're thinking, I'd like to have more expositors collective in my life.

[00:22:52] Well, here's some of the ways that you can connect with us and our ministry.

[00:22:57] We have online presence.

[00:22:59] We've got a good website, expositors.co.

[00:23:03] We also are on nearly every social media platform, Facebook,

[00:23:07] Instagram and Twitter with like quotes about preaching

[00:23:13] that are about every single day.

[00:23:15] There's a new thought or two that will just keep the importance

[00:23:20] of communicating God's word well at the forefront of your mind.

[00:23:24] So give us a follow on whatever social media platform you use.

[00:23:29] And then also for those that are on Facebook,

[00:23:31] we do have a pretty vibrant and exciting online Facebook community.

[00:23:38] There's like 630 something preachers and Bible teachers there.

[00:23:43] And it's a wonderful place as people ask for advice on how to

[00:23:47] edit their sermons to make them shorter and punchier

[00:23:50] where people can ask for recommendations on commentaries

[00:23:53] when people can tease out ideas that they're thinking through

[00:23:57] about coaching younger and newer Bible teachers.

[00:24:00] It's a really great super encouraging corner of the Internet.

[00:24:05] And so there is a link in the show notes that will bring you to our Facebook community.

[00:24:10] Otherwise, just search for expositors collective on Facebook.

[00:24:14] There's our public page that's visible there.

[00:24:17] But then also you should see our private group.

[00:24:20] And so if you request to join that, there are some questions

[00:24:23] you have to fill out and then I will grant you access to that page.

[00:24:29] If you're listening so far, I might as well also tell you

[00:24:32] that expositors collective is coming to Africa in September.

[00:24:37] Myself, Ed Compion, Brian Kelly and some others,

[00:24:41] we're going to Kampala, Uganda, and we're putting on a three day version

[00:24:46] of our training event that is going to enrich,

[00:24:50] encourage the Ugandan pastors and ministry leaders that are there.

[00:24:56] There's going to be some opportunities for fundraising

[00:24:59] as we are putting that on as a free event.

[00:25:02] And so it'd be wonderful if the international worldwide community

[00:25:07] of expositors, collective podcast listeners,

[00:25:10] if you could help fund this gift to our brothers and sisters in Uganda.

[00:25:18] Stay tuned for more details.

[00:25:21] But I am just so glad that we get to take this to a new continent

[00:25:26] and that the congregations and preachers of Uganda

[00:25:32] are going to be blessed by what we're able to offer.

[00:25:36] Well, thanks for listening.

[00:25:37] I hope that this episode and all that we do at Expositors Collective

[00:25:41] help you to grow in your personal study and public proclamation of God's word.

[00:25:46] This podcast is a part of CGN Media, a podcast network that points to Christ.

[00:25:50] We are supported by listeners like you to help us create more great shows.

[00:25:54] Visit CGN Media dot org slash support.