1	Prophetic Sermons The typical format in which many “preachers” in the Bible presented their messages
2	Typical Elements Speaker and audience Statement of the situation God's evaluation of the situation Call to hearer's action (may be implied) God's intended action Deliverance / blessing of the faithful Coda (rare, often repeats call to action)
3	Delimiting a single sermon Look for the Deliverance / Blessing section. it may be only a part of a verse it may be more than chapter. Detect a repetition of the blessing segment in a single sermon by looking for a fresh Statement of the Situation before another deliverance statement. The sine que non of a prophetic sermon a statement of the situation(s), a call(s) to action (may be implied) a promise of blessing! In a few cases: such as the reports of Peter’s and Steven’s sermons, the speaker gets cut off by the hearers before the end of the sermon.
4	"There may be a transition..." There may be a transition or bridge statement between sermons. Joel 3:1-3 bridges the two sermons in Joel
5	Principles for interpreting Determine the audience and situation. Outline the sermon using the structure given above. Write a short “argument” of the sermon. Use general and theological terms. Don’t just repeat the content. Say “why” not “what.” Make statements about the content. Use the principles given above for prophecy if the sermon contains future predictions. Use the principles for narrative if the sermon is a part of a narrative or contains a narrative. Determine an application for today. Be sure to validate these since it is easy to make mistakes with this form of literature
6	Example: Rev. 3:14-16 Speaker and audience 14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: The Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God, says this: Statement of the situation 15 ‘I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot; God’s evaluation of the situation I would that you were cold or hot.16 ‘So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of My mouth.17 ‘Because you say, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing,” and you do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
7	"Call to hearer’s action" Call to hearer’s action 18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see. God’s intended action 19 ‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; be zealous therefore, and repent.20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. Deliverance / blessing of the faithful 21 ‘He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.22 ‘He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’”
8	A Few Examples Letters to the seven churches in Revelation Book of Hosea is a series of sermons Acts 2:14-39; 13:16-41 Matt 5-7(single sermon since only 7:24ff is a blessing statement) Obadiah Amos Deut. 32 Luke 21:10-28
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