Homiletics and pastoral theology - Shedd - XI - Chapter 8 concluded

Required reading
Homiletics and pastoral theology by William G T Shedd (Available from Amazon or free here) - Conclude Chapter 8 (The plan of a sermon).

My summary
Last week we began Shedd's chapter on the four components of a sermon:
(i) the introduction;
(ii) the proposition;
(iii) the proof;
(iv) the conclusion.

We covered the first three, which left the remaining component for this week, the conclusion. 

Shedd suggests that there are two species of conclusions.

Firstly a sermon may conclude by inferences.  Shedd taught us that the inferences should possess the following properties:
(i) legitimate;
(ii) homogeneous;
(iii) intensely practical;
(iv) cumulative.

Secondly a sermon may conclude by direct address.  Shedd explained that such conclusions should be characterised by the following qualities:
(i) appropriate;
(ii) singleness.

Then after discussing how to apply such conclusions, Shedd closed the chapter with some general remarks about planning sermons with these components.

What grabbed me
I agree with Shedd's comments at the end of the chapter about the need to plan a sermon: 'The sermonizer should uniformly form a plan, before beginning to compose. The plan may sometimes be fuller, and more perfect, than at others ; but a plan of some sort, of more or less perfection, should invariably be formed in the outset.'

I do find that 'skeletonizing' from the outset does help keep the sermon orderly - hopefully so it does eventually become what Lloyd-Jones called 'logic on fire'.

Next week's reading
Read Chapter 9 (Extemporaneous preaching).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.