Your Progress
Day 2 / 5
5-Day Sermon Prep Walkthrough
Day 2
Study the Passage &
Find the Exegetical Idea
We’re back — hope yesterday’s passage pick has you excited. Let’s dive into Steps 2–3. This is where bad sermons die (vague ideas) and great ones are born.
📖 Today’s Focus — Steps 2 & 3
Study the Passage & Discover the Exegetical Idea
Work through these five moves on your passage. You don’t need commentaries yet — just your Bible, a lexicon app, and focused attention.
1
Look at the context. What comes before and after? What is the broader theme of the book or section?
2
Highlight key words. Take note of 3–5 significant words. Use a free lexicon app (like Blue Letter Bible) if you want to go deeper on the original language.
3
Pinpoint the subject. What or who is the text about? State this as a question — e.g. from Eph. 5:22-33: “How should husbands and wives relate to one another?”
4
Articulate the complement. What does the text say about the subject? This is the answer the passage gives to your subject question.
5
Form the Exegetical Idea. Combine subject + complement into one clear, complete sentence. This sentence is the backbone of your entire sermon.
💡 Worked Example — Ephesians 5:22–33
See the Process in Action
Context
Paul is addressing horizontal submission between believers (v. 21) before narrowing to the marriage relationship.
Key Words
Submit (hupotassō — voluntary arrangement under authority) &
Love (agapaō — selfless, initiating, sacrificial; cf. Christ’s cross)
Subject
How should husbands and wives submit to one another?
Complement
Wives voluntarily submit to their husbands as to the Lord (v. 22); husbands love their wives sacrificially as Christ loved the church (v. 25).
✦ Exegetical Idea
The best way a wife can submit to her husband is to voluntarily place herself under him as unto the Lord; and the best way a husband can submit to his wife is to unconditionally love her enough to sacrifice himself for her, just as Christ did for His church.
⚡ Action Step
Unlock the Core Truth of Your Passage
Take the passage you chose yesterday. Prayerfully spend 15 minutes working through the five moves above — context, key words, subject, complement, and exegetical idea. Write your finished exegetical idea as a single sentence before you move on.
Boom — core truth unlocked. Step 2 & 3 complete. ✓
Coming Tomorrow — Day 3
We turn that exegetical idea into a “Homiletical Idea” — a punchy, memorable sentence your people will actually take home and apply.
Keep going,
Tom Stone
MAPM, Andrews University · Sermon Prep Blueprint
P.S. Stuck on forming the exegetical idea? Watch the full walkthrough at this link — it’ll click the moment you see it done in real time.