David R. Helm teaches that every biblical text has a God-given structure, and faithful preaching requires discovering that structure before crafting a sermon. Just as every human body has a skeleton, every passage has an internal organization—its “bones”—that carries the original author’s intended emphasis. Preachers err in two opposite directions: the jellyfish preacher (no structure, no clarity) and the crab preacher (only structure, no life). The goal is neither, but a well-shaped sermon that reflects the text’s actual organization.

To find structure, a preacher must know what kind of literature he is handling—narrative, poetry, or discourse—as each uses different organizational strategies. Narrative often follows plot, character shifts, or geographical markers. Poetry uses imagery tied to ideas. Discourse relies on logic, grammar, and repeated patterns. Helm demonstrates this through examples: Psalm 1 (tree vs. chaff), Psalm 23 (shepherd vs. host), 1 Samuel 21 (two scenes in two houses), Acts 5 (repeated conflicts leading to judgment), and Acts 11–12 (a “sandwich” structure contrasting Peter and Herod).

Structure reveals a text’s main emphasis, which then shapes the sermon’s movements. The preacher’s task is to identify the bones, understand how they carry meaning, and then “dress” them for preaching—clarifying, arranging, and communicating God’s intended message with simplicity and power.

Pastors & Leaders Conference 2019