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When the Message is a Mess (And How the Sermon in Four Pages Can Help)
How you organize your sermon can make the difference between clarity and confusion. A good structure keeps you on target and prevents rambling thoughts or distractions from chasing rabbits.
For many of us, we fall into a routine of sermon organization early in our preaching careers. Whether it’s the old “three points and a poem,” or even “tell them what you’re going to tell them, tell them, and tell them what you told them,” you’ve found a system that works for you—and your hearers have learned to follow it.
However, our messaging can quickly shift from comfortable to predictable. It’s been said that variety is the spice of life. It’s also the seasoning that keeps sermons from becoming bland and flavorless. Without intentional variety, our structure may begin to force Scripture to conform to our needs, rather than calling our hearers to conform their lives to the gospel message.
The Four Pages of the Sermon
To address this, Paul Scott Wilson has devised a homiletic method that bridges the gap between the ancient text and the needs of the modern hearer in what he terms “The Four Pages of the Sermon.” I’ve kept Wilson’s model tucked away for several years, occasionally finding a text for which it makes a good approach.
Regardless of whether you employ Wilson’s method as your sermon structure or not, the prompts provided in the four pages can be a worthwhile exercise in thinking through your text and determining the point of impact your sermon will make upon your hearers. In his Four Pages, Wilson moves the preacher from determining the problem in the text to examining the problem in the modern world, to finding the hope of Christ in the text, and finally, the promise of the gospel for your modern hearers.
Page 1: The Trouble in the Text
Every biblical passage emerges from a particular historical, cultural, or theological context. With that in mind, the first step in sermon preparation is identifying the problem in the text itself—the reason the passage was written. What struggle, sin, or conflict is present? What question is the text addressing?
To clarify, what issue do you find at the center of the text? Is it idolatry or maybe hopelessness? Is it a lack of Christ-like care for others in the church? Page One of the sermon will state the issue that prompted the author to write this passage. This is where you will do the bulk of your exposition of the text and summarize it for your listeners. This page becomes what some call the “Textual Dominant Thought” (TDT) or the “essence of the text.”
Putting the Pages into Practice
For example, I recently preached a message from Hosea 11:1-11 and found Wilson’s Four Pages to be a worthy outline for the text and my point for the congregation. Personally, when using Wilson’s model, I find working through the sermon on index cards helpful. My card for page 1 looked something like this:
Page 2: The Trouble in the World
Once we see the issue in the text, then we turn our attention to today. What problem facing our hearers is reflected in the passage? How does it appear in people’s everyday struggles, fears, or broken relationships? This next movement is crucial because it cements the text’s relevance in the lives of your audience, helping them see that the Bible is not just ancient literature but the living word that speaks into their lives right now.
The goal of the page is to be empathetic rather than condemning. In this stage, we are striving to establish the tension between the trouble and the grace that will be explored on the next page.
In Hosea 11, God confronts Israel’s worship of baals and images. Of course, while my hearers aren’t likely to build any Ashera poles anytime soon, I found a point of relevance and connection in verse 5, “My people are determined to turn from me.” That verse, in particular, spoke into humanity’s ongoing struggle to remain faithful to God and the reality many of my hearers have experienced with friends and family who have abandoned their faith.
Page 3: The Gospel in the Text
The third page moves from the problem to the good news found in the text. This is another look at the text, but this time, we look for good news. Specifically, here we find redemption and forgiveness and clearly identify what God is doing in the world of the Bible. As Wilson put it, page three “marks a return to the text, this time looking in or behind the text for God’s saving action.”
At this point in the sermon, your “big idea” or thesis statement for the sermon takes shape. Page Three reveals God’s grace within the passage and prepares your hearers to discover how that same grace continues to be present in their lives today.
The Good News Breaks Through
God’s message in Hosea confronts Israel’s sin, but chapter 11 constantly reminds his people of his ongoing love for them. I set my “Sermonic Dominant Thought” (SDT) as “Our failure does not diminish God’s affection for us.” To support this idea, I drew from Hosea’s message and Jesus’ interaction with the woman caught in adultery in John 8.
Page 4: The Gospel in the World
The Fourth Page reconnects with the trouble explored in Page Two and brings the grace discovered in Page Three into the lives of today’s hearers. In other words, how does God’s action in the text mirror what He is doing today? How can people live into this gospel truth in their own lives?
Practically speaking, Page Four delivers your message’s “what now?”—the explicit call for how your hearers can live in light of what they’ve just heard. Wilson wrote that Page Four should portray “Jesus as our Savior, the one who equips and empowers us, and whose endeavors we join.” Importantly, the focus here isn’t just moral instruction or spiritual encouragement—it’s about encountering the living Christ who still works in the world and calls us to join Him in that redemptive mission.
Living the Good News Today
Thankfully, Hosea is far from hopeless! Chapter 11 focuses on Israel’s failure, but God’s care continues. In verse 11, God declares, “I will settle them in their homes.” As a result, this enabled me to end with the good news of God’s continuing redemptive work through Jesus Christ.
Adopting and Adapting
As preachers, we recognize the structure we give to a sermon is necessary but artificial. This isn’t bad, but our outlines risk being an imposition on the text rather than a clear path for communicating the word to our hearers. In my sermon writing process, I’ve begun with Wilson’s Four Pages far more often than I’ve actually completed it. At times, it has felt like I am forcing these pages upon the sermon rather than allowing them to elucidate the text’s meaning.
Even so, I have always found the Four Pages to be a helpful exercise in identifying the text’s points and the sermon’s purpose. Wilson’s method is gospel-centered without feeling like the preacher is “making a bee-line to the cross.” Whether or not you end up preaching the four pages, as I did with Hosea 11:1-11, I believe it is a valuable tool for organizing your thoughts.
Switch Them Up!
That said, there are no hard and fast rules about the Four Pages. Wilson suggests the order can be changed depending on the needs of the text or the audience. For instance, you may find preaching page two first and then page one works better at drawing your audience in. This certainly fits better with Andy Stanley’s model found in Communicating for Change.
If you’re curious about the Four Pages but not sure about applying it to a sermon, I encourage you to consider using it for concise, gospel-focused devotionals. The movement from the text to the needs of the modern audience can keep you on track for a brief but impactful message.
Ultimately, whether you’re just starting to preach or looking for a fresh approach, the Four Pages model offers a theologically grounded and practically helpful framework. It keeps Christ at the center, Scripture in the foreground, and your listeners always in view.
Further Resources
The Four Pages of the Sermon, Revised and Updated: A Guide to Biblical Preaching, by Paul Scott Wilson
Wilson’s detailed explanation of the Four Pages process. “Wilson teaches the ‘what’, ‘why’, and ‘how’ of sermon construction, all rooted in a theology of the Word.”
The Web of Preaching: New Options in Homiletic Method, by Richard L. Eslinger
A survey of current theories of preaching, including Wilson’s Four Pages. The chapter devoted to Wilson’s method provides good details, encouragement, and critique.
How Can I Give You Up? Hosea 11:1-11, a sermon by Bret Hammond
The sermon referenced in this article.
He Shall Be Their Peace, Micah 5:1-5a, a sermon by Bret Hammond
Another Four Pages sermon preached as part of my series on Micah. This was my first attempt at trying this method.
