Step one: divide the text into clauses and make a grammatical diagram of the discourse

The Greek text is arranged so that each line contains a single clause possessing a single finite verbal form that is functioning as a process in the clause. Each clause is then numbered with its chapter and verse reference, and a lowercase letter is added to distinguish multiple clauses within a single verse. Put the clause number in the first column, the conjunction in the second column, the subject in the third column, the verb in the fourth column, the indirect object or prepositional phrase in the fifth column, and the direct object or predicate nominative in the sixth column. Indent modifiers, such as genitives or adverbs under the word they modify. Indent adverbial participles under the verb they modify. Makes note of ambiguous or complex constructions.

Step two: make an exegetical diagram of the discourse

Independent clauses are placed flush to the left margin. Subordinate clauses are indented under the main clause to which they are dependent. Embedded clauses are given their own separate line but then their spot in the main clause is indicated by inserting the embedded clause’s reference between double chevrons at that point. Make notes of ambiguous or complex exegetical issues. The relationship between each clause, clause complex, paragraph, and section is marked.

Step three: make a sub-genre and mainline-offline chart of the discourse

Each clause is classified as Hortatory, Procedural, Expository, or Narrative, based on formal criteria. Hortatory clauses lack temporal deictic indicators and have an imperative verbal form, a future tense verbal form used with imperatival force, an adverbial participle used with imperatival force, an exhortative verb followed by a complementary infinitive, or a negated subjunctive verbal form. Procedural clauses are the same as Hortatory clauses, except that they have temporal deictic markers. Expository clauses do not have temporal deictic markers, but they can have indicative, subjunctive, or optative verbal forms, infinitives, or adverbial participles that do not have imperatival force. Narrative clauses have temporal deictic markers and consist of indicative verbal forms. Mainline clauses carry the main argument forward, while Offline clauses support the main argument or digress from it.

Step four: outline the cohesive chains and macrostructure

Cohesion is charted by identifying the items that create cohesion, the type of cohesion they create, the items that are presupposed, the direction and distance to the items they depend on for interpretation, and the reference of the presupposed items. Each cohesive tie is tagged with its semantic domain number in order to trace the cohesive chains through the text. Once the cohesive ties have been identified, they are classified as peripheral, relevant, or central tokens based on how the cohesive ties interact with each other. The text is analyzed to determine how these cohesive chains tie not only mainline and offline material together, but also how they tie clause complexes, units, and the whole discourse together.

Unit boundaries must be determined by a confluence of discourse features and not by a single factor. A change in theme is the first sign of a break between two units. Major breaks have little or no continuity in theme, while minor breaks usually have some continuity in theme. Because units are held together with cohesive ties, a break is signaled when one cohesive chain ends and another begins. The more cohesive ties there are between units the closer the units are tied together, and a minor break is likely. Conversely, the fewer cohesive ties there are the more discontinuity there is between the units, and a major break is likely. Grammatical shifts and changes in person, number, voice, mood, and tense will sometimes accompany a break. Most units begin with an indicative or imperative verb, though some begin with a non-indicative verb in a subordinate clause that precedes its main clause. While vocatives, metacomments, and attention-getters are found at breaks between units, they also are used to draw attention to important material. Therefore, a vocative, metacomment, or attention-getter cannot be the sole determiner of a unit break. Changes in word order can also signal unit breaks. Levinsohn points out that a major break is almost always accompanied by a point of departure, and temporal and spatial changes usually signal new units. According to Runge, many of the forward-pointing devices create discontinuity and draw attention to certain elements in the text, so these can also help to determine where unit breaks occur. Authors also use framing devices and thematic highlighting devices to signal shifts in the discourse. Questions can sometimes be used to introduce new units, as can redundant noun phrases and overspecification. Authors can also mark a unit through chiastic and inclusio structures. Back-reference often occurs at the beginning of a new unit in order to connect the new unit with the previous material, such as hook words or tail-head linkage. Ideational processes sometimes form clusters, so that a change in process type after a cluster of the same process can signal a unit break. The rhetorical structure can also support unit boundaries. It is the confluence of these discourse features, rather than a single feature, that is used to identify unit breaks.

Authors connect the units of material either with asyndeton or coordinating conjunctions. Conjunctions do not create relationships between textual elements but are used to make the relationship explicit in order to avoid confusion. So when an author places one unit next to another without a conjunction, he is usually signaling discontinuity with what comes before, unless the connection is so obvious that a clarifying conjunction is not needed. While καί can be used at a major break, it implies some level of association with what comes before, so it usually accompanies a minor break. Even though δέ can be used at a major break because it signals a new development, it does not necessarily signal discontinuity with what comes before it. Because it implies some level of connection with what comes before, ἀλλά is almost never used at major breaks. While οὖν is used at minor breaks, it is almost never used at major breaks because it implies continuity with what precedes, and it signals an inference or conclusion drawn from the preceding material. Likewise, the inferential conjunction διό implies continuity because it signals a self-evident inference or conclusion drawn from the previous material. A major break is almost never signaled by γάρ because it implies that the following material supports or strengthens what comes before. Because διὰ τοῦτο implies continuity with and development of what comes before, it will almost never be used at a major break.

George H. Guthrie identifies two major types of transitions between units in the book of Hebrews: constituent transitions and intermediary transitions. Constituent transitions consist of hook words, distant hook words, hooked key words, overlapping constituents, and parallel introductions. Intermediary transitions consist of direct, inverted, woven, and ingressive intermediary transitions. These transition techniques are identified and analyzed for their contribution to the macrostructure of the discourse. After the units have been determined and their relationships to each other clarified, the macrostructure of the text is outlined. This is done by placing each major section as a heading, arranging the minor sections in subordination to their major sections, and then placing dependent materials in subordination to the material they support. The relationship between each unit is then labeled.

Step five: do a verbal aspect analysis of the discourse

To begin, all the verbal forms in the text are identified and labeled according to tense, mood, and verbal aspect based on Campbell’s system. Next, a chart is made so that both the macro and micro levels of the text can be analyzed to find patterns of usage and determine aspectual contexts. Statistical studies, while limited, will be used to help identify genres, registers, and idiolects. Each verbal form will then be examined according to Campbell’s system to determine its aspect-Aktionsart interactions. This requires that each verbal form be classified first as either transitive or intransitive, then subcategorized as punctiliar or non-punctiliar for transitive verbs, and stative or non-stative for intransitive verbs. The context must also be examined to determine which aspect-Aktionsart interactions are allowed, required, implied, or prohibited.

Step six: do an ideational analysis of the discourse

Ideational analysis, which looks at the text as the author’s representation of experience, consists of identifying processes, participants, and circumstances. Material processes construe actions and have an Actor, and they frequently have a Goal, a thing affected by the process, and circumstances. In addition to a Goal, Material processes may also have a Scope or Range, a thing not affected by the process, and a Beneficiary, consisting of either a Recipient, the person or thing who receives the result of the process, or a Client, the person or thing for whom the process is carried out. Behavioral processes construe processes that depict psychological or physiological actions, and they have a Behavor and a Behavior. Mental processes construe perception, affection, and cognition, and have a Senser—the sentient being who perceives—and a Phenomenon, what is perceived, which can be a nominal group or an embedded clause. Verbal processes construe acts of saying, and they have a Sayer, the one who speaks, and a Receiver, the one addressed. Verbal processes may also have a Target, what is being talked about, and Verbiage, what is said, which can be a nominal group or an embedded clause. Existential processes construe existence, so they have only one participant, the Existant. Relational processes construe being, attributing, and identifying, and those that are attributing have a Carrier, the thing that carries the attribute, and an Attribute, while those that are identifying have an Identified and an Identifier. Circumstances can enhance, elaborate, extend or project the process of the clause.

After the processes, participants, and circumstances of each clause are identified, the text is analyzed according to these ideational functions. The dominant processes are identified, ranked, and charted. Existential processes introduce people and ideas; Verbal processes introduce dialogue; Relational processes describe important people, places, things, and ideas; Material and Behavioral processes reveal what is happening in the author’s and readers’ world; and Mental processes reveal the thoughts and feelings of the author, readers, and participants. The author’s choice of processes reveals how he attempts to shape the reader’s perception of what is happening in the world in which the text was created. The dominant processes reveal the text’s genre, register, idiolect, and purpose. The dominant participants are identified, ranked, and charted, and each participant’s stake in what is being discussed, the reason some participants are represented while others are not, and how this affects the reader’s perception of the text is determined. After the way each major participant is portrayed (positively or negatively, as Actor or Goal, in terms of their role, or related to other participants, places, things, or processes) is analyzed, how this affects the reader’s perception of the participants is determined. Finally, the dominant circumstances are identified, ranked, and charted, and then they are analyzed for how they situate the text and affect the reader’s perception of the text.

Step seven: do an interpersonal analysis of the discourse

The interpersonal metafunction construes the author’s interaction with his readers. First, the speech role of each clause is identified, and each clause is labeled as a Statement (offering information), Question (demanding information), Offer (offering goods and services), or Command (demanding goods and services). Then the polarity and modality of each clause is identified, and the clause’s degree of certainty, possibility, probability, usuality, obligation, inclination, typicality and obviousness. Finally, the Person, Number, Tense, Voice, and Mood of each verbal form are labeled.

After these functions are identified, the whole text is analyzed according to its interpersonal metafunction. The author’s use of speech roles, modality, polarity, and verbal forms are statistically analyzed and the implications are considered, and the use of direct and indirect discourse and quotations, and the way they are introduced and appraised, is analyzed according to their intended effect on the reader.

Step eight: do a textual analysis of the discourse

The textual metafunction construes the text as a message with thematic development and a structure that controls the flow of information. First, the constituent order of each clause is labeled. Next, independent, subordinate, and relative clauses are identified and labeled. Then, the relationships between the clauses are identified and labeled as Elaboration (appositional or clarification), Extension (addition, adversative, or variation), Enhancement (spatio-temporal, comparative, causal, or conditional), or Projection (locution or idea). Finally, the Theme of each clause is identified and labeled, along with its Rheme, and the flow of information in the text is analyzed by identifying and labeling new, evoked, and inferred information.

After these functions are identified, the whole text is analyzed according to its textual metafunction. First, the relationship between constituent order and the other textual functions is explored to determine if constituent order influences, or is influenced, by them. Next, the relationships between the clauses is analyzed, along with their conjunctions, to determine the structure of the text. After that, the Theme and Rheme of each clause is analyzed according to the speech role of its clause. Note is taken when the pattern of New-Evoked-Inferred information diverges from the pattern of Theme-Rheme. Then, the thematic development of the whole text is charted and summarized. These findings from the ideational, interpersonal, and textual metafunctions are summarized and presented in chapter four.

Step nine: make a sermon outline

Write a thesis statement for the sermon that reflects the main idea of the passage. Determine what you want the hearers to know, feel, and do. Structure your sermon so that your objectives will be fulfilled. Determine which ideas need to be clarified and supported. Craft main points so that they are clear, concise, and memorable. Craft the introduction so that it captures the listeners’ attention and introduces the main idea. Craft the conclusion so that it moves the listeners to action.

Step ten: practice your delivery

Memorize the main points so you can deliver them fluently and with feeling. Practice key statements and transitions so that they flow effectively. Practice the introduction so that you are confident and are able to maintain eye contact with the listeners and draw them into the sermon. Practice the conclusion so that you are confident and are able to maintain eye contact with the listeners and move them to take action.