Chaplain Michael Reece Books

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How to Preach a Bible Story

Eight steps that make your listener the main character

When your text is a narrative, the story can carry the problem, the tension, and the hope for you. Here is the eight-step Hero's Journey from The Sermon That Holds the Room, and the one move that turns a story into a message.

Preaching through a biblical narrative is one of the most natural ways to hold a room. But it has a trap. You are not just telling a story. You are preaching a life-changing message. A story told without connection is entertainment.

The moment you bring the listener into the story, when they become the main character and Jesus becomes the hero, it becomes a message that moves them.

The Hero's Journey in eight steps

  1. Normal life: who was this person before the crisis?
  2. The crisis: what broke? What turned their world upside down?
  3. Every fix fails: every attempt to solve it makes it worse.
  4. They hear about Jesus: the turning point arrives.
  5. The obstacles: what stands between them and their miracle?
  6. The desperate act: they push through anyway with everything they have.
  7. The breakthrough: Jesus meets them exactly where they are.
  8. The connection: make your listener the main character.

The key: make them the character

Take the woman with the issue of blood. Out of a regular congregation, how many people have an issue of blood? Maybe none.

But that issue of blood can represent anything: sin, a spiritual hindrance, marital problems, financial devastation, a physical condition, whatever your people are carrying right now. Your job is to tell her story, and after every point, turn to your congregation and say "you." Make them live it.

Walking through the example

1. Normal life

Tell it: this woman was living her life normally. Then turn: "That's where you were at one time. You were living in victory. Walking with God. Everything seemed fine."

2. The crisis

She received a blood disease that turned her world upside down. Then: "And then it happened for you. The marriage trouble. The financial collapse. The diagnosis. The crisis arrived and nothing has been the same since."

3. Every fix fails

The Bible says she went to many physicians and spent all she had, and only grew worse. Then: "Maybe you've been to counselors. Read the books. Tried the programs. Done everything right, and nothing seems to work. You've tried. You're tired."

4. She heard about Jesus

She was an outcast, considered unclean. Then she heard Jesus would be passing by. "He is passing by this place for you as well. You didn't end up here by accident."

5. The obstacles

The crowd was enormous. She was weak. She had been losing blood for twelve years. "Maybe the devil has been telling you it will never work. The obstacles are real. But they weren't stronger than her desperation."

This is a good place for an "if you do, if you don't" moment: if she had stayed where she was, her life would soon have been over. Because she pushed through, that day her life began.

6. The desperate act

With all the energy she had left, she pushed through the crowd and touched the hem of His garment. The book notes that commentaries suggest Jewish men of that time wore tassels, tzitzit, dyed blue, and blue in Scripture represents heaven. "Give it one more push. Believe God one more time. You might be one touch away from everything changing."

7. The breakthrough

The moment she touched the hem, she was healed and made whole. Jesus stopped: "Who touched me?" He knew. He always knows. "That's where you can be. Healed. Whole. Able to say, I don't live there anymore."

8. The connection

Now bring it all the way home. Walk them through the full invitation, speaking directly to whatever their "issue of blood" is.

How the story fits the nine-step framework

The Hero's Journey works inside the nine-step framework, not instead of it. The story carries the problem, the tension, and the hope in narrative form. Then you step out of the story into direct application and a call to action. The story is the vehicle. The framework is the engine.

See the nine steps in How to Prepare a Sermon, and how to land the plane in How to End a Sermon.

David and Goliath. Elijah on Mount Carmel. The prodigal son. The Bible is full of people who needed God exactly the way your congregation needs Him today. Walk any of them through the eight steps and ask, at every step, "Where is my listener in this?"

Tips for preaching a narrative

  • Read a commentary for background after your own study. Cultural details, like the tassels, can unlock a scene.
  • Write the turns out in full. The "you" moments are the heart of the message. Know them word for word.
  • Don't over-tell. Use only the details that serve the problem and the hope.
  • Keep Jesus the hero. Not the Bible character, and not the preacher.

The Hero's Journey is Part Three of The Sermon That Holds the Room. See the book and order a copy.

Questions

Common questions

How do you preach a narrative sermon?

Tell the Bible story in eight steps (normal life, crisis, every fix fails, they hear about Jesus, obstacles, the desperate act, breakthrough, connection) and after each step turn to the congregation and say "you" so they live it. Then step out of the story into application and a call to action.

What is the Hero's Journey in preaching?

An eight-step way to preach a biblical narrative where the listener becomes the main character and Jesus is the hero. It works inside the nine-step sermon framework.

How do you make a Bible story relevant?

Let the character's problem stand for what your people are carrying. The woman's issue of blood can represent sin, a broken marriage, money trouble, or a diagnosis. After every point, connect it to "you."

Get the book behind these guides

The Sermon That Holds the Room by Chaplain Michael Reece. I mail the printed book myself.

See the book and order