Preaching Skills: Five Phases of a Story

Written by Wayne McDill

This article is from pages 154-156 of 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching by Wayne McDill (Nashville: B&H Publishing Group, 2006).

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Let’s consider how stories normally unfold. Here are five phases you will see in stories:

situation, stress, search, solution, (new) situation

Each story in the Bible can be analyzed according to this pattern. Analyzing a narrative text in this way will help you notice insights into the meaning of the account, outline the writer’s structure, and prepare your retelling of the story.

1. A story begins with the situation.
This is the background, circumstances, persons, and so forth, which set the scene for the narrative. In the parable of the good Samaritan, the situation is established briefly: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho” (Luke 10:30).

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We are used to this phase of the story in the classic formula, “Once upon a time.” As you analyze biblical accounts, look for this setting of the scene. If it is understood or presented in an earlier chapter, you will want to check the context for the details.

In using stories in your sermon, do not spend too much time on the situation phase. In a few sentences you can let the audience know the setting of your story. Use only the information relevant to the story. Remember, a story is told with a specific aim in mind. Whatever does not contribute to that goal is not needed. As you set the situation, use specific and concrete information like names, places, and dates. When retelling a biblical account, dig into your research to get at these details.

2. The second phase of a story is the stress of a problem that arises.
This phase creates interest and draws the audience into the struggle. In the good Samaritan parable, Jesus presents the stress phase in these words: “And [he] fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead” (NASB). This phase of the story demands resolution. It cries out for a satisfaction of this terrible situation. Remember that this story is designed to address the question, “Who is my neighbor?” The condition of the traveler leaves the hearer most curious as to where the drama is going.

In retelling biblical accounts, make sure the stress phase is credible. Sometimes biblical stories seem strange to the modern hearer. It is important for the preacher to fill in the information necessary to understand the human struggle involved in the story. Explanation is needed, for instance, to understand why Abraham would take seriously God’s command to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. Otherwise your modern audience may have a hard time relating. Work to make the biblical characters human, as much like us as they really were. Do not labor the stress phase. State it clearly and quickly. It will have its own impact.

A story moves from the stress phase into a search for the solution to the problem.
The parable describes the three men who came by and saw the wounded traveler. The search phase is explicit here. The priest saw the man and passed by on the other side. The Levite took a look and passed by also. Then Jesus says, “But a certain Samaritan...” He is here announcing a possible solution with the Samaritan. He came upon him, saw him, and felt compassion. The solution is not presented yet, but the search seems to be over. The search is simply that phase in which the possible solutions are explored. Always take some time here to explore alternatives.

Sometimes the search is not spelled out, as in Abraham’s sacrifice. As you retell that story, you might imagine him going over alternative solutions as he traveled to the dreaded mountain of sacrifice. I have pictured him sitting by the fire on the second night while the servants and the boy Isaac slept. He prays for any answer but the one he fears. He watches the boy sleep and remembers God’s promises and the miracle of his birth. Make it live for your hearers.

3. After the search comes the solution to the trouble at the heart of the story.
In the parable we are following, the solution is given in detail as the Samaritan treats the man’s wounds and takes him to an inn for further care. Jesus obviously intends to have his hero go beyond the normal call of duty.

Remember that his aim is to answer the question, “Who is my neighbor?” In reality Jesus is changing the question to, “Who is neighbor to those in need?” The solution is more dramatic and surprising because of the racial element; the hero is a hated Samaritan.

4. The solution is the second turning point in the story.
The first, of course, is the stress. Sometimes the solution will be a surprise, as with the Samaritan. Sometimes it will be a return to what was lost or forgotten. In the biblical accounts it often involves the intervention of God himself. The exodus from Egypt involves many stories. Analyze the Red Sea episode with the formula. Situation: they are leaving Egypt. Stress: the Egyptians again pursue them. Search: there seems no escape as they face the sea. Solution: God intervenes mightily to open the sea.

5. The final phase of a story is the (new) situation.
The story has come full circle to a resetting of the scene. But it is a new scene, a new situation. The events in the story have changed the circumstances. Nothing is quite the same. For the Red Sea experience, the (new) situation sees the Israelites continue their journey, with the Egyptian army drowned in the sea. The wounded traveler is restored to his health by the care of the Samaritan. The prodigal son returns home and is restored with a grand celebration. Abraham receives Isaac back, having proved God’s faithfulness.

The (new) situation is to be sketched quickly. Once the solution is found and applied, the problem is essentially resolved. The (new) situation merely brings a closure that settles and delights the audience. This phase represents the classic statement, “And they all lived happily ever after.” Of course it is possible that the story does not end happily. The parable of the rich fool is resolved with a surprise solution, the announcement of his death. The (new) situation is, “And now who will own what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:20 NASB).

So these are the five phases of a story. As you analyze a biblical narrative, look for these elements. Your retelling of it will be much more effective if you plan for the five phases. Think through contemporary stories as well and plan them with this outline. For practice, think of any testimony from your personal experience about God’s blessing, and plot the story with the five phases.

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