The Homiletical Plot

Here is the outline of Eugene Lowry's suggested outline/structure/"plot" for a narrative sermon that we discussed the first night of class. Note the five movements follow the flow of the diagram on the cover of his book (#1 should be above the "E" in Eugene, #3 being the bottom point of the diagram, see page 121 here):

1) Oops!--conflict...............................upsetting the equilibrium;
2) Ugh!-- complication......................analyzing the discrepancy;
3) Aha!-- sudden shift.......................disclosing the clue to resolution;
4) Whee!-good news.......................... experiencing the gospel
5) Yeah!--unfolding............................anticipating the consequences.

Most of the book is readable online here,
and here (pp 69-81) is a great summary of the stages