Shaping the Claim helps the preacherdiscover the core of the message to bepreached - the sermonic "claim."
In order to be effective, says McMickle, a sermon needs to address the hearersat three distinct levels; the head orthe intellect, the heart or passionand conviction, and the hand or anexpected and desired response. In orderto discover the biblical "claim" that asermon should make upon a particularcongregation at a particular time, McMickle presents a helpful three-step process: (1) What? (2) So What? and (3)Now What?