Do you agree that the sermon needs to be developed around a homiletical idea rather than just an exegetical idea? Why or why not?

Yes I do, but you have to do your ground with both methods in preparing and then determine what works for your audience your are ministering to in the end. Exegetical big ideas tend to be general, homiletical big ideas are more specific

I think that the answer is usually both. You need to start with the Biblical idea and what the writer was/is saying but if you do not do more than just teach that idea you have not done the whole job. Moving that idea from what it means to something that is understandable and has application in the listeners life should be the goal.

Absolutely. I think that all of us can read the Bible. We can also all find translations of the Bible that allow us to understand it. Therefore, we don’t go to church to learn the Bible. We go to church to be filled with knowledge and spirit. We do that by making sense of the Bible in relation to our own lives. Probably none of us will ever see water turned to wine. But as Christians, all of us will have an experience that reenforces our belief that God is real and he provides for us when we need provided for.