Why preach expository sermons




















Fragmentary preaching, however brilliant, will never do this. We want to let the congregation into the secret as to how we have reached the conclusions we have reached as to what the Bible is actually saying And gradually, as you are doing this in the pulpit, the congregation is schooled not only in what the Bible teaches but in how we come to the congregation as to what it teaches.

So we have to show the congregation what our hermeneutical methods are. Expository preaching is the only preaching method that exposes a congregation to the full range of Scripture's interests and concerns. Why would a preacher desire to choose as his subject divorce, polygamy, or incest other than the fact that they arise naturally in the course of exposition?

Many a hearer will accuse preachers of a conspiracy whenever the Word begins to "meddle" as they say in Mississippi. Happy is the preacher who can point to the text and say, "That subject just happens to be in the passage we're studying this morning! Expository preaching provides variety to sustain a congregation's interest from week to week. If variety is the spice of life, then the pulpit needs to show it by a preaching style that reflects something of a great journey, with ever-changing landscapes and challenges.

What makes Tolkien's epic Lord of the Rings so utterly spellbinding is the sheer variety of its style. Moments of intense drama are interspersed with slow-moving developments of character and background. The latter is indispensable for the former, and, indeed, without those less-hurried moments, the dramatic sections would lose their power. Not every sermon should be explosive in nature, and it is only in the discipline of consecutive expository preaching that the necessary elements can be set in place for the drama and excitement of certain passages to have their intended effect.

Expository preaching, better than any method I know, aids preachers in thinking and preparing ahead. Not only does it free preachers from the tyranny of having to choose a text and then choosing another, and then another, when the text fails to yield to the preacher's tapping! Certain themes can receive greater and lesser emphasis if the preacher knows that an occasion will come again soon, in the next chapter perhaps, for a more sustained examination of them.

Every book of the Bible contains passages which are "hard to understand" 2 Peter , and preparation for these can take place well in advance. Faithful expository preaching, whether textual or consecutive, is "a most exacting discipline," according to Stott.

He adds:. Perhaps that is why it is so rare. Only those will undertake it who are prepared to follow the example of the apostles and say, "It is not right that we should give up preaching the Word of God and serve tables…. We will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the Word" Acts , 4. The systematic preaching of the Word is impossible without the systematic study of it. It will not be enough to skim through a few verses in daily Bible reading, nor to study a passage only when we have to preach from it.

Few resolutions will make a more significant impact on a church than when the pastor commits to weekly expository preaching. Phillips serves the church by authoring books, with over twenty-five currently in print. Church Ministry Worship. Let me urge pastors to consider expository preaching in light of the following benefits: Expository preaching delivers the Word of God from the text to the congregation. Expository preaching presents a verse or passage in its biblical context. Those who have not long engaged in weekly preaching may not appreciate how significant this benefit is, but experienced pastors know that it makes a world of difference.

Context is essential to understanding and teaching a passage accurately, and expository preaching provides this benefit. Instead of isolating passages e. When the preacher works through whole books of the Bible, he is kept from focusing continually on his own hobby horses but instead teaches whatever the inspired author wrote. In this way, the whole breadth of biblical teaching comes to bear in ways that greatly enrich the congregation.

Studies the text. They begin by asking questions and seeking to understand the meaning of the text in the way God intends it to be understood.

Argues the text. A sermon is a persuasive speech. There are skeptics in every audience who need convincing. Applies the text.

The Bible is meant to do more than inform believers. So the expository preacher connects how the truth of the text applies to their audience and should change how they think and live.

Stays in the text. This is critical: The main point of the text is the main point of the sermon. It keeps the text in context and does not speak authoritatively about what the Bible does not say.



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