The contemporary evangelical church is experiencing serious difficulties. All its leaders are aware of this and rehearse different diagnoses and responses to it. It occurs to me that the current situation is similar to the tragic fate of Samson, to whom the Spirit of God had left him, and he did not realize it. As solutions are sought in human and pragmatic techniques, the patient aggravates his condition. The only correct answer is that this vanishing life be breathed, as at the beginning of creation, by the Word of God. The spiritual life of the church and of ourselves depends on hearing and responding to the Word of God. And for this to happen, Scripture must take the central and authoritative position in the life of the church.
The Word is the instrument that God uses to make us spiritually born (James 1:18; 1 Pet. 1:23), and to reform our lives in the process of sanctification (Jn. 17:17; Acts 20:32 1 Thess 2:13). God has willed that his Written Word have the same power to produce life as his Spoken Word in creation (Heb. 4: 12-13; Ps. 119: 25, 28, 93, 116, 154). And that power contained in the Written Word is released through preaching (1 Cor. 1:21). That becomes evident in the book of Acts, seeing the primary place that the public proclamation of God’s Word has had since the beginning of the church (note Acts 12:24, 19:20). This is also remarkably emphasized in Ezekiel 37, when God commands the prophet to preach to a pile of dry bones.
It is clear that not every kind of preaching will have this life-giving power (see Jer. 23:16-22 in contrast to the revival in Ezra’s day in Neh. 8:7-8; 9:1-38). God blesses his preached word, not the preacher’s personal ideas. Expository preaching is that kind of preaching that proclaims and expounds the text of the Word. As Pastor John MacArthur said, “It is preaching in such a way that the meaning of the Bible passage is presented fully and exactly as God intended.”
What makes a sermon expository?
What defines whether or not a sermon is expository is not how long the text is, nor whether the sermon is part of a consecutive series that covers an entire book of the Bible. Nor does it have to do with whether the preacher explains the meaning that some words have in the original language, or whether he explains each phrase of the verse without a dominant unit or direction.
What makes a sermon expository is that the emphasis and purpose of the sermon is the emphasis and purpose of the text in its original intent. I particularly like Mark Dever’s definition: “Expository preaching is preaching in which the main point of the biblical text being considered becomes the main point of the sermon being preached, and is applied to actual life.”
How do you prepare an expository sermon?
Preaching expository implies that the biblical text will guide the sermon from beginning to end. This also means that the preacher will spend most of his time during the week trying to understand the meaning of his text. The preparation of an expository sermon then consists of:
(1) Choose a unit of thought (paragraph or episode).
(2) Understand that portion through inductive observation and skillful use of reference works that allow understanding the historical, geographical, cultural, lexical, and grammatical context. The goal of this stage in preparation is to discover what say the text and why says so (its purpose). The messenger seeks to find the purpose of the Holy Spirit in placing that portion in the Scriptures. That will be the key to whether or not the sermon has spiritual power.
(3) Determine the main idea of that portion (“exegetical idea”) and write it in a single complete sentence, with subject (What is the author talking about?) and object (What is he saying about what he is talking about?). Until one has identified that main idea, and those that are subordinate to it, the message is not available.
(4) Only now is it time to cross the “bridge” between the ancient world and our contemporary audience with their struggles, questions, and fears. For this it is necessary rewrite the “exegetical idea” in a relevant and memorable way for the audience of our sermon. This precise and persuasive phrase is often called a “proposition” or “homiletic idea.”
(5) Build the outline around the proposition, taking from the subordinate ideas found in the same text.
Note for example the proposition and divisions of a sermon outline on Matthew 5:11-16: The world is going to persecute us… but be careful, our mission in the world depends on the relationship we have with the world!
That is why Jesus challenges us in this portion to:
I) Stay joyful, so as not to embitter ourselves against the world (11-12)
II) Stay different, so as not to assimilate with the world (13)
III) Keep ourselves visible, so as not to isolate ourselves from the world (14-16)
(6) What remains to be done to have an expository sermon is decide what material from our study we are going to include in the exhibition:
a. Explain elements of the Bible passage that are not obvious to our audience;
b. Demonstrate, through arguments, that what is said is the truth and,
c. Apply those truths to the audience, showing their implications for today’s life.
Finally, the conclusion, the introduction and the illustrations necessary to clarify a point will be introduced.
In my mind this whole process is like an hourglass:
(1) Select the text
(2) Understand the text
(3) Determine the central idea of the text
(4) Write the central idea of the sermon
(5) Build the sermon outline
(6) Explain, demonstrate and apply the central idea and the subordinate ones
By following these simple steps, our sermons will have unity and clarity, since all the material will be organized around a single idea. But above all we will make sure that our sermons reflect the content and purpose of Scripture. Only then can we speak with the authority and power of God, and his people will hear his voice, and be revived as a result.
To deepen:
On the method of study and the importance of this preaching: John MacArthur, The Rediscovery of Expository PreachingNelson.
On the central idea: Haddon W. Robinson, Biblical PreachingEditorial Unilit.
On the theological foundations of expository preaching: John Stott, Preaching, Bridge Between Two WorldsChallenge Books.