Diversifying Your Approach – Expository Preaching

This post is part of a series where I discuss various sermon approaches.
I hope within these posts you may discover some new methods you can use to structure and deliver a message.
PART 1 – Diversifying Your Preaching Approach
PART 2 – Story as Sermon – Narrative Preaching
PART 3 – From Specific to General – Inductive Preaching

I’m a pilot.

Well, sort of. Let me explain.

I do not own a plane. I do not have a pilot’s license. My wife, however, did once get me a flying lesson as a gift. Therefore, if the definition of “pilot” is that you have been in control of an aircraft, I certainly qualify.

The total amount of flying time on my pilot’s logbook: 30 minutes.

After reading that, chances are high that you are not interested in having me pilot a plane to transport you and your family for your next vacation. It’s easy to understand that, even if I have technically flown a plane, that does not mean I am qualified to be a pilot.

As preachers, a dangerous assumption we can make is that even though our people can read the Bible, we assume they know how to read the Bible. Yes, they may in fact be literate individuals able to decipher the words on the page. Some in your audience may even be able to recite verses or list off the books of the Bible. However, do they know how to interpret the text and apply it to their lives and experience?

Herein lies the value of Expository Preaching.

For some preachers, this is their bread and butter. Expository preaching is THE foundational approach they use, and for good reason. Others, however, begin from a desire to preach about the needs of their congregation. This is not an illegitimate motivation. In fact, I will write about topical preaching, and its value, in the coming weeks. Yet by adopting an expository approach, you, as the preacher, can not only help your people understand a passage but help them grow in their understanding of how to read the Bible as a whole.

However, to understand expository preaching, we need to begin with some definitions to ensure we are all on the same page.

DEFINITIONS

What does it mean for preaching to be expository?

At its basic level, expository is just a fancy way of saying we are exposing the text. By preaching in an expository fashion, we are looking at a specific passage and diving deep to unearth life principles and application that can be derived from the selected verses. To preach in an expository fashion is to answer the following questions:

What does it say?What does it mean?Why does it matter?

Yet, in true seminary-style fashion, we’ve pulled words from Greek to make this all sound more complicated. Respectively these are exegesis, hermeneutics, and homiletics. Let’s take some time to dive into each.

WHAT DOES IT SAY? (EXEGESIS)

Exegesis (pronounced “ex – uh – Jesus”) means to “read out of” a passage. Therefore, when preaching in a manner that exposes the text, we must begin by understanding how the text reads. The goal of this first question, therefore, is to understand what the author meant.

Consider Philippians 4:13 which reads, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” To exegete that passage we would look at the surrounding context and language. In this text, then, we understand that Paul is discussing his own life hardships (arrest, beatings, etc) and discussing how he has learned how to find his contentment and joy in Christ rather than in his circumstances.

However, if we fail to look at the context and understand the author’s intention, we end up performing eisegesis (“eye-suh-Jesus”) which means we read into a passage what we want to see rather than what the author meant. This is how Philippians 4:13 has devolved, in some circles, to be a religious-sounding way of saying, “We can win the sportsball game because Jesus!”

By beginning with the question, “What does it say?” we begin with the original author’s intention rather than our own position of preference or preconceived notions.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN? (HERMENEUTICS)

Once we have developed a solid understanding of the author’s original intention, now we must connect that content to meaning. For instance, in Luke 9 Jesus states, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” This one statement begs a number of questions.

What does it mean to be a disciple? Is this in addition to being a follower of Jesus? Is this optional? Is this important?What does it mean to deny yourself? Does this mean I must deny myself physical necessities such as food and water? What about luxuries such as air conditioning or season tickets to my favorite sports team?What does it mean to take up your cross? Do I literally need to go out and build a cross from 2x4s and carry it around? Is a necklace enough? How about a tattoo?What does Jesus mean when he says, “follow me?” How do I follow Him when He’s nowhere to be seen?

Based on your congregation you may find some of those questions more relevant than others. However, do not assume that just because you see a question as ridiculous, no one in your audience thinks that way. Recognize the spiritual spectrum of your people and respond accordingly.

WHY DOES IT MATTER? (HOMILETICS)

So what? You’ve told me what a passage says and the intention behind the words on the page, but what do I do with this information that you have given? Homiletics (Hum -ill -et -icks) takes the content from the page and demonstrates application to the life of the audience.

King David danced publically when the ark of the covenant was brought back to Jerusalem (2 Samuel 6). Sure, it’s a neat story, but what difference should that make to someone who is working on the assembly line 50 hours a week or the stay-at-home mom as she’s raising her kids?

Help your people see the relevance of Scripture to their lives. Help them take the lessons at hand and apply them to where they are living.

CONCLUSION

As preachers, we have the responsibility of sharing God’s message from God’s Word to God’s people.

This means more than just reciting some selected verses that focus on specific topics.

This also means more than using sermons as a running theological commentary meant to convey a massive amount of scholarly information.

This means training your congregation on how to read, interpret and apply the Scriptures for themselves.

An expository method of preaching can serve as a live-action demonstration on how to do just that.