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While the Topical Sermon and the Textual Sermon are treatments of a subject, the Expository Sermon is a treatment of a text.
This kind of preaching can be seen throughout the Bible.
- Ezra - “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading,” Nehemiah 8:8.
- Paul - “26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. 27 For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God,” Acts 20:26-27.
- Jesus –
- In Nazareth, Luke 4:16-22
- On the Emmaus Road, “And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself,” Luke 24:27. “And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)
- To the disciples, “44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem,” Luke 24:44-47.
- Stephen was an expositor – Acts 7:2-53.
- Phillip expounded Isaiah 53:7-8 to the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:27-35. “Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus,” Acts 8:35.
Expository sermons can be defined by what they are not. Dr. John MacArthur provides a good list.
- It is not a commentary running from word to word and verse to verse without unity, outline, and pervasive drive.
- It is not rambling comments and offhand remarks about a passage.
- It is not a mass of disconnected suggestions and inferences based on a mere surface meaning of a passage.
- It is not pure exegesis.
- It is not a mere structural outline of a passage with a few comments attached.
- It is not a topical homily, which picks out certain parts of the passage, but fails to mention other, equally important parts.
- It is not a collection of grammatical findings and readings from commentaries.
- It is not a Sunday-school lesson type of discussion.
- It is not a Bible reading that links together a bunch of scattered passages together.
- It is not the ordinary devotional or prayer-meeting talk.
II. The Advantages Of The Expository Sermon
- Expository preaching allows God to speak, by expressing the words spoken by God himself.
- Expository preaching retains the mind of the Spirit. Thus, it brings the preacher into direct contact with the mind of the Holy Spirit Who authored the Scriptures.
- Expository preaching frees the preacher to proclaim the whole counsel of the Word of God. This produces a ministry of wholeness and integrity.
- Expository preaching promotes biblical literacy. This kind of preaching yields a rich knowledge of the truths of the Word of God.
- Expository preaching carries ultimate divine authority, it allows the very voice of God to be heard.
- Expository
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The podcast is a ministry of Dr. Alan Carr and The Sermon Notebook (http://www.sermonnotebook.org)
