Can Evangelistic Preaching Be Expository?

In the book Give Praise to God: A Vision for Reforming Worship (P&R Publishing), Mark Dever writes, "Expositional preaching is all about giving God's people God's Word. It is preaching in which the point of the biblical passage is the point of the preacher's message. This is what it means to preach expositionally -- to expose God's Word.

Text-Driven Application

In the new book Engaging Exposition (B&H Academic), Danny Akin talks about sermon application that is rooted in the biblical text. He says: "First, text-driven application is grounded in biblical truth gained through historical, grammatical, literary, and theological analyses of the biblical text. Application necessarily flows from our exegesis and exposition. The order is not optional. It is essential. Practical application must find its foundation in biblical exposition."

Follow the Tone of the Text

In a recent article for SermonCentral.com, John Piper writes: "What tone should you aim at in preaching? My answer is: Pursue the tone of the text. Let it be informed, not muted, by the tonal balance of Jesus and the apostles and by the gospel of grace." Piper then lists 10 explanatory notes; here are the first four:

Purpose of Sermonic Explanation Is Clarification of Truth

In the second edition of his classic text Christ-Centered Preaching (Baker), Bryan Chapell observes, "The goal of a preacher's exegesis is to be able to state (usually in the main points and subpoints) the universal truths established by a text for the congregation."

Too Many Messages?

In a recent article for ChurchLeaders.com, Tony Morgan says we may be hurting our effectiveness by jumping from one message to the next without focusing more attention on the critical items. He writes:

Preacher to Preacher: Turkey Tenders and Preaching

Buddy and Clancy love their Turkey Tenders. The packet of those Turkey Tenders explains why that might be: "Turkey Tenders are made from 100 percent turkey breast fillets-the best part of the turkey." I should explain that Buddy and Clancy are two of my favorite grand dogs. They live with our son, Gary, and his wife, Catherine. I will confess there are times when Clancy and Buddy almost persuade me to believe in doggy election! Now, please don't try me for heresy yet.

Arithmetic Doesn’t Solve Funding Needs

Brian Kluth reminds us that when we are trying to raise funds for a major project, one strategy to avoid is simply dividing the total goal by the number of prospects and asking each to give equally.

Preaching from the Prophetic Books

When people hear that I visited Amsterdam on a sabbatical from teaching preaching at a theological seminary, they often ask, "Did you go to the red-light district?" I smile and answer, "Yes, I went to church there." On a brisk November morning, my wife and I attended services at the Oude Kirk, the oldest church structure in the city that dates back to the 1500s-the state-approved pleasure district has grown up around it. There we worshipped with a small but proud congregation in a central space within the great unheated building, surrounded by the graves of past generations of worshippers, their flat stone markers serving as the floor. The preacher read the story of Jacob wrestling the man, the whole story from Genesis 32, two times in two different translations. I had learned enough by that time to know what was going on.

Preaching on Life: An Interview with Max Lucado

Max Lucado is one of America's best-known preachers. He is the minister of preaching at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio. His books have sold more than 80 million copies, and his latest volume is Max On Life: Answers and Insights to Your Most Important Questions. He recently visited with Preaching Executive Editor Michael Duduit.