A.W. Tozer:
There is scarcely anything so dull and meaningless as Bible doctrine taught for its own sake. Truth divorced from life is not truth in its Biblical sense, but something else and something less. Theology is a set of facts concerning God, man and the world. These facts may be, and often are, set forth as values in themselves; and there lies the snare both for the teacher and for the hearer.
The Bible is among other things a book of revealed truth.
John Stott (1921 – 2011) was rector at All Souls, Langham Place (London) from 1955 until 1975. After that, he became Rector Emeritus, and was thus released more fully for world-wide ministry and writing.
Formative influences included his family background and education (he was son of an eminent London physician and was educated at Rugby School and at Cambridge University). He was one of a number of talented young men to have been nurtured by Eric Nash at the so-called “Bash Camps”.…
What sorts of arguments might be raised (rightly or wrongly; fairly or unfairly) against preaching?
Here are some.
C.H. Spurgeon is known as ‘the Prince of Preachers’. It is worthwhile, then, enquiring about his attitude towards, and practice of, expository preaching.
Peter Masters considers this in an article entitled ‘Expository Preaching – Benefits and Pitfalls.’
Masters begins defines expository preaching as ‘preaching that draws the message from the biblical text, clearly and methodically, honouring the sense of the text, and the style of communication employed.’
He outlines some of the benefits of expository preaching:
How did Jesus secure the attention of his hearers?
At first glance, it might seem that textual preaching ought to be the same as expository preaching. Both involve the faithful opening up and application of the biblical text.
So, when Clarence S. Roddy writes that…
‘a textual sermon is one in which both the topic and divisions of development are derived from and follow the order of the text … the text controls and dominates both topic and development in this type.’
…his definition would apply equally well to the expository sermon.…
How can preachers use words more effectively?
Kate Bruce offers some ‘top tips’:
1. Use language with multi- sensory appeal.
2. Use verbs to paint vivid pictures (not adjectives).
3. Use imagery – employing metaphor and simile.
4. Weave imagery into the flow of familiar conversational language.
5. Be alert to the power of hyperbole and bathos.
6. Earth abstract ideas in the soil of the everyday – use familiar instances.
7. Understand the musicality of language – rhythm, repetition, alliteration, onomatopoeia.…
Some notes from this interview with Thomas Troeger:
The imaginative process can be likened to the art of sailing a boat. Two realities are at work: the wind (over which you don’t have any control), and your own senses, with which you can survey the situation and set your sails accordingly.
Three kinds of imagination: conventional, empathetic, and visionary.
Conventional imagination is that which is inherited and shared. Hymns such as ‘Silent Night’ at Christmas and ‘Christ the Lord is Risen Today’ at Easter form part of the way we imagine the faith.…
Erik Raymond has helpfully collected a range of contemporary definitions:
John MacArthur: ‘The message finds its sole source in Scripture. The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context. The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture. The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today.’ (Preaching)
Bryan Chappell: ‘The main idea of an expository sermon the topic, the divisions of that idea, main points, and the development of those divisions, all come from truths the text itself contains.…
