The Essentials of Expository Bible Teaching Contemporary Biblical Preaching by Keith GlasgowAcknowledgment by author: I want to acknowledge with gratitude the great help that I have received from Dr. Stephen Olford, and Dr. David Olford, of Encounter Ministries, Memphis, Tennessee. A significant amount of material in this manual was learned at their feet. Also I have gleaned notes from a large variety of books over a number of years making it impossible for me to acknowledge every source. CONTENTS Topic Introduction The Purpose of Preaching Expository Preaching Assignment #1 Preparation in Preaching Step 1 - Observation Assignment #2 Step 2 - Investigation Assignment #3 Step 3 - Organisation Assignment #4 Step 4 - The Finishing Touches Other Types of Sermons Evangelistic Sermons Assignment #5 Assignment #6 llustrations and Application Introductions and Conclusions Assignment #7 Step 5 - Sermon Delivery Communication Jesus the Teacher Preaching A Life Changing Sermon Assignment #8 QuestionnaireINTRODUCTION Paul exhorted young Timothy: “Preach the Word” (2 Tim.4:2). Both parts of this phrase are important: * It is the Word of God which we must bring to the people; * The Word must be preached. Samuel Chadwick said: “Preaching can never be a profession, it must always be a passion”. True preaching is hard to define. It is more than merely presenting truth or even expounding the Scriptures. It is an overflow, the releasing of a message which has gripped the preacher and cannot be contained. It is God taking a person and transcending their natural speaking talent so that they speak: “as one who utters the oracles of God” (1 Pet 4:11). Preaching God's Word is a serious occupation. It is not to be done lightly. The preacher must approach the task with reverence and awe. WHY PREACH? Preaching today remains a powerful and effective means to effect people's lives. a. An AUTHORITATIVE voice in our anti-authority culture "We preach (herald) Christ crucified" said Paul (1 Cor. 1:23). The preacher is a herald who proclaims a message that has been entrusted to him without fear or favour. The authority behind preaching resides not in the preacher: his oratory skills, his personality or even his spiritual gift; but in the biblical text he expounds. Preaching is proclamation - speaking as God's own mouthpiece. Just as the people of Jesus day were amazed at His teaching because 'He taught as one who had authority', so the people of today are looking for a sure word of authority to believe. P.G. Forsyth said “What the world is looking for is an authoritative gospel in a humble personality”. b. A UNIQUE voice in our high-tech world How does a local preacher survive alongside the greatest communicators in the world whose tapes and videos reach millions of people. How can we overcome feeling intimidated? When we preach in the power of the Holy Spirit something unique takes place. God’s Spirit who has inspired the Word of God and who dwells in the preacher, also moves in the congregation. It is a “speech event” (to coin the phrase of theologians). A preacher is called to preach as one who speaks the oracles of God - with “charged language”. “Preaching is not merely a word about God and His redemptive acts, but a word of God, and as such is itself a redemptive event” (Sidney Greidanus). Definition: Preaching the Word involves a dynamic verbal communication of the meaning of Scripture, derived from a thorough study of the text, which has first had an impact on the mind and heart of the preacher, and then through him is applied to his listeners with a view of bringing about change.1. The Purpose of Preaching a. To Communicate In expository teaching we let the text speak. We are the mouthpiece for the text. We must let the text set the limits and define the goal of what we are to preach, rather than imposing on a passage our own message. What makes preaching powerful is when God's Word becomes the word for the congregation. Effective biblical preaching takes place when you get the word out of the “then” and into the “now”. Preachers can tend to both extremes; immersed in the world of the past and pouring over the Greek text, or alternatively, focusing on the contemporary needs and thinking of today's world. "The effective preacher is on the razor’s edge. He is serious in his study, yet he plugs into the contemporary human situation and gets the word out of the then into the now" (Joel Gregory). We do not strive to make the Bible relevant for the listeners. We do not bring light to a dark book! Rather a book that is filled with light brings Divine illumination into our dark world. Our task is to allow the Word of God to illuminate our congregations by getting that Word out of “then” into “now”. We are to present the truth in such a way that it is driven “like nails firmly fixed” in the minds and hearts of the hearers (Eccl.12:11). b. To Convince Some believe that we should simply present the facts and “let the Holy Spirit do the rest”. This is not Scriptural. The Lord Jesus used logic as He reasoned with His contemporaries (Luke 11:17-23, 20:41-44). Paul likewise: “As His custom was...reasoned with them...explaining and proving...” (Acts 17:2, 3). Peter also exhorts us to “be ready to give a reason” for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). We should not rely on “persuasive words of wisdom” (1 Cor.2:4), but be so convinced of the truth that we “persuade men” (2 Cor.5:11). The Holy Spirit is sent to “convince the world” (John 16:8), and He indwells, endowers with gifts, and empowers the church for this purpose. Persuasion is moving a person from disbelief or doubt to acceptance of a certain belief. It normally happens over a period of time, thus an audience would normally be made up of people with a variety of different levels of acceptance concerning any given subject. In order to preach persuasively you need to: 1. Be convinced yourself. 2. Know the mind of your audience, building on what knowledge and beliefs they already have. 3. Be able to refute real or anticipated counter arguments in a non- offensive manner.Types of Argument: 1. Inductive This method starts with particulars and ends with a statement of truth. Example: l. Particulars a. Drinking (alcohol) is bad for your health. b. Drinking lowers your resistance against evil. c. Drinking contributes to many social evils. (crimes, accidents, divorces.) d. Drinking can easily become addictive. e. Drinking gives the “appearance of evil”. f. Drinking can stumble a weak brother. g. The Holy Spirit’s fullness should be the believers resource during times of stress. ll. Statement of truth Therefore: A Christian should not drink. With inductive argument you gain the ear of those who do not agree with the statement of truth you are communicating. The consequences for the use of this type of reasoning can be dramatic!! (Stephen was stoned! Acts 7, 8) 2. Deductive This form of reasoning moves in the opposite direction from the inductive reasoning. It starts with a statement of truth and then goes on to give subject to that belief with particulars. Example: l. Statement of truth The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not an experience subsequent to conversion. ll. Particulars (Because: ) a. One cannot be a Christian without receiving the Holy Spirit (Rom.8:9b). b. All believers are baptized into the body of Christ (1 Cor.12:13). c. We are never commanded or exhorted to expect or seek a baptism in the Holy Spirit. d. etc... e. etc... The book of Romans is an example of deductive reasoning.c. To Counsel The preacher is also a pastor (shepherd). He must guide, guard and feed the flock of God. The Word of God is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16), and so the 'man of God' who is thoroughly equipped (v. 17), will be able to preach the Word in the way God intended it to be used. The Holy Spirit is the 'Paraclete' (one called alongside to help), and the preacher can be used by the Spirit to achieve this purpose. As a counsellor in the pulpit, a preacher can address problems and issues that he knows his congregation are facing. His role is to comfort and to disturb, to give advice and to warn. He can encourage, motivate, strengthen the faith and inspire hope in those in his care. d. To Compel Application gives real purpose to preaching. Often the great omission in the great commission is the word “observe”. Our task is not merely to inform the mind - that will never make disciples; we are to “teach them to observe" all that Christ has commanded. Although preaching to inform (with truth), preaching to convince (with reason) and preaching to counsel (with wisdom) can of themselves motivate the listeners, there is another dimension of preaching which compliments these and produces action; that is emotion. Emotion must be in balance with truth and reason. It should never be ignored, nor should it be over used. When building a sermon: * The foundation is truth. * The structure is reason. * The floor is wise counsel * The paint or wallpaper is emotion. All four combine to present something which will be both unshakable and attractive. Picturesque language, good narratives and anecdotes, poetry, and the body language and style of the preacher can all contribute to the emotional effect of a message.ASSIGNMENT #1 Read through Stephen's sermon in Acts 7 & 8, then list out the particulars that make up his inductive argument. At the bottom write the statement of truth he concludes his argument with. PARTICULARS: STATEMENT OF TRUTH:Expository preaching Definition: "Expository preaching is the Spirit-empowered explanation and proclamation of the text of God’s Word, with due regard to the historical, contextual, grammatical and doctrinal significance of the given passage, with the specific object of invoking a Christ- transforming response" (Stephen F. Olford). Paul's charge to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:1-5 applies equally today. We are to preach with the same sense of responsibility and accountability. “The true idea of (expository) preaching is that the preacher should become a mouthpiece for his text, opening it up and applying it as a word from God to the hearers, talking only in order that the text may speak itself and be heard, making each point from his text in such a manner” (Westminster Directory, 1645, paraphrased). Bill Hybels: "You don't get a well-fed church from serving fast food!" BIBLICAL AUTHORITY FOR EXPOSITORY PREACHING "Preach the Word” (2 Timothy 4:2). 1. Old Testament Example (Nehemiah 8:8). Reading the Text: "They read from the book of the Law..." Revealing the Truth: “They...gave the sense” Relating the Thrust: “They...caused them to understand” . 2. New Testament Examples Our Lord, Peter, Stephen, Phillip, and Paul preached expository messages. (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:14-36; 8:26-35; 1 Tim.4:13; 2 Tim.2:15) ADVANTAGES OF EXPOSITORY BIBLE TEACHING: a. It provides greater resources for proclamation and gives endless material from which to preach. b. It guards against preaching only the preacher’s main interests and topics. c. It forces you to deal with difficult subjects. d. Members in the congregation will not think you are 'getting at them' when relevant or controversial subjects come up naturally in the course of teaching through a book of the Bible. e. Hearers will learn how to discover and apply God's Word for themselves, through the example shown them from the pulpit every week.Observations about consecutive exposition in books: a. It allows for good use of study hours. The many hours of study necessary for a good understanding of a Bible book will be well worth the effort when a whole series of messages are preached from the book. b. It provides continuous “context” for congregation. They connect with what you have taught previously and follow on with you to the next passage you will be dealing with. c. You not only preach a message, you gradually teach through the whole Bible. d. By working through a Bible book a little at a time, there is a far greater probability of explaining each passage accurately. 2. Preparation In Preaching a. The Preparation of the Messenger 1 Tim.4:16 “Take heed to yourself and to your teaching”. Bishop William Quayle says “Is preaching the art of making a sermon and delivering it? O, I know that is not preaching! Preaching is the art of making a preacher, and delivering that”! A man once asked George Verwer how long it took him to prepare the powerful message he had just preached. George answered, “It took a life-time”. Although the preparation of a sermon is done at a desk, the content is drawn from the accumulation of many years knowledge and experience. To be effective, a preacher must have first applied the message to himself. The late Jim Smith of Havelock North used to say: " We are not called to practice what we preach but to preach what we practice"! Knowing God The preacher must first have a personal knowledge of Christ as Saviour. To fail in this point disqualifies a person, no matter how great his knowledge about God is. He would be like the blind leading the blind (Matt.15:14). He would be unable to receive (discern) the things of the Spirit of God (1 Cor.2:14). However, knowledge of God is far more than a personal encounter at conversion. Like Paul, our desire should be “That I may know Him”. We are to “grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ”. This involves consecutive and comprehensive Bible study, hand in hand with a learning experience of God’s involvement in our daily lives. An example could be found in 2 Cor.1:3-4. The truth that God is the “Father of all mercies and God of all comfort” is doctrinal knowledge of God. This becomes a learning experience when He “comforts us in all our affliction”, and so prepares us for ministry to others.Next >