Expository Preaching #5 - "How To Do It Right!"
So how do you create and preach a true expository sermon? I should be clear at the beginning that I preach from an outline not a manuscript. A manuscript sermon is when the preacher writes out his sermon word for word and basically reads from it in the pulpit. It is not wrong and it helps many preachers keep on track both subject wise and timing. It is just too confining for me. I preach from a one page outline and have learned how to stay on track both with the subject and with the time. My study of the passage throughout the week keeps my heart and mind saturated with the passage. Then when I come to the pulpit to preach it on Sunday it flows out of me from my time of study. I usually have more trouble keeping it to a 30 minute sermon than I do working to fill the allotted time.
The first step and most important is
this. What is the main point of the passage? I will illustrate with Psalm 3.
The main point of this psalm is David’s trouble with his son Absalom. It was
written when Absalom was trying to kill his father and David was fleeing from his
son. That story is found in detail in II Samuel 15. My title for this sermon is
“Triumph In Testing!”
I often come up with
my title last. Or sometimes I will write it earlier but I might change it as I
work through the passage. I will mention the corresponding text of II Samuel 15:7-14
but I will not expound upon it in this sermon. That is a passage for a
completely different sermon. Spending a lot of time in that passage would take
away from the proper preaching of Psalm 3.
The second step is to break up the whole passage
into smaller pieces. In this illustration the whole passage is 8 verses and it
naturally breaks up into 2 verse sections. Most of scripture will work this way
except for maybe Proverbs. Verses 1&2 are “David’s Trials or Testings!”
Verses 3&4 are “David’s Tears!” Verses 5&6 are “David’s Tranquility!”
And verses 7&8 are “David’s Triumph!” I try to take the main points of the
sermon directly from the passage. I then expound on each point directly from
the text. For a 30 minute sermon with 4 main points I try to give each main
point about 6 minutes. That gives me 2 minutes for the introduction and 2
minutes for the conclusion. Notice the alliteration with the “T’s”. This helps
the message flow, the hearer understand the sermon better and the hearer being
able to remember the passage better.
The third and final step is preparing my introduction and
conclusion. I always keep my introductions and conclusions to 5 minutes or
less. Long introductions or conclusions leave little time for the meat of the
text which is most important. I will speak more to application in another post.
I don’t do what most preachers do and for good reason.
I also like to use Power Point slides
for the text, the title, the introduction, the main points and the conclusion
if the technology is available. Studies have shown that people retain and learn
much more when they see it visually over just hearing it audibly. You will see this in the sermons on my YouTube
channel “Verse By Verse.” It takes more work and time but it is worth it.
Rev. David Johnson
Former Pastor
First Baptist Church of Austin, MN
(240) 543-0177
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