Page 7 - Homiletics Student Textbook

II. The Meaning of Expository Preaching

Consider the following definitions and descriptions of expository preaching. Note the
common themes of the message being sourced in the scriptures, derived carefully through
sound exegesis, and explained extensively with the goal of helping people to understand
what God has said.

A. An expository discourse may be defined as one which is occupied mainly, or at any rate
very largely, with the exposition of Scripture. It by no means excludes argument and
exhortation as to the doctrines or lessons which the exposition develops. It may be
devoted to a long passage, or to a very short one, even part of a sentence. It may be one
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of a series, or may stand by itself.

B. An expository sermon is one in which a more or less extended portion of Scripture is
interpreted in relation to one theme or central idea. The bulk of the material for the
sermon is drawn directly from the passage and the outline consists of a series of
progressive ideas centered around that one main idea.
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C. In summary, the following minimal elements identify expository preaching: 1) The
message finds its sole source in Scripture, 2) The message is extracted from Scripture
through careful exegesis, 3) The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its
normal sense and its context, 4) The message clearly explains the original God-intended
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meaning of Scripture, and 5) The message applies the Scriptural meaning for today.

D. . . . the technical definition of an expository sermon requires that it expound Scripture by
deriving from a specific text main points and subpoints that disclose the thought of the
author, cover the scope of the passage, and are applied to the lives of the listeners.
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E. Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and
transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary study of a passage in its
context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and experience of the
preacher, then through him to his hearers.
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III. The Method of Expository Preaching

A. The Text Look

1. Expository Preaching preaches the Bible in its natural divisions – sentences, paragraphs,
and sections.

2. Expository Preaching understands the historical context of the passage – what need or
problem the original recipients had.

3 Broadus, John A., On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons, (New York: Harper and Row Publishers, 1944),
144.
4 Braga, James, How to Prepare Bible Messages, (Portland: Mulnoma, 1969), 36.
5 Mayhue, Richard L., “Rediscovering Expository Preaching,” Rediscovering Expository Preaching, (Nashville: W
Publishing Group, 1992), 12-13.
6 Chapell, Bryan, Christ-Centered Preaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2002), 129.
7 Robinson, Haddon, Biblical Preaching, (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1981), 20.

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