Biblical Preaching

Hadden W. Robinson

The Case for Expository Preaching

The Case for Expository Preaching

“This is a book about expository preaching, but it may have been written for a depressed

market.”

The Case for Expository PreachingExpository preaching – the communication of a

biblical concept, derived and transmitted through a

historical,grammatical,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.

What’s the Big Idea?

What’s the Big Idea?

“[A]n idea begins in the mind when things ordinarily separated come together to form unity that either did not exist before or was not recognized previously” (39).

What’s the Big Idea?

A Single Idea“A sermon should be a bullet and not a buckshot.”

Not many vague ideas, but a single, dominant idea from a passage, supported by other ideas.

What’s the Big Idea?

• A messenger must “mine out” one main concept or idea from a passage

• The main idea helps us “see what was previously unclear

• The process of abstracting, synthesizing, and communicating the main idea of a passage takes practice, the Holy Spirit, and spiritual maturity.

What’s the Big Idea?

“If a preacher will not—or cannot—think himself clear so that he says what he means, he has no business in the pulpit. He is like a singer who can’t sing, an actor who can’t act, an accountant who can’t add.”

What’s the Big Idea?

When reduced to its basic structure, an idea consists of two essential elements:

a subjectand its complement

What’s the Big Idea?

Subject – the complete, definite answer to the question, “What am I talking about?”

discipleship, witnessing, worship, grief, love

What’s the Big Idea?

Complement– completes the subject by answering the question, “What am I saying about what I’m talking about?”

The test of a person’s character (subject) reveals how strong that person is (complement)

subject + complement = idea

What’s the Big Idea?

“You do not understand what you are reading unless you can clearly express the subject and complement of the section you are studying.”

Tools of the Trade

Tools of the Trade

Step 1 - Choosing the passage to be preached

“A diligent expositor will examine the paragraph breakdowns in both the original texts and the English translations, select the divisions of the material that seem to be the most helpful, and use these as the basis for exposition.”

Tools of the Trade

Step 2 - Studying a passage and gathering notes

Relate a passage to the book of which it is a partRelate a passage to its immediate context

Tools: lexicons, concordances, grammars, word-study books, Bible dictionaries, commentaries,

Tools of the TradeStep 3 - Relate the parts of the passage to each

other to find out the exegetical idea and its development

“The process resembles an hourglass that moves from synthesis to analysis and back to synthesis”

Find the subject and complement of the passage to discover the exegetical idea.

The Road from Text to

Sermon

The Road from Text to Sermon

Step 4 - Analyze the exegetical idea

What does this mean?Explanation of exegetical

ideaIs it true?

Validity of exegetical ideaWhat difference does it make?

Application of exegetical idea

The Road from Text to Sermon

Step 5- After analyzing it, state the exegetical idea in the most exact, memorable sentence possible.

exegetical idea homiletical idea

“When an idea is a universal principle applying at any time, then the statement of the homiletical idea can be identical to the exegetical idea.”

The Arrow and the Target

The Arrow and the Target

Step 6 - Determining the purpose for the sermon. What you expect to happen in the hearer as a result of preaching this sermon.

“A purpose differs from a sermon idea, therefore, in the same way that a target differs from the arrow, as taking a trip differs from studying a map, as baking a pie differs from reading a recipe” (107).

Arrow = IdeaTarget = Purpose

The Shape Sermons Take

The Shape Sermons Take

Step 7 - Decide how to accomplish the purpose of the sermon

A sermon’s shape is largely determined by the homiletic idea, and how that idea itself asks to be communicated and applied.

The Shape Sermons Take

Shape 1 – An idea to be explained

Tell them what you are going to tell themTell them what you are telling themTell them what you have told them

The Shape Sermons Take

Shape 2 – A proposition to be proved

Is that true?Why should I believe it?

The Shape Sermons Take

Shape 3 – A principle to be applied

So what?What difference does this make?

The Shape Sermons Take

Shape 4 – A subject to be completed

Introduction – subject of the ideaBody – discovering the complement of the idea

The Shape Sermons Take

Shape 5 – A story to be told

“In a narrative sermon, as in any other sermon, a major idea continues to be supported by other ideas, but the content supporting the points is drawn directly from the incident in the story.”

The Shape Sermons Take

Stage 8 – Outline the Sermon

An outline1. Clarifies the parts of the sermon2. View sermon as a whole, sense of unity3. Crystallizes the sermon’s order for the listener4. See parts of sermon that require more material

for support and emphasis.

Make Dry Bones Live

Make Dry Bones Live

Step 9 – Filling in the outline of a sermon

Skeleton = OutlineFlesh = Supporting material

Make Dry Bones LiveRestatement – repeat for emphasis; “in other

words.”Explanation and Definition – set boundaries and

amplify ideas and how they relate to each otherFacts – observations, examples, statistics, etc.Quotes – to support or expand a pointNarration – “story telling” describes the

individuals and events that take place in a passage

Illustrations – restate, explain, validate, or apply ideas by relating them to tangible experiences

Start With a Bang and Quit All Over

Start With a Bang and Quit All Over

Step 10 – Prepare introduction and conclusion

Begin with a bang

End like a pilot landing a plane.

Start With a Bang and Quit All Over

Introduction

commands attention* surfaces needsintroduces body of sermonexhibits other characteristics

Start With a Bang and Quit All Over

Conclusion

a summaryan illustrationa quotationa questiona prayerspecific directionvisualization

The Dress of Thought

The Dress of Thought

“Gift or not, we must use words, and the only question is whether we will use them poorly or well” (185).

Work on:transitions, clarity of thought, develop a

personal style, metaphors

How to Preach So People Will Listen

How to Preach So People Will Listen

“Sermons live only when they are preached. A sermon ineptly delivered arrives stillborn” (201).

body language and gesturesintonation matches words (natural)possess a deep desire to communicategrooming and dress should fit the audience,

situation, and speakereye contactvocal delivery; pitch, punch, progress, pause