THE SERMON
At Cornerstone, we practice a particular type of preaching called “expository preaching.” If you’ve never been listened to an expository sermon before, it can sound and feel a little different. So what is an expository sermon, and how should you listen to one?
First, an expository sermon is a message in which the preacher “exposits” or “exposes” the original meaning of the text. In other words, in an expository message, the pastor does not impose the message he wants to deliver onto a text. Rather, he draws the sermon’s message (and its main points) from the passage. In his study, he begins by saying, “What does this text mean?” before then asking, “Now, how is it applied?”
That distinction may seem subtle, but it’s significant. It’s not uncommon today to come across sermon series that are jumping all over the Scripture instead of staying rooted in a single text. This not only has the unfortunate consequence of often ripping passages out of context and interpreting them in a way the original author didn’t intend, but it also means that what you’re often hearing is what the preacher wants to say. They have an idea that they want to share with the congregation, and then they’re arranging Scripture passages to support that idea. In that way, it’s the preacher who is speaking, more than God. God is serving to support his message to the congregation, rather than the other way around.
Because the expository preacher is striving to submit his message to the Scripture, there are a few distinct characteristics that tend to accompany the expository message. First, it’s not uncommon for expository preachers to preach consecutively through whole books of the Bible. This not only enables the preacher to establish the meaning of the text in its surrounding context, but it prevents them from “lording over” the Scriptures by only preaching those passages that they want to preach on. It is the entirety of Scripture that’s inspired and profitable for our growth (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and so it is prudent to let the whole of Scripture speak to the congregation without the preacher’s interference.
Second, expository preaching can sometimes feel “academic” by comparison to most modern messages. It’s not uncommon for the expository preacher to spend time discussing the grammar of a specific phrase or the historical setting of a passage. This is because they are trying to “expose” the text to the audience. The expository preacher doesn’t not merely say, “This is what the Word of God says. Trust me.” They say, “This is what the Word of God says. Now, let me show you.” This is to demonstrate that it is indeed God who is speaking to the congregation, once again, not merely the pastor.
Third (and tied to the previous point), it can sometimes seem that expository messages are light on application. There’s a lot of explanation that happens during an expository message, without as much illustration or application as what you might see in other types of messages. That can partly be due to time constraints. There is simply more time spent on explanation than there is in other types of sermons, and so that leaves less time for illustration and application. However, that can partly be by design, as well. When we examine how transformation takes place in the Scripture, it occurs primarily through the renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24). In other words, our actions truly change (and with a sincerity that God finds pleasing in our worship) not through the giving of commands alone (i.e. – “application”) but through a completely different understanding of the world we live in, such that we begin to relate to it differently. And this is very much what the expository preacher is aiming for: a conviction of mind that believes what the passage is saying is true – and to the degree that the listener begins thinking differently about the world around them. For it is when we truly believe that what is being said comes from the Lord that we are most motivated to do something about it.
So how does a person listen to an expository message? We would recommend that it is by coming at the sermon in much the same way that the preacher comes at the text. In other words, when you listen, you’re not asking so much, “How does this sermon help me with what I’m dealing with right now?” (That is to read our concerns and circumstances into the Bible.) Instead ,you’re asking, “What does God want to say to me in this text? What is He trying to say about what He is concerned about, and then, maybe what should I do with that information?” To put it still another way: you should come to the sermon understanding that God is not in your orbit, you are in His. We have all been created for His purposes and glory, not the other way around, and so we come to the text ready to hear Him instruct us about the things that concern Him.
And on that note we would only add: in the end, this isn’t just about a particular method of preaching. It’s an entire outlook on life, one which the Scriptures would say is the only way to truly find happiness. As paradoxical as it sounds, true joy isn’t found in living at the center of the universe. It’s found in living at the edge. So if you’ve never encountered this kind of preaching before, we’d encourage you: give it a chance. Approach it with humility, and be patient.
First, an expository sermon is a message in which the preacher “exposits” or “exposes” the original meaning of the text. In other words, in an expository message, the pastor does not impose the message he wants to deliver onto a text. Rather, he draws the sermon’s message (and its main points) from the passage. In his study, he begins by saying, “What does this text mean?” before then asking, “Now, how is it applied?”
That distinction may seem subtle, but it’s significant. It’s not uncommon today to come across sermon series that are jumping all over the Scripture instead of staying rooted in a single text. This not only has the unfortunate consequence of often ripping passages out of context and interpreting them in a way the original author didn’t intend, but it also means that what you’re often hearing is what the preacher wants to say. They have an idea that they want to share with the congregation, and then they’re arranging Scripture passages to support that idea. In that way, it’s the preacher who is speaking, more than God. God is serving to support his message to the congregation, rather than the other way around.
Because the expository preacher is striving to submit his message to the Scripture, there are a few distinct characteristics that tend to accompany the expository message. First, it’s not uncommon for expository preachers to preach consecutively through whole books of the Bible. This not only enables the preacher to establish the meaning of the text in its surrounding context, but it prevents them from “lording over” the Scriptures by only preaching those passages that they want to preach on. It is the entirety of Scripture that’s inspired and profitable for our growth (2 Tim. 3:16-17), and so it is prudent to let the whole of Scripture speak to the congregation without the preacher’s interference.
Second, expository preaching can sometimes feel “academic” by comparison to most modern messages. It’s not uncommon for the expository preacher to spend time discussing the grammar of a specific phrase or the historical setting of a passage. This is because they are trying to “expose” the text to the audience. The expository preacher doesn’t not merely say, “This is what the Word of God says. Trust me.” They say, “This is what the Word of God says. Now, let me show you.” This is to demonstrate that it is indeed God who is speaking to the congregation, once again, not merely the pastor.
Third (and tied to the previous point), it can sometimes seem that expository messages are light on application. There’s a lot of explanation that happens during an expository message, without as much illustration or application as what you might see in other types of messages. That can partly be due to time constraints. There is simply more time spent on explanation than there is in other types of sermons, and so that leaves less time for illustration and application. However, that can partly be by design, as well. When we examine how transformation takes place in the Scripture, it occurs primarily through the renewal of the mind (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24). In other words, our actions truly change (and with a sincerity that God finds pleasing in our worship) not through the giving of commands alone (i.e. – “application”) but through a completely different understanding of the world we live in, such that we begin to relate to it differently. And this is very much what the expository preacher is aiming for: a conviction of mind that believes what the passage is saying is true – and to the degree that the listener begins thinking differently about the world around them. For it is when we truly believe that what is being said comes from the Lord that we are most motivated to do something about it.
So how does a person listen to an expository message? We would recommend that it is by coming at the sermon in much the same way that the preacher comes at the text. In other words, when you listen, you’re not asking so much, “How does this sermon help me with what I’m dealing with right now?” (That is to read our concerns and circumstances into the Bible.) Instead ,you’re asking, “What does God want to say to me in this text? What is He trying to say about what He is concerned about, and then, maybe what should I do with that information?” To put it still another way: you should come to the sermon understanding that God is not in your orbit, you are in His. We have all been created for His purposes and glory, not the other way around, and so we come to the text ready to hear Him instruct us about the things that concern Him.
And on that note we would only add: in the end, this isn’t just about a particular method of preaching. It’s an entire outlook on life, one which the Scriptures would say is the only way to truly find happiness. As paradoxical as it sounds, true joy isn’t found in living at the center of the universe. It’s found in living at the edge. So if you’ve never encountered this kind of preaching before, we’d encourage you: give it a chance. Approach it with humility, and be patient.