It is difficult to think. It is more difficult to think about thinking. It is most difficult to talk about thinking about thinking. Yet that stands as the basic task of homiletics. Homileticians observe how preachers work and attempt to get inside their heads to discover what goes on there as they prepare to preach. Then they must describe the process clearly enough to make sense to a student. The assignment borders on the impossible.

Two conclusions emerge from the fact that expositors go about their work in different ways. First, detailed instruction about how to think may sometimes get in the way of the process. Second, thinking is a dynamic process. Effective biblical preaching requires insight, imagination, and spiritual sensitivity—none of which comes from merely following directions.

What are the stages in the preparation of the expository sermon?

Stage 1: Choose the passage to be preached#

A conscientious ministry in the Scriptures depends on thoughtful planning for the entire year. While all Scripture is profitable, not every Scripture possesses equal profit for a congregation at a particular time. Preachers’ insight and concern will be reflected in what biblical truths they offer to their people. In their ministry, expositors serve as builders of bridges as they endeavor to span the gulf between the Word of God and the concerns of men and women.

To do this they must be as familiar with the needs of their churches as they are with the content of their Bibles. While they relate the Scriptures to their people’s lives in individual sermons, they know the importance of a preaching calendar that chooses broad topics or passages of Scripture that speak to the needs of their particular congregation.

THOUGH UNITS#

We should select the passages based on the natural literary divisions of the material. We will not count out ten or twelve verses to a sermon as though each verse could be handled as a separate thought. Instead, we will search for the biblical writer’s ideas.

In selecting passages for the expository sermon a general principle to follow is this:

Working in the book of Proverbs, however, presents a special challenge to this rule. While the opening nine chapters can be divided into units of thought that are relatively easy to identify, the sayings found in chapters 10 through 31 seem to be a collection of pithy, seemingly unconnected sentences.

TOPICAL EXPOSITION#

As expositors, we may normally work our way through entire biblical books or extended passages in Scripture. Yet at some time or another during the year, we will preach on topics. In addition we may preach on theological topics such as the Trinity, reconciliation, worship, God’s concern for the poor, or the authority of the Scriptures. In dealing with a Christian doctrine, we may begin our study of the Scriptures with the help of an analytical concordance or a topical Bible. The index in books on theology can direct us to discussions of the subject and passages of Scripture on which the doctrine is based. At times, we may also want to speak to personal concerns, such as guilt, grief, forgiveness, loneliness, jealousy, marriage, and divorce. Preaching on personal problems, sometimes called life-situation preaching, poses a particular difficulty.

Topical exposition faces two problems.

First, the topic we are considering may be dealt with in several passages of the Scripture.#

Each of the individual passages, therefore, must be examined in its context. Isolating a single passage on which to base a teaching may ignore tensions built into the biblical record. Usually, topical exposition takes more study than exposition based on a single passage.

An additional problem is that we may read something into the scriptural account in order to read something significant out of it.#

Starting with personal problems poses the particular danger of misusing the Scriptures. If the difficulty of starting with the Bible is that we may never get to the twenty-first century, then the trap of starting with the twenty-first century is that we may deal dishonestly with the Bible. In our eagerness to say something helpful to hurting people, we may end up saying what the Bible is not saying at all. We can use texts of Scripture that we feel support what we want to say without considering the intent of the biblical author or the context of the verses. Those who want to address the felt needs of their people are to be commended for their desire to be relevant. At the same time, there is no greater betrayal of our calling than putting words in God’s mouth.

However we select the passage, we must allow it to speak for itself. Often a passage will not say what we expected it to say. We may be tempted to transform biblical authors into modern psychologists by saying in a sermon what they never intended.

Topical exposition differs from the so-called topical sermon, therefore, in that the thought of the Scripture shapes all that is said in defining and developing the topic.

SERMON LENGTH#

Another factor we must consider in choosing what to preach is time. We must preach our sermons in a limited number of minutes. Few congregations being offered well-prepared and attractively presented biblical truth will sit before their pastor with stopwatches in their hands. We must tailor our sermons to our time, and the cutting should be done in the study rather than in the pulpit.

Both the units of thought and the time allowed to cover them, therefore, must be considered when you select a passage to be preached.

Stage 2: Study your passage and gather your notes#

Our task begins with studying the passage and recording our findings. There are several things we should consider.

THE CONTEXT#

Having selected the passage, we must first examine it in its context. The passage does not exist in isolation. As individual verses rest within a paragraph, the paragraphs are part of a chapter, and the chapters are part of the book. At the very least, you would want to read the whole chapter to discover how this one paragraph fits within the larger section. If you really want to understand your paragraph, you would also ask questions about how the chapter that contains your paragraph fits within the entire book.

For this reason, we begin our study of a biblical passage by relating it to the broader literary unit of which it is a part. Usually this demands that we read the book several times and in different translations. Scores of different versions are available, ranging from literal, word-for-word translations like those in interlinears (where English words are placed under the Hebrew or Greek text) to versions that present the Scriptures in contemporary language.

Setting our passage within its wider framework simply gives the Bible the same chance we give the author of a novel. We want to fit our paragraph into its wider unit of thought. We do not have to find this framework by ourselves. Introductions to the Old or New Testament and introductory sections of commentaries usually discuss why a book was written and outline its contents.

Not only should our passage be placed within the broader unity of the book, but it must also be related to its immediate context. More clues to meaning come from a study of the surrounding context than from an examination of details within a passage. To understand a paragraph or subsection, we must explain how it develops out of what precedes it and relates to what follows it. Would it make any difference if this particular passage were not there? What purpose does this passage serve in the book? To understand 1 Corinthians 13, for instance, we must understand that it is part of a larger unit dealing with spiritual gifts in chapters 12-14. These chapters must be considered together to interpret the contrast of love with spiritual gifts in chapter 13. In addition, earlier chapters of the Corinthian letter reveal the spiritual condition of the readers and make us reflect on how love would apply in their situation.

Remember that you’re looking for the author’s ideas. Begin by stating in rough fashion what you think the writer is talking about—that is, his subject. Then try to determine what major assertion(s) the biblical writer is making about the subject, that is, the complement(s).

If you cannot state a subject at this point, what is hindering you from doing so?

• Is there a verse that doesn’t seem to fit?

• Is the writer assuming a connection between his assertions that you need to state?

• Is it that you can’t figure out how this paragraph relates to what precedes or follows it?

• Is there an image the author uses that you don’t understand?

Now we can use tools to help us dig into the passage. At least six different aids are available to help us as we examine our text.

LEXICONS#

A lexicon serves as a kind of dictionary for the original languages. Through using a lexicon we can find definitions of a word as it is used in Hebrew or Greek. But it is more than a dictionary: along with the definition of a word, it gives us root meanings, identification of some grammatical forms, a list of passages where the word occurs, classification of its uses in its various contexts, and some illustrations that help give color to the word.

CONCORDANCES#

While lexicons, like dictionaries, define words, sometimes it is essential to study a word in the passages where it occurs. To determine the meaning of words through usage, we use a concordance.

GRAMMARS#

But meaning does not come from words alone. Words must be understood as they are used in phrases, clauses, sentences, and paragraphs. A study of syntax examines how words combine to render meaning, and grammars assist us in that study. Not only does a grammar offer general help in describing how words are formed and put together in sentences, but those with an index to Scripture often give insight into particular passages being studied.

WORD-STUDY BOOKS#

Much of the work of evaluating how biblical writers use words has been done for us by scholars. Word-study books provide us with insights into words used throughout the Old and New Testaments, and because words are stupid things until placed in a context, these books deal with their grammatical use when appropriate.

BIBLE DICTIONARIES AND ENCYCLOPEDIAS#

Unlike most of our English dictionaries, Bible dictionaries offer more than a definition of a word. They give us brief discussions of people, events, and backgrounds of the biblical material. Many of your questions about when or where a book was written, its readers, and its author will be answered by a good Bible dictionary or encyclopedia. Because different reference works display different strengths, an examination of the same subject in several different encyclopedias and dictionaries enables you to achieve both balance and completeness. In addition, through the use of bibliographies found at the end of each article, you can pursue a topic to even greater depth.

COMMENTARIES#

As you teach the Scriptures, you need teachers to teach you. Through commentaries, scholars serve the church. They offer a wealth of information about the meaning of words, backgrounds of passages, and the argument of a writer. As a general rule, it is wiser (and cheaper!) to select the best volumes on individual Bible books from several different series. It is also helpful to consult an assortment of commentaries on a passage and weigh what they say against each other in determining the meaning of the biblical author. For your basic study, you will want to consult commentaries based on the original languages and not only on the English text. Several bibliographies exist to guide you in your selection of a library.

For your initial study you will be helped by consulting commentaries based on the original languages. Volumes in the International Critical Commentary series or the Word Biblical Commentary series are examples of this category. These are often quite technical and require some knowledge of the original languages, but they wrestle with the meaning of the text.

You will also want to consult expositional commentaries. They are much more English-friendly, but be sure to select those written by authors who work from the original languages. InterVarsity’s Tyndale Old Testament Commentary series or Zondervan’s Expositor’s Bible Commentary series would be typical of this group.

You will find additional help in commentaries that focus on application, such as the NIV Application Commentaries in both the Old and New Testaments or the IVP New Testament Commentaries. These volumes also deal with exegesis and exposition, but sometimes not at the same depth as the critical or expositional commentaries.

BIBLIOGRAPHIES#

An excellent resource for building your library is the Commentary and Reference Survey compiled by John Glynn (Dallas: s.n., 1995). Glynn offers helpful advice for building a “bare-bones” personal reference library. He suggests books and computer programs for three different groups: informed laypeople, Bible college and seminary students, and pastors. In addition to recommending reference books for your personal library, Glynn evaluates 750 commentary series and individual commentaries for single books of the Bible. He bases his judgments on published bibliographies and surveys, reviews in theological journals, and recommendations from recognized scholars. Glynn’s survey answers the question, “What volumes should I purchase to get the best books for my bucks?”

Seminary bookstores can also help you to build a basic library or suggest the best commentaries on individual books of the Bible. Some seminaries have bibliographies compiled by their faculty of the best volumes to purchase. A library is indispensable for anyone doing serious Bible study. A collection of basic study books and some good commentaries will cost about as much as a year’s tuition at many colleges or seminaries, but if selected with care, their value will last a lifetime.

In studying the details of the passage and placing it in its context, we are already moving into the next stage.

Stage 3: As you study the passage, relate the parts to each other to determine the exegetical idea and its development#

Our linguistic and grammatical analyses must never become an end in themselves, but rather should lead to a clearer understanding of the passage as a whole. The process resembles an hourglass that moves from synthesis to analysis and back to synthesis. Initially we read the passage and its context in English to understand the author’s meaning. Then through analysis we test our initial impressions through an examination of the details. After that we come to a final statement of the subject and complement in the light of that study.

Throughout the process you will ask, “Exactly what is the biblical writer talking about?” When you have a possible subject, go back through the passage and relate the subject to the details.

• Does the subject fit all the parts?

• Is it too broad? How would you narrow it?

• Is it too narrow? Is there a larger subject that accounts for all the parts?

• Is your subject an exact description of what the passage is talking about?

THE SUBJECT#

The initial statement of a subject will often be too broad. To narrow it, try testing your subject with a series of definitive questions.

A bit of verse tells us what those questions are:

I had six faithful friends,
They taught me all I knew,
Their names are How and What and Why,
When and Where and Who.

Remember, your subject can always be stated in the form of a question. Applying these six questions to your proposed subject, therefore, will help you be more exact. Take as a case in point James 1:5-8:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. (NASB)

Our initial response to this paragraph might be that James is talking about wisdom. While wisdom emerges as a major element in the passage, it is much too broad a subject because James does not discuss what wisdom is, why we need it, or when we need it. Looking at the passage more closely, we find he is talking about “how to obtain wisdom,” a more precise statement of the subject. An awareness of the immediate context, however, enables us to limit the subject even further. The preceding paragraph, verses 2-4, demonstrates that joy is the proper response to trials, and our paragraph extends that discussion. Therefore, a more complete subject for James 1:5-8 would be “how to obtain wisdom in the midst of trials.” All the details in the paragraph, directly or indirectly, relate to that subject. When a proposed subject accurately describes what the author is talking about, it illuminates the details of the passage; and the subject, in turn, will be illuminated by the details.

THE COMPLEMENT#

Having isolated the subject, you must now determine the complement, or complements, that complete the subject and make it into an idea. In doing this you must become aware of the structure of the passage and distinguish between its major and supporting assertions. Often the complement becomes immediately obvious once you have stated the subject.

In James 1:5-8 the complement to the subject “how to obtain wisdom in the midst of trials,” is “ask God for it in faith.” The complete statement of the idea, then, merely joins the subject with the complement: “Wisdom in trials is obtained by asking God for it in faith.” Everything else in the paragraph supports or elaborates that idea.

Particularly in passages found in the letters of the New Testament, the biblical writers often weave tightly reasoned arguments. The ideas may be uncovered through the use of a mechanical layout. Such a layout points up the relationship of the dependent clauses to the independent clauses.

Diagramming, a more demanding method for unraveling structure, determines the relationship of individual words within sentences. A mechanical layout or diagram may be based on either the original text or an English translation. Either a diagram or a mechanical layout brings analysis and synthesis together so that the major idea of a passage is separated from its supporting material.

While the letters in the New Testament make a fundamental contribution to Christian theology, they constitute only one of many literary forms found in the Bible. The Scriptures contain many types of literature such as parables, poetry, proverbs, prayers, speeches, allegories, history, laws, contracts, biography, drama, apocalypse, and stories. To find the idea in any of them, we must be aware of the kind of literature we are reading and the conventions that are unique to it.

Much of the Old Testament is poetic in form. In reading translations that print poetry as poetry and not as prose, we discover that poetry is the most-used literary form in Old Testament literature. Even sections we ordinarily think of as prose (history, prophecy, wisdom literature) contain large amounts of poetry. Poets do not usually tell stories, but instead express feelings and reflections about life. In Hebrew literature poets communicate through parallelism that repeats, contrasts, or adds to the previous thoughts, and they use figurative language that may not be true to fact but is true to feelings. Images and figures of speech give more life and force to speech because they join experience to fact.

The storyteller tells the story, but if there are details in the narrative that don’t seem to contribute to the story, ask yourself why. The Bible is great literature. It speaks to our minds and to our emotions. As great literature, it does not deal in unnecessary trivia. The authors want us to get and to feel what they are writing about. When they include details, they do so for a purpose. If you have uncovered the author’s idea, then the different parts of the passage should illuminate it. It is often in the parts that we don’t immediately understand that some of the best insights can be found.

At this point, as a result of your study, you should be able to do two things:

1. First, to state the idea of the passage in a single sentence that combines your subject and complement

2. Second, to state how the parts of the passage relate to the idea.

This is sweaty, difficult work, but it has to be done.