How to prepare an expository sermon

Front matter

Professor of Homiletics, Eugene Bible University Eugene, Oregon

THE STANDARD PUBLISHING COMPANY CINCINNATI, OHIO

Copyrighted, 1930 The Standard Publishing Company

Chapter I

THE VALUE OF EXPOSITORY PREACHING.............0:.-:c:-sccesecenseecseeeeeesee 11 1. Definition of an expository sermon. 2. Views of authorities on the subject. 3. Value of the expository method (a) To preacher. (b) To hearer. 4, Objection to expository sermons: (a) Impression that expository sermons are dry. (b) Misunderstanding of expository sermons. (c) Idea that the Bible is not modern. (d) Difficulty of preparation. ¥

Chapter II

PRA RUC BT ON | OUTLINE. 6600. 5000 Sasi tentadanneednedenahobetdbindnnwemnncpmenateapmital 23 1. Essential parts to a sermon outline. (a) Discussion of various models. (bo) Illustration of type followed in book. We 2. Difference between expository outline and other types of sermons, (a) Expository sermons usually use more Scripture as a basis. (b) The expository method aims to develop the sermon / from the Scripture. i 3. Phases of the expository outline needing special attention. (a) Securing contact with audience. (b) Making a vital application. CHAPTER III. 7 TRE 5 A URS A Be RR LE NBD b RIEL Bp UP 31 1. Variation, by the expository method, in the use of Scripture. 5

Contents

2. Expository method applied to the whole book of Bible.

_ 3. Expository method applied to chapter or similar logical division.

4, Expository method applied to short passage.

5. Comparison of uses of Scripture of G. Campbell Morgan and Dr. Maclaren.

Chapter IV

AL CoN Mee ok S&H Grog no pane EOP ULM aA NeahonsaniCneyouace ie Sx poy £0) 810s 1. Value of intensive study of the Bible as an aid to discovering themes for exposition. 2. Study of author’s purpose and character as reflected in any book, necessary to appreciate themes presented. 3. Illustration of method of discovering themes for exposition. 4. Personal qualities that help in finding themes for expository preaching: (a) Trained mind. (bo) Spiritual personality. (c) Close contact with life.

Chapter V

DEB EN TRODUOTION) bcccepuesccoetttectssdvanepaelce i Gece satis see relent eager sae 1, Significance of ‘‘introduction.’’ 2. Procedure in preparing an introduction. vi (a) Explanation. (6b) Introduction. (c) Proposition. 3. Method illustrated by themes previously suggested.

Chapter VI

THES) MAIN | DIVISIONS... .ceqcelotepaieotineepannsensntyandpheng® ee weenasebaonacce sete 1. General purpose of divisions. 2. Need for studying material before forming divisions in expository sermons. 3. Procedure in making divisions for an expository sermon. (a) Summary method. (b) Related ideas. (c) Verbal method. 4, Principles involved in good sermon divisions, Vv

Contents

(a) Simple. (b) Progressive. (c) Complete proposition. 5. Principles applied to themes already suggested.

Chapter VII

Ee VELOPMENT) oon, Jucereetcostenvyo.cossctce soe Sa. boatcans poteenabunsbea ater Saoees 75 1. General principles involved in the development of divisions. - 2. The application of general principles to the development \” of expository sermons. (a) Intensive study. (b) Application. (c) Illustration. 3. Development of divisions previously suggested.

1. Sermon illustrating the summary method.

2. Sermon illustrating the method of related ideas,

3. Sermon illustrating the verbal method.

Preface

HREE facts have impressed themselves upon the author during the fifteen years that he

has been teaching homiletics to young men preparing for the ministry.

The first of these is that writers on the cb ject of preaching are unanimous in regard to the value of expository preaching. All agree’ © that it is the most effective form of pulpit elo- ~ quence. :

The next thing that has been forced upon his ho attention is that while there is this unanimity of opinion, very few of our modern preachers are using this method. The reason for this condition would seem to be either a lack of knowledge of the value of expository sermons, or a lack of ability in preparing them.

In trying to account for this strange anomaly, the author became impressed with the further fact that there are practically no books published which place in the hands of preachers the means for developing efficiency along this line.

So unfortunate a lack in our religious literature is the cause of the present volume, and, while it may not accomplish all that the author

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Preface would like, he hopes that it may at least prove suggestive to some and help to focus attention upon an important and neglected field in theological study. Hi: Ragen.

Chapter I. The Value Of Expository Preaching

IE expository sermon is an effort to explain, ai

illustrate and apply the Scriptures to life; or, to use F. B. Meyer’s words, ‘‘expository preaching is the consecutive treatment of some book or extended portion of Scripture on which the preacher has concentrated head and heart, brain and brawn, over which he has thought and wept and prayed, until it has yielded up its inner secret, and the spirit of it has passed into his spirit.’’ Le

Its purpose is to help the hearers to find in” ‘the sacred writings the true mterpretation of life. This is both a high ideal and a most delightful task, kindling in the soul of the preacher that spark of heavenly fire which glows with enthusiasm and conviction.

Every great preacher, as well as every writer on the subject of homiletics, regards expository preaching as the method par excellence. Thus Phelps, in his ‘‘Theory of Preaching,’’ says: ‘‘ By _ parting with expository preaching, the pulpit has » parted with its most important aid and stimulus to variety. No other one thing gives to preach-

. il ing so wide a range of religious thought as the exposition of the Scriptures when it comes forth as the fruit of a rich, full mind—rich in scholarly resources, and full of intense, practical aims.”’

Dean Brown, of Yale Divinity School, in the ‘‘Art of Preaching,’’ declares his preference for this method in the following terms: ‘‘I am a firm believer in the value of expository preaching.”’ Among other reasons for this attitude he affirms that ‘‘it has the historic warrant of being apostolic.’”’ It ‘‘ensures a more thorough knowledge of the Bible on the part of the preacher himself.’’ ‘‘This method of preaching,” he says, ‘‘also develops a more thorough knowledge of the Bible on the part of the people.’’? ‘‘The expository form of preaching gradually develops both in the pulpit and pew the Scriptural point of view, than which there is none better.’’

Professor Smyth, of the University of Dublin, in ‘‘The Preacher and His Sermon,’’ says: ‘‘Our teaching would be much more systematic if we had more expository preaching. It is a great need. People do not learn the Bible, they do not learn how full of interest a book of the Bible is when rightly understood.’’

Other writers on the subject are just as clear and emphatic.

The habit of preaching expository sermong — oni is a splendid discipline for the preacher. It gives

him a more profound and vital interest in the

The Value of Expository Preaching study of the Bible. It encourages him to search there for sermon material rather than in the newspaper or in the works of science and philosophy.. The notion that the Bible is not as interesting or as fruitful in sermonic material as these other fields, is a gigantic mistake. The only) | reason that people think the Bible is uninterest- ° ing is because they do not know it. F. B. Meyer has probably not overemphasized it when he says that the real knowledge of the Bible is less than that of the standard works of fiction or poetry. ~— < . The expository method also leads to a new. method of studying the Scriptures. The purpose changes from that of seeking the bases of sermons in individual texts to that of finding the meaning of a book or chapter.

This new approach to the Bible also gives breadth to one’s thinking, and both keeps the preacher a student, and at the same time keeps his thinking in harmony with divine truth. The one thing a preacher ought to know is his Bible, © and this not only in the sense of an accumulation of texts, but also in the revelation of various statements to the context. The more one knows the Bible and endeavors to live it out in his own life the better man he will be and the larger will be his ultimate influence on his people and community. |

The church is suffering to-day from the ministrations of two types of men in the pulpit—those

7 13 who are too broad and those who are too narrow. The former are well informed about the Bible, but are not informed in it, or have lost their bearings and are trying to reach the popular mind by lecturettes on passing events, talking elibly about the relation of science to religion, the need of the modern mind and similar subjects. The other group is made up of those whose preaching is thoroughly orthodox and sincere, but who have poorly furnished minds, and who have only a vague knowledge of the Bible as a whole. The sermons of this group naturally lack depth of thought, and, beyond the speakers’ sincere expressions of faith and hope, are ineffective because they fail to relate Biblical truth to personal experience. If the broad men were to base their messages on the contents of the Scriptures, and the latter type knew the Bible better, both would undoubtedly be more interesting, and more helpful to their hearers.

| One of the dangers to which any preacher is ~ lable to fall a prey is ‘‘harping on the same string.’’ He may be influenced in his preaching by his temperamental background—most, if not all, men are, to some extent—and thus may preach along special lines of temperament, training or experience. If one is studiously inclined, he is likely to display in his pulpit work an interest in some particular field; if one is mystically inclined, he is likely to spend much of his time in

The Value of Expository Preaching the clouds; and if one is afflicted with some physical ailment or having financial difficulties, his messages are likely to be somber and gloomy. People love variety. The Lord did not make the flowers all of one kind, neither did He ordain that the fruit should be all the same in shape, size, color or taste. ‘All the dangers of tempera-»— ment, training and experience may in some measure be offset, however, when by the expository method we make the experience fit the truths of Scripture rather than use the Scripture to illustrate our own experience, as is likely to be | the case in the topical method of preaching. ~ Not only, however, will the expository method control the preacher’s religious outlook, but it also eliminates the waste of time and loss of nervous energy absorbed in solving the problem, __‘*What shall I preach about next Sunday?” _ . Brown gives it as his experience, after spending ~ one or two hours daily in the intensive study of individual books of the Bible, that after the first four months of his ministry he never spent a quarter of an hour hunting for a text or a theme. Whether every expository preacher is as — fortunate may be doubtful, but all will endorse his views regarding the wonderful homiletical value of studying with the expository method in ‘mind. ‘‘No other study,’’ the same writer declares, ‘‘is so prolific of the finest quality and variety of homiletic materials as the study of the 2 15 3

Scriptures. No other materials work into the realities of human life and the emergencies of men’s souls so deftly as the materials thus gained. Once full of them, and with a mind assimilated to their quality, with a speech that holds them at the tongue’s end, a preacher need never exhaust himself. He need never rack his brain, or roam the streets for something to say and something to the point. |The stream is perennial. It is the river of the water of life.’? We are not surprised, either, to hear him testifying to the homiletical value of this method, or, what is still more vital, an uplifting of the mind ‘‘into a Biblical atmosphere, especially an atmosphere of faith in God and in this world’s future.’’

To solve the problem of next Sunday’s ser-_ mon, one must have a field for the cultivation of new themes, and beyond all question the most fertile, as well as the most desirable, is the Bible.

The seed must germinate there, or we are failing in our purpose to apply the truth of divine revelation to the experience of man. Not only, how- - ever, do the Scriptures supply the seed thought, but they also aid in its development. The topical method, for example, requires one to develop his proposition from outside sources, while the expository seeks this end by intensive study of the text, and absorption of one’s soul to the ideals and spirit of the Biblical writer. This latter method does not ignore experience, but 16

The Value of Expository Preaching brings the interpretation of it into harmony with the fundamentals of the word of God. oe Another feature of expository preaching is ~ that it makes it easy to introduce topics that are » unwelcome. Some preachers find a difficulty in giving messages on finances, missions, Jesus’ teaching on marriage, and similar themes. To give a topical sermon on any of these subjects may sometimes be embarrassing, but, if one is giving the exposition of a Scripture in which these subjects are an integral part, he can introduce them as a step in the development of his theme, and, so far as he is concerned, the objectionable part is either} eliminated or greatly diminished. /

b) The benefits of expository preaching, however, are not limited to the preacher. The congregation also gains by this method. It awakens an interest in the study of the Scriptures, if it can be shown that the Bible throws light upon the problems of life., Nothing is more needed ine our day than an awakened interest in the Bible. It is the hope of our civilization. Science and literature have their value for the intellectual and esthetic natures, but the moral. and spiritual, which are the most important, have their stimulus through contact with divine truth. The sad, thing about this age of education in which we - live is that people do not know the most helpful and most interesting book in the world. For human interest and practical value, Shakespeare, Milton and Tennyson, Longfellow and Lowell are not even close competitors. What a feeling of satisfaction and delight comes to a person who, after a sermon, says: ‘‘I never heard it explained that way before.’’ That experience is the starting-point for a renewed interest in the study of the Bible.

With this unanimity of opinion among teach- _ ers and writers on the subject of preaching, and the facts regarding its value, it would seem that every preacher ought to be delivering expository sermons most of the time. This, however, is not the case, for exposition is one of the rarest products of the pulpit. Why this strange paradox? Probably a number of causes have contributed to this anomaly.

‘In the first place, poor exposition in part has led to the idea that such sermons are dry and uninteresting. Harry Emerson Fosdick de-- cries that type of preaching that proceeds on the assumption that people attending church are deeply concerned with some historical exposition, ending with some practical application to the auditors. He is right in saying that people do not come to church desperately anxious to discover what happened to the Jebusites. He does not, however, suggest the elimination of expository preaching, but rather that the

. | preacher ‘‘start with the auditor’s vital need,

The Value of Expository Preaching and throw all the light he can on that.’’ As will be shown later, the evil above mentioned can be overcome by the proper selection of a propo-

sition through which the discussion is given a vital setting.

-- Another reason for antipathy to expository ~ sermons is a misunderstanding as to what an expository sermon really is. Thus it is not ‘‘a running, skittering comment, suited toa Sone school class.’’ Neither is it ‘‘a prayer-meeting style of comment, full of pious homily, and with a certain amount of exegesis of a loose type.’’ Still further, it is not ‘‘an exhaustive and exhausting digest of all the commentaries to which one has access.’’ On the other hand, there must be unity in the message, progress, organization » of material, and a definite goal.

’- Among others there is a feeling that the demand for popular preaching, and the adapting of the message to present-day problems, makes expository preaching difficult.» This, as we have already indicated, is a lamentable fallacy. What we believe and hope to show is that the Bible is as vital, as stirring and as thrilling when properly Ea as ever it was. There is no ss Aa of human thought or activity in which the Scrip- | tures can not be applied. In business they introduce the Golden Rule, enjoin diligence, command that we ‘‘lie not,’’ and admonish us to ‘‘defraud not.’? Again, we are told that we are to ‘‘dis- . /

Wd v, re iV 4 fist! od ON 1 Tyree parr JA tribute to the necessity of the saints,’’ ‘‘do good to all men,’’ and ‘‘forgive if we would be forgiven.’’? Are these practical and modern? No subject has been more prominent in recent years than law enforcement. Here, again, the Scripture speaks and says: ‘‘Obey them that rule over you.’’ This injunction was given when the Government was persecuting those who were exhorted to obey it. For idealism, so badly needed in this materialistic age, we are advised to seek ‘‘first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,’? and to pursue whatsoever things are pure, true, lovely and of good report. For every relation in life—in the home, the community and the nation, at school, at business or at play—the Bible sets forth principles to meet every need and to solve every problem.

The last reason to note for the scarcity. of expository sermons is the difficulty many have in preparing and delivering discourses of this type. Successful work in exposition requires a keen exegetical or analytical mind, with ability to get into the spirit of the writer and express with conviction and enthusiasm the applications of the text. This combination of head and heart, intellect and emotion is not a common one, but where they are combined in the same personality there is the possession of expository power. There is no more vitalizing force, no impulse more quickening to the soul, than the discovery in the Bible itself of the interpretati ing of life. To give utterance to th est experiences of the human soul. Any p would do well to seek its attainment. —

Shortly before his death, Dr. F. B. Mey r, 01 the occasion of a visit to Liverpool, recalled a1 incident which marked a point of vital inters and importance in his development as a preach Referring to the days when he began his ministry in that city, he said: ‘‘I can never forget the spot where we stood together one Sunday evening after Mr. Birrell had heard me preach at Pembroke Chapel. ‘That was a good sermon,’ he said, ‘but it was on a topic which journalists can handle better than we can. If you are going on that line, you will come to the end of your resources. Be advised by me, and be content with the golden stores of Scripture, : -and you will never be wanting either the subject 4 of a sermon or the congregation.’ That,’’ said Dr. Meyer, ‘‘changed my life. J have been content to unfold the wealth of Scripture. All the’ books I have written and fifty-seven years of preaching find me only at the beginning of realizing the literary beauty, the historic interest, the profound moral and spiritual charm of the old Bible.’’ oon

The judgment of such minds is not lightly to be set aside. It must be respected.

: Prepare an Expository Sermon

. a MONS AND FXXERCISES oN CHapTer I.

~ 3. What are some of the most helpful results Bs Kat come to the preacher through adopting the expository method?

4. How does this plan help to solve the problem, ‘‘What shall I preach about next Sunday?’’?

5. To what extent should an effort be made in modern preaching to arouse an interest in the study of the Bible?

6. To what extent can we assume that people possess an interest in the Bible to-day?

7..What part does the proposition have in making an expository sermon interesting?

8. From your knowledge of great preachers of our own and the past generation would you justify the statement that ‘‘expository preaching has been the best received of any’’?

9. How would you describe the mental and religious type of man likely to make the greatest success as an expository preacher?

a)

CHAPTER IT.

THE SERMON OUTLINE

T is proposed in the following chapters to

explain and illustrate the process of preparing an expository sermon by applying principles to the various steps that are used in all kinds of sermons. <As different writers divide sermon outlines in different ways, it may be well first of all to decide on the fundamental parts of an outline.

_~ In its briefest form it consists of an introduction, development and conclusion. This is too general, however. Phelps’ plan, which divides a discourse into text, explanation, introduction, proposition, divisions, development and conclusion, is a more elaborate form, and is technically correct. It lacks, however, the simplicity necessary for practical use. Between these two extremes an arm of outline is adopted in this work which it is believed conforms more closely to the method generally in sermon construction. This consists of (1) theme, (2) Scripture, (3) introduction, (4) divisions, (5) development, and (6) conelusion. In this form the explanation, introduction and proposition of Phelps’ plan are 23 all comprehended under the term ‘‘introduction,’’ while theme is added because in expository preaching it has a special consideration as it determines in large measure the unit of Scripture to be used as the basis for the sermon. ‘T'o make clearer the form we propose to use illustrating these six parts, a specimen outline is here given from that prince of expositors, Dr. Maclaren.

THE NEW FORM OF THE OLD LAW.

Matt. 5: 17-26.

Introduction.—The passage falls naturally into two parts—17-20, 21-26. In the first part Jesus lays down general principles; in the latter part He exemplifies and illustrates these principles.

I. THe Kine Laying Down THE Law oF His Kinapom in Its ReuatTion TO THE OLDER Law oF Gop (17-20).

1. Jesus’ authoritative tone (v. 17). ‘‘Think not.’? ‘‘I came not to destroy, but to fulfil.’’

2. Jesus’ testimony to the permanence of the law (v. 18). ‘‘One jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass.’’

3. On the permanent element of the law Jesus builds its imperative authority in His

The Sermon Outline kingdom (v. 19). ‘*‘Whosoever shall do and teach them he shall be called great.’’

4, As Jesus fulfilled the law, so His subjects must fulfill its spiritual meaning (v. 20). ‘‘Hixcept your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Phari- Sees.”’

II. An InLustrRative EXAMPLE IN THE CASE OF THE di;

The deepening and expanding of the commandment (vs. 21, 22). ‘‘Ye have heard,’’ but ‘‘I say unto you.’’

Example is intensified by putting obedience to it before acts of external worship (vs. 23, 24). ‘‘If therefore thou art offering thy gift at the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.’’ Further exhortation to swiftness in casting out anger from the heart (vs. 25, 26). ‘‘Agree with thine adversary quickly.’’

Concluston—Jesus ‘‘deepens and fulfills one precept of the old law by extending the sweep of its prohibition from acts to thoughts, by setting obedience to it above sacrifice and worship, and by picturing in solemn tones of parabolic warning the consequences of having

the disobeyed precept as our unreconciled

adversary.’’

The above outline illustrates the six parts of a sermon previously referred to, which are the most practical divisions for any kind of sermon, but which in this example are applied to an expository discourse. In explaining and illustratting the principles involved in expository preaching, these parts of the outline will be taken up separately, so that the method may be perfectly clear. This should make the procedure simple and specific, the principles easy to grasp, and the result, we hope, fruitful.

The form of the outline given is the same for all kinds of sermons; the expository type differs, however, in two particulars from other kinds: in the first place, it usually takes a larger portion / of Scripture for its foundation, and, in the second place, the development of the discourse is always an exposition and application of the.

Scripture selected. The difference is thus not one of form, but rather of use of the materials out of which the discourse is built up. In the topical sermon, for example, a text is used simply to introduce or suggest the subject. ‘‘ Without faith it is: impossible to please God’’ may be used when preaching on faith, the text having no further purpose than merely to bring before the people the theme to be discussed. Any

Ds

The Sermon Outline one of several other texts could be used with equal appropriateness, such as, ‘‘Have faith in God,’’ or ‘‘Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’’ Hav- | ing selected the text of a topical sermon, the preacher usually proceeds to develop it from extra-Biblical materials except where it is on a doctrinal subject, and for all practical purposes his use of the Scriptures has ceased. , With the expository sermon, however, it is different;

he begins to work out the development of his | ~ sermon by explaining and applying the text or portion of Scripture he has selected. If the text wu.

thus selected be ‘‘Without faith it is impossible~_ to please God,’’ an expository sermon would need to be treated somewhat as follows: What faith is, what the nature of God is, and how it is impossible to please God without faith. The Same approach would be necessary in regard to the other texts. The whole sermon would be an explanation, exposition and application of the text. »

Having said this much with reference to the various parts of a sermon, I want now to cast it into a different form to make clearer the significant elements of an expository sermon and their value. The form might thus be changed

to the following outline: (1) Getting the idea

from the Scripture. (2) Securing a contact of

the theme with the needs or interests of the peo- 27 ple. (3) Giving the exposition of the passage involved. (4) Making the application. This is really only stating in a different way

_ the points already discussed. Getting the idea involves selecting the theme and deciding upon the proposition. Securing a contact with the people’s interest is only indicating part of the function of the introduction, while giving the exposition and making the application are simply factors involved in the development of the theme and the conclusion.

They are here restated in this form, however, to show where special care is required in an expository sermon. The danger is most likely to be found in the second part—securing the contact, and in the fourth—making the application.

In deciding upon a theme for an expository -

_ sermon, one needs to be very careful that the topic or the proposition is one that has.a_vital b relation to the interests of the people. Otherwise it may be a splendid sermon from the stand-

‘point of the exegetical skill or the Biblical knowledge involved in the development, but if there is no interest in the discussion on the part of the audience, it is quite obvious that the sermon is a failure.

On the other hand, one may stimulate an interest in the theme and its discussion, and again as a piece of Biblical exposition it may be a

The Sermon Outline splendid effort, but if there is no application of

the thought to the life of the people, again it has cs failed. For anvexpository sermon to be a suc- Yo cess the-theme seleected-must_be close to the lives of.the.-people, the Scripture explained must show broad and intensive study, and the application must be such that the hearers not only understand the theoretical meanings, but also their practical_bearings on modern life. If these principles are applied, no message can fail

to receive a good hearing, and the preparation

and delivery of sermons will become an increas-

ing’ joy.

This method of pulpit discourse is indeed a delightful procedure to a spiritually minded man with a trained mind. It keeps him busy delving into the Scriptures, and makes him a specialist in the realm where he ought to be supreme— the understanding of the word of God. In spite of all that some people may think to the contrary, the Bible is still an interesting book, and the > one who can interpret its meaning in terms of modern experience will never be without an au-— dience, and he has the additional satisfaction that he is giving to the people more knowledge about that Book which will be ‘‘a lamp’’ unto their feet and ‘‘a light’’ unto their path, and which ‘is able to make them ‘‘wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.’’ The old Book is rich in eternal values.

a

QUESTIONS AND Exercises on CuHapter II.

1. What seems to you to be the best model of a@ sermon outline? Justify your answer.