Introduction
The
purveyors of technique in today's marketplace of ideas cringe to think that
anyone would still be lauding the sermon as an effective pitch. Times have
changed. Truth itself has changed. What communicates to the postmodern mind
is narrative, journey, epic, vignette; not linear arguments, objective conclusions,
or exclusive truth claims. The days of expounding the meaning and implications
of a text are long gone. Meaning, like beauty, is now in the eye of the beholder.
Universally binding morality is thereby supposed to be a mere myth, and so
the authority of the preached Word of God is brushed aside as obsolete. Winning
the culture means playing on their new field. So we are told.
But God's Word has something to say about what we preach and how we preach it. What you'll find on the following pages is a brief Biblical rationale for the primacy of expositional preaching in the local church. But that's not all. You'll also find some practical resources to encourage and facilitate the continuing development and increasing fruitfulness of your own expositional ministry. We'll even walk you through the sermon preparation process. Learn what expositional preaching really is (and is not), and discover the difference between expositional sermons and other kinds of sermons. Learn how you can plan for feeding people a healthy diet of expositional meals months ahead of time, and thereby free yourself from worrying about what to preach on this week. Download audio samples of expositional preaching at its best. Hear Mark Dever's topical sermon on expositional preaching from the seminal 9Marks sermon series. Listen to Mark's lecture for pastors on expositional preaching. Print out learning guides and study tools that will help you mine the riches of the Word for yourself. And when you've got something of a handle on it….build it all into your younger guys. You ready? Let's get to it.
