What are the different kinds of preaching?
Misconceptions about Expositional Preaching
Misconception #1: Expositional preaching is any sermon in which the Bible is opened.
- Just because the Bible is open or even quoted does not mean that the preaching is expositional.
- Only if the point of the passage is used as the point of the message does a sermon qualify as expositional.
Misconception #2: Expositional preaching is always a slow, verse by verse progression through a text.
- There are more ways to preach expositionally than plodding through one phrase or sentence at a time. The length of the text is immaterial to the question of whether or not the sermon is an exposition.
- As long as the point of the passage is used as the point of the message, a sermon qualifies as expositional - length notwithstanding.
Misconception #3: Expositional preaching always feels like a dry lecture devoid of application and amounting to nothing more than a running commentary on the text.
- If you hear a sermon like this, it is a poor excuse for an exposition, if it is even an exposition at all.
- The point of any Biblical text is to accomplish God's purposes in the hearts and minds of God's people. So if the sermon amounts to no more than a wordy commentary devoid of application, it has missed the bull's eye at which true exposition always takes aim.
