AP

As a young Christian, a long time ago, I remember sermons went about 15-20 mins, were on a text selected by the minister and other than at significant times in the church’s calendar – Christmas, Easter, Pentecost – the congregation never knew what they might be hearing the next Sunday.

At some stage that changed.

Expositional preaching through sections of books or whole books of the Bible became the order of the day. An epistle might be covered in ten weeks or so, but a Gospel might take years with periodic excursions into other parts of the Bible.

The thing about expositional preaching is that the text is closely examined to draw out the meaning and application. Too often this leads to a written manuscript to be read from the pulpit, albeit with varying degrees of emphasis. Whereas twenty years ago the congregation heard the rustling of paper in the pulpit from one page turned over to the next, nowadays swipes across a tablet are observed.

Unfortunately, it can be rather deadly.

What happens all too often is the congregation hears a lecture, not a sermon. The congregation listens to a series of carefully crafted exegetical points, and they continue, often without too much variation in voice, to pile up, such by the end of the sermon what does the congregation take away? It can all become too dense. Lots of good things said, worthy things, but more than any mortal can absorb and reflect upon. And so, sadly, the sermon’s impact can be frittered away.

The point is, the Word of God has artistry embedded within it. It is not to be simply read but to be listened to as well.

A read manuscript can be deep into the minutia of the text when a far more sympathetic listening to the text might demand pausing, pleading, dropping the voice, filling the lungs and soaring up, even raging as well as calling for careful explanation and deep contemplation.

For the preacher, what is his goal in preaching?

Taking the understanding of the selected text as a given, the great thing for the preacher to ask is, ‘What is the text saying, that my people need to hear, hopefully without me getting in the way?’

This may be best done without a manuscript. Or at least no more than a page of key points, which can include brief notes, other supporting texts, an illustration or two, but just a page that could fit inside the Bible alongside the text being preached.

There are several positive things that come out of this. The preacher spends more time focussing on his congregation; interaction becomes evident. The preacher is engaging with his people; there is a dynamic at work! The preacher gives himself liberty to become an artist of the Word. Because he is more focussed on the text rather than the manuscript, he is more likely to embody the text. Driven by the Holy Spirit, he might even become passionate and demand a response from his people. Someone might even be converted! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

The two preachers in past years I observed with the greatest impact on their people had no more than a half dozen points on a single sheet of paper. Their eyes were firmly fixed on their people as they (the preacher) respond to the text. Such preaching proved dramatic and impactful.

And last, but not least, the preacher wants the main points securely fixed in his people’s hearts and minds as they leave for home, rejoicing in God, with a skip in their step, thinking and exclaiming: ‘How wonderful it is to be a Christian. I am so glad to be a follower of the Lord Jesus, saved by grace!’

– David Palmer