Exegesis &

Exposition
A Chart
of
Tasks

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Preparing an Expository Sermon:
Overview
 Preliminary Steps:
 PRAY
 Check the text is sound (if acquainted with Heb/Gr)
 Identify the genre (kind of writing)
 Exegesis – informing the mind
The task of the preacher in the study :
To discover the meaning of the passage intended by the writer then
 Analyse the passage (grammatical and thematic)
 Research the passage (literary & historical)
 Exposition – informing the mind with a view to affecting the heart
The task of the preacher in the pulpit :
To apply the message of the text then to the listener here and now
 Expound the text then (exposing the meaning of the passage
 Apply its message to today (letting the text expose the heart of the listener)
 Appeal – challenging the will
The task : to urge a response to the message as a personal word from God himself
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 Effect a change in behaviour
The Tasks:
Preliminary Steps
 PRAY
 For God to speak to you in your
preparation
 For His Spirit to guide your thoughts as
you expose His Word
 For Jesus to be glorified through this
study and subsequent exposition
 Check the text is sound (if
acquainted with Heb/Gr)
 Identify the genre (kind of writing)

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The Tasks: Exegesis
- informing the mind
The task of the preacher in the study : to discover the meaning of the
passage intended by the writer then
 Analyse the passage (grammatical and thematic)
 List the units of thought (in the wording of the text)
 Shape the Structure (to show grammatical relationships)
 Mark the text for action and people (who is doing what, where,
when, why and how?)
 Identify the topics involved
 Divide the passage into sections (of a single main theme or
episode)
 Decide the over-all subject
 List the main points relating to this subject (teaching on the
over-all subject)
 Summarise the over-all point the writer is making (Heart-beat)
 Research the passage (literary & historical)
 Consider the context
 Literary (what comes before and after / the whole book)
 Canonical (how it fits in with the rest of Scripture)
 Historical , Geographical, Social, & Cultural background
 Study any key words, metaphors and symbolic language
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The Tasks: Exposition – informing the
mind with a view to affecting the heart
The task of the preacher in the pulpit : To apply the message of
the text then to ourselves here and now
 Expound the text then (exposing the meaning of the
passage )
 Introduce the over-all subject
 Explain the general context of the text
 Outline what the passage has to say about the over-subject
 Expound the main points in turn concerning this subject
 Proclaim the “heart-beat“ of the message in the passage
 Apply its message to today (letting the text expose
the hearts of its listeners)
 Explain the relevance of the over-all subject for today,
refering to one or more of the following:
 Society and the world today
 The Church
 Probable individual states and situations
 Show any parallels with the situation then and now
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 Make applications for all the main points
The Tasks: Appeal
– challenging the will

The task : to urge a response to the message as a

personal word from God himself
 Effect a change in behaviour
 Emphasize the heart-beat message of
the passage:
 Its reality – how it is true
 Its significance – where it is relevent
 Its urgency – why it is important

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Transformative Preaching
involves:
 Accurate exegesis
to get the message right
 Clear structure
to make the message clear
 Telling illustrations
to make the message memorable
 Thoughtful application
to make the message relevant
 Empowerment of the Spirit
to make the message effective

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 Expository Preaching

All effective preaching involves:

in the study
 The guidance of the Holy Spirit

 The preparatory study of the preacher

in the pulpit
 The anointing of the Holy Spirit

 The delivery of the preacher

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 The Preacher’s Big Question

How do I preach
in such a way that
people walk out from church
saying,
“This morning I have heard from
God?”

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 J.I.Packer’s response…

“I can only say that

you must have heard from God
before you start preaching,
so that
something of what you have heard
and the impact it has had on you
gets relayed into
what you are actually saying.”
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The End

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