8 Advantages of Heart-Changing, Expository Preaching

Gospel ministry has been the main vocation of my life for over 25 years and expository preaching has been the main part of my calling. Therefore, I am continually blessed and challenged to read books that aim to help guys like me. One book, which I read last week along with our pastoral intern, is Saving Eutychus by Gary Millar and Phil Campbell.

The authors unapologetically defend expository preaching as the best means of declaring God’s Word to God’s people. In Chapter 2, Preaching that Changes the Heart, eight advantages of expository preaching are listed. Notice that each of these advantages also applies to the personal ministry of the Word.

  1. Expository preaching does justice to the biblical material which makes it clear that God works through his word to change people’s lives.
  2. Expository preaching acknowledges that it is God alone, through the Spirit, who works in people’s lives. It is not our job to change people.
  3. Expository preaching minimizes the danger of manipulating people. The biblical text controls what we say and how we say it.
  4. Expository preaching minimizes the danger of abusive power. A sermon driven by the text creates an instant safeguard against using the Bible to bludgeon or caress.
  5. Expository preaching removes the need to rely on our personality. If our focus is on allowing the Scripture to speak then the pressure is off.
  6. Expository preaching encourages humility in those teaching. The preacher is simply the one God has chosen to uncover the power and freshness of God’s words.
  7. Expository preaching helps us to avoid simple pragmatism. Working through books of the Bible takes pressure off feeling like we have to address every single topic. It also forces us to cover subjects we may avoid.
  8. Expository preaching drives us to preaching the gospel. It persistently drives us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are a minister of the Word, and haven’t read this helpful little book, I encourage you to do so.

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