Renewing Expository Preaching, Part 3: Preaching Themes, Narratives, and Topics

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In this series, I am encouraging a renewal to expository preaching while recognizing there are other ways to preach that honor the Word and effectively teach the Bible.

In the first installment, I offered five reasons expository preaching verse-by-verse should be the primary and preferred approach. In the second article, I recognized that we should nevertheless not be dogmatic about expository preaching as the only approach. 

In this third post, I want to advocate for other forms of preaching that may not be verse-by-verse but can still be expositional and beneficial to your congregation.

1. Preaching Thematically/Doctrinally 

I would define thematic or doctrinal preaching as preaching that gives a broader biblical introduction or overview to a specific theme or doctrine in the Bible. Engaging in thematic or doctrinal preaching doesn’t just take its flow from one verse or a single passage but instead brings to bear the totality of the Scriptures on a given subject. Thus, it’s quite appropriate to preach a sermon or a series on prayer that would draw from Psalms, Acts, and the Gospels to explain the value and practice of prayer. A series on the Incarnation might include Old Testament prophecy, fulfillment from the gospels, and further explanation in the epistles.

Remember exposition is explanation. So the key when we engage in this sort of thematic or doctrinal preaching is to engage enough of the Bible that as we explain it, we explain not just one small idea. I identify the “road to Emmaus” sermon as thematic, because Jesus is revealing the overarching theme of all Scripture in one sermon. 

Luke says, “Then beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted for them the things concerning himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27, CSB).

Jesus didn’t explain the entirety of the law and prophets, but the things concerning himself. That sounds like thematic preaching.

Preaching thematically, if done right, means the preacher must actually spend time digging through the Bible so that the explanation presents all the Bible says about prayer. If not, we could merely be presenting our own ideas about prayer with a few verses assembled to make the point. Preaching onto the text is not the same as preaching from it.

2. Preaching Narratively 

Narrative preaching involves weaving a story through multiple passages that explain a character or a situation more in depth. Once I was part of preaching a four-week series on Rahab. I joked that nothing says “good preaching” like a story of an idolatrous Canaanite prostitute. But Rahab shows up throughout the Bible in many different places.

So rather than only work through one of the passages, we moved through themes about Rahab’s life that were appropriate to our understanding of who she was. That is a form of narrative or storytelling preaching that communicates a broader story contained in multiple places in Scripture.

3. Preaching Topically

Yes, there is a place for the purely topical sermon. I’m thankful for the many topical preachers who open up the Bible and use Scripture to explain the theme of their sermons. However, we must admit that it is easier to move into preaching what we want to say over what the text says when we employ this approach. 

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Ed Stetzerhttps://edstetzer.com/
Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., is the Dean of Talbot School of Theology at Biola University and Scholar in Residence & Teaching Pastor at Mariners Church. He has planted, revitalized, and pastored churches; trained pastors and church planters on six continents; earned two master’s degrees and two doctorates; and has written hundreds of articles and a dozen books. He is Regional Director for Lausanne North America, is the Editor-in-Chief of Outreach Magazine, and regularly writes for news outlets such as USA Today and CNN. Dr. Stetzer is the host of "The Stetzer ChurchLeaders Podcast," and his national radio show, "Ed Stetzer Live," airs Saturdays on Moody Radio and affiliates.

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