Topical or Expository Preaching?

 Here are some thoughts from my preaching 101 series. I was not a good pastor. But I could put together a sermon.

Expository preaching is boring. The Bible is an ancient book. Explaining the Bible is boring. It is the letter without the spirit.  The people mentioned in the Bible have been dead for thousands of years. Once you have read their stories you realize that it never changes. So explaining what Moses or David or Paul or even Jesus felt or thought or the motivation behind their actions is old news. It always turns out the same. Old time radio preachers tend to be expository preachers. They talk a lot but say nothing that is of any help today.

Topical preaching is basically taking one subject or one topic and studying the Bible to find how to apply the living Word to real life situations. Pastor Mitchell tended to be a topical preacher. You could learn how to live a Christian life by listening to his sermons. Good preaching applies the Bible to the modern world. This is preaching that the Holy Spirit can use to touch people.

Doctrine is only dead and dry when you only explain it and neglect to apply it.

Pentecostals seem to think that all they need to do is set themselves on fire with the Holy Ghost and people will flock to watch them burn. That might work for an evangelist.  If you are going to shepherd God's flock you have to be deeper than your salvation story. You must rightly divide the word of truth. You must be able to help common people apply God's word to their circumstances here and now.

Death to self is when you want a new 4x4 and she wants a pretty necklace and you buy the necklace.