Proclaimer Blog
Questions preachers ask
There are a number of recurring questions that we get asked about preaching, some of which we’ve answered before – for example, does a passage really only have one big idea. Here, over the next two or three days are some others that get repeatedly asked.
Today – must the structure of the passage be the structure of the sermon.
There’s a short answer to this and a long one. The short answer is yes. If you’re starting out, it’s the best way to go. For expository preaching is preaching where the theme, aim, tone and structure of the passage drive the theme, aim, tone and structure of the sermon.
So, it’s a pretty safe place to start to say yes to this commonly asked question.
However, there’s a longer answer. It’s this – expository preaching is preaching where the theme, aim, tone and structure of the passage DRIVE the theme, aim, tone and structure of the sermon, not where they MIRROR it. In other words, to work out what the sermon will look like, you need to have a firm handle on the theme (what the passage is about), the aim (what it is for), the tone (the genre, style and nature of the text) and the structure (how it is arranged). But these things don’t necessarily have to replicated in the sermon for it to be faithful.
Take two extreme examples: a faithful expository sermon on a psalm does not have to be delivered in poetic form. In fact, I would argue, it would be a poor sermon in most of our cultures. Nevertheless, it must take account of the poetic form of the text. There must be a colour and beauty about the sermon that reflects this genre.
Or take a chiasm. I’m not one for spotting chiasms everywhere, but they do exist. And let’s say you’ve spotted a “nontet inverted second order chiasm with roundel secondary inversions” (don’t worry, I’m making this up!), it doesn’t necessarily follow that your Greek-thought-educated congregation need the main point of the sermon to be in the middle.
So, must the structure of the passage be the structure of the sermon. Yes. And no.