BOOK SUMMARY: PREPARING SERMONS FROM THE PAGE TO THE PULPIT: EXEGESIS TO EXPOSITION IN SEVEN STEPS - CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM

THE PROBLEM
Some sermons are biblically correct and theologically correct though they are still not expositional. Correct exegesis doesn't guarantee correct exposition.

THE TROUBLE WITH MORALISTIC SERMONS

• In the moralistic sermon the heroes are the biblical character in the story and the congregational members who follows that biblical example. Instead of moralistic sermons based on the character in view, the sermon would demonstrate the greatness of God whom these humans serve. Sermons need to be Christocentric or theocentric in order to see the actual hero of Scripture.

• Moralistic sermons are not life-giving because they are expressions of conventional wisdom and/or self-help.  Scripture, like Jesus' words (John 6:63) possesses the power to instill new life in the hearers, not just offer sensible advice or sage counsel.

• Moralistic sermons perpetuate negative stereotypes of how to understand the Bible. A pastor's preaching--for better or worse--models for the congregant how to read, interpret and apply the Word of God. The authors of Scripture did not intend for the text to be understood a dozen different subjective ways. He meant something definite by it. The exegete must work to determine authorial intent.

THE TROUBLE WITH SPIRITUALIZED MESSAGES

This happens often in narrative. The story becomes a vehicle to illustrate a spiritual reality or moral. The historical and theological significance is lost in this type of sermon. 2 Samuel recounts David bringing the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Setting goals and working towards them should not be the point of that text. 

TROUBLE FINDS A SOLUTION: EXPOSITORY PREACHING

Pastors should not simply preach from the Bible but preach the Bible itself. When the Bible is preached correctly then we encounter the living God. 

ASSEMBLING THE PUZZLE

The author admits that as a professor of Greek, he was able to teach the language and exegesis at seminary but the seminarians were still incapable of doing expositional preaching. It's possible to know the elements of Greek exegesis and still be disconnected from biblical preaching.  Walter Kaiser observes:

"Students [have been taught] how to parse the verbs; to identity grammatical forms in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek...to analyze the passage historically and critically...[yet] the very discipline that should have mapped out the route from exegesis to proclamation has traditionally narrowed its concerns too severely. As a result, exegesis has been the one subject most quickly jettisoned by pastors in the pulpit."

Many pastors give up exegesis and resort to preaching messages loosely based on the text. Other head the other direction and their sermons suffer from information overload--becoming convoluted history lessons that pack very little spiritual nutrition. 

• The Exegete As An Editor - For any given passage, many socio-historical facts, numerous word studies, a lot of grammatical observations, and various theological insights never see the light of day in a sermon. That's exactly how it's supposed to be. Less seasoned exegetes assume they need to show all of their work to the congrgation.
• The Exegete As A Reader - In a hurry to write a sermon, exegetes can be guilty of rushing through the sacred text because they have prior biblical and theological knowledge or familiarity with the text. 
• The Exegete As An Auditor - If the love of your life wrote a letter to you and you know you wouldn't see them for years to come, would you rush through the letter or analyze every word and sentence? God's Word is a self-revelation. It deserves close attention. 
• The Exegete As A Theologian - Whatever text is in view, it only speaks partially on a matter. That partiality must be integrated into what the entire Bible says on that matter. This move towards exposition represents a move from exegesis to biblical theology and systematic theology..
• The Exegete As A Coach - The expository sermon moves from the pages of Scripture to the lives of the hearer. Application must ensue. The congregation needs to be urged to respond to God in specific ways.

WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

The target reader is for someone who preaches from a pastoral perspective rather than an academic one. It's for the pastor who wants to help church people encounter God so that by His Spirit their lives are changed to image Christ. Expository sermons should never devolve into information download. The chief end of preaching must always be a sanctificational encounter with the God of the text. 

The author assumes that the reader readily acknowledges the massive imperative for the exegete to locate any given text within its social-historical background. 

Preachers can improve not only in homiletical skills but in exegetically and expositional skills. The book is narrow in focus. It does not deal with homiletics or exegesis. It focuses on moving from exegesis to exposition. The focus of the book is not the various genres of Scripture--which belongs to exegesis. Again, the focus is not the how-to of exegesis but the process of moving from exegesis to exposition.