Category: Expository

“We find that conservatives are biblical but not contemporary, while liberals and radicals are modern but not biblical.”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32

“If we uncritically accept the world’s own self-understanding, we may find ourselves the servants of the latest trend instead of the servants of God. In our eagerness to be relevant, we may disregard God’s revealed truth.”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32

“Preachers who are theologically conservative tend to make the mistake of living only on the Bible side of the gulf. That is where we feel comfortable and safe. We believe the Bible, love the Bible, read the Bible, study the Bible and preach the Bible message. But we are not at home in the modern world on the other side of the gulf. It bewilders and threatens us. So our bridge is firmly rooted in the Bible but never reaches the other side”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 32.

“The [next] metaphor presents the preacher as ‘a worker who does not need to be ashamed’ because he ‘handles the word of truth’ skillfully (2 Tim. 2:15). In other contexts, the Greek verb used here means ‘able to cut a straight path through country that is forested or difficult to pass through so that a traveller can go directly to his destination.’ This straight teaching contrasts with the false teaching of those who swerve from the truth (2 Tim. 2:18), ESV). Our exposition must be faithful and simple so that our hearers can understand and follow it easily.”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 31

“Exposition gives us confidence to preach. If we were offering our own views or those of some imperfect fellow human being, we would do so hesitantly. But if we are honestly expounding God’s word, we can be very bold.”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 29

“Exposition identifies the traps we must avoid. The two main pitfalls are forgetfulness and disloyalty. The forgetful expositor loses sight of his text when he follows his own ideas and forgets to follow what the text says. The disloyal expositor appears to stick to his text, but strains and stretches it so that it means something quite different from its original and natural meaning”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 29

“The biblical authors were honest men, not deceivers, and they intended their writings to be understood”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 27.

“The very first qualification for expository preaching is the recognition that we are guardians of a sacred ‘deposit’ of truth (1 Tim. 6:20; 2 Tim. 1:12-14), trustees of the gospel (1 Thess. 2:4), ‘stewards of the mysteries of God’ (1 Cor. 4:1,2 KJV).”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 27

“The size of the text doesn’t matter, so long as it is from the Bible. What matters is what we do with it”

Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 26