Theology That Bites Back
“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
In reality, ‘expository’ refers to the content of the sermon rather than its style. To ‘expound’ Scripture means to bring out what is in the text, to reveal it. The expositor opens what seems to be closed, makes plain what is confusing, unravels what is knotted, and unfolds what is tightly packed.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 25
The question sometimes arises of whether there is a difference between teaching and preaching. If there is, it is very minor. Jesus both taught and preached (Matt. 4:23) and the Apostle Paul described himself as both a preacher and a teacher of the gospel (Tit. 1:3; 2 Tim 1:11) . . . There was probably a good deal of overlap.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, pp. 23-24
“A low level of Christian living is due, more than anything else, to a low level of Christian preaching.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 22
“It is the word of God that keeps the church alive, directs and sanctifies it, reforms it and renews it. Christ rules and feeds his church through the word of God.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 21
“It can thus be said that ‘a true sermon is a real deed.’ We enter the pulpit with a word in our hands, heart and mouth, and this word has power. We should expect results.”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 21
“The Bible presents many pictures of the power of God’s word. It describes it as sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating our mind and our conscience (Heb. 4:12). Like a hammer, it can break stony hearts; like fire it can burn up rubbish (Jer. 23:29). It lights our path, shining like a lamp on a dark night (Ps. 119:105). Like a mirror it shows us bother what we are and what we should be (James 1:22-25). It is compared to a seed leading to birth (James 1:18), to milk causing growth (1 Pet. 2:2), to grain that nourishes whereas straw does not (Jer. 23:28), to honest which sweetens and to gold which enriches its possessor (Ps. 19:10).”
Stott, The Challenge of Preaching, p. 20
