Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Why Sequential Exposition?--My 7 & 8

Our sermeneutics class had to compile a top ten list for sequential exposition. You can see reasons 9 & 10 (as well as some initial comments to explain the list) by clicking here.

Advantages 8 and 7 to Sequential Exposition.

8. Hard work is necessary.

    Preacher—The preacher is not able to avoid certainly difficult texts or dance around certain topics. He will be forced to cover that which is difficult when it comes up in the text, forcing himself to depend on the Lord and spend extra time in the text. This hard work in the text can result in sanctification.
    Congregation—Members of the congregation will be forced to think in ways they never have before as they address topics they normally don’t think about. Difficult subjects are addressed before the person goes through them personally, allowing them to be better prepared. By God’s grace, members are prepared in advance for the sanctification that will come through various trials.

7. Eisegesis is limited.
    Preacher—When a preacher chooses his topic and then looks for a passage that supports that topic (ie. What’s a good passage to look at for prayer?), he can be tempted to see this topic as the main point of the passage, even if it is not. However, if the preacher comes to the text, without a predetermined agenda for the text, his odds of reading into the text are diminished.
    Congregation—Members of the congregation are attentive to the Word, not just for the topics covered, but actually to learn what the Word of God says. A person is not tempted to complacency because they feel they have a good prayer life and the text you are covering is on prayer. Members of the congregation are tempted to listen to the text, as they are not sure what the point will be from it.

2 comments:

DL said...

I'm happy to be able to put my endorsement on these two points. They're far better than the last two. :)

danny2 said...

well, most top ten lists go from weakest to strongest.

that's one reason i didn't panic when everyone thought my list stunk!