The Whole Counsel of God

Open: Hallie asking for Cheese Puffs and being told “not until you take more bites of your chicken and your green beans.” Her reply? “no, don’t want it - want Cheese Puffs!”

Open: Hallie asking for Cheese Puffs and being told “not until you take more bites of your chicken and your green beans.” Her reply? “no, don’t want it - want Cheese Puffs!”

Unhealthy eating habits in children can easily lead to health issues as they mature into adults. Study after study correlates junk food diets with obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and blood pressure issues. [There are, of course, children and adults with healthy eating habits who can contract these diseases as well] But in general, poor eating habits translate into poor health.

Transition: While it is not popular with our children, good parents who desire well-balanced, healthy children will insist on healthy eating habits. As those responsible for the well-being of those in our charge, we choose the menu.

In a similar fashion, spiritual health is based on a healthy spiritual intake. A healthy spiritual intake includes all of the spiritual disciplines such as Prayer, Bible Intake, Meditation on the Word, private and corporate worship, fasting, and time alone with God.

This morning we are going to focus on just one of the Spiritual Disciplines, that of the intake of the Word through corporate worship. Corporate worship is what we are experiencing now as the family comes together in one body to worship the Lord together.

We are going to look at several different passages in the Word, but we are going to begin with a selection from . This Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible, and it is divided into 22 sections, each section corresponding to a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Our passage this morning will be verses 9 through 16

READ Text:

The Priority of the Word

The theme of the 119th Psalm is an Exaltation of the Word of God. The Psalmist focuses on the beauty of the Word, the truth it contains, and the life principles it displays. The Psalm also focuses on the benefits we receive as we spend time in God’s Word allowing His precepts to shape our lives. For a Christian who desires spiritual health, the Word MUST have priority in his or her life

While has a personal focus, the same principle applies to the Church as the family of faith. For us to be spiritually healthy, our corporate focus MUST also reflect the Priority of the Word. If we are going to LOVE God Supremely, we MUST have a love AND understanding of His Word - for the Word is the means we have of knowing Him.

This morning I want to share with you my ministry focus for our times together as it relates to the public proclamation of the Word. The pastor of a Church is the person who sets the tone for the congregation in its understanding of the Word. I want to declare that I have the utmost confidence in the Bible. The Bible is the Inerrant, Inspired and Infallible Word of God. Inerrant means the Bible contains no errors; Inspired means the very words are God-breathed, thereby having authority and power; Infallible means that the precepts and promises contained in the Word will work out the way God designed them without fail.

These characteristics of the Bible are True in and of themselves. As a pastor, I believe these truths, but my belief does not make them true. Sadly, there are many men (and women) who call themselves pastors who cannot or will not affirm the statements I just made. They are unfit for Christian ministry! Their unbelief, however, does not affect the Truth and Authority of the Word.

Believing these truths and communicating the truths of the Bible are two different things. There are many men of God who affirm these same truths, but they communicate in a very different manner and style. And that is what I want to discuss in our time together: my style and method of communicating the truths of the Word in our worship services.

are followed correctly, human life will flourish and not drift This January marks the beginning of my 4th year as your pastor. I want to express my thanks for the privilege of serving these past three years, and my prayer is that God will see fit to give us many more years together.

This month marks the beginning of my 4th year as your pastor. So before going any further I want to express my thanks for the privilege of serving these past three years. My prayer is that God will see fit to give us many more years together. As your pastor I desire that you know my belief and confidence in the Word, but also the WHY of how I share it with you.

I have been remiss in not explaining my approach, and I am discovering it has resulted in some confusion, misunderstanding, and in some cases frustration. That is certainly not my intent. As humanly as possible, I want to communicate clearly because the Vision I shared last week will not come to fruition without unity within the body.

Let’s begin with a brief discussion of the different styles of preaching

3 Styles of Preaching

1. Diving Board Method. Approach the Bible already knowing what you intend to say in the message. Find a Scripture text to open the message and then dive into whatever it is you plan to talk about, regardless of what the text of Scripture is about.

Example: Revival pastor at Stony Point who used the text of which is the account of Jesus healing a paralytic who who lowered into the house by his friends. The pastor’s message was on the importance of Sunday School and he ended the sermon with the SS Director down at the front and had the entire church respond to come and pray for him and to publically commit to SS.

2. Topical Method. This approach to preaching is based on a specific topic such as Spiritual Gifts, Marriage, Baptism, Alcohol abuse, Angels, or Heaven. This method starts with a topic (such as Angels) and then gathers the Scriptures that deal with that topic. This method is very popular in Baptist preaching, and it has been, and continues to be very effective.

2. Topical Method. This approach to preaching is based on a specific topic such as Spiritual Gifts, Marriage, Baptism, Alcohol abuse, Angels, or Heaven. This method starts with a topic (such as Angels) and then gathers the Scriptures that deal with that topic. This method is very popular in Baptist preaching, and it has been, and continues to be very effective.

Example: The topical method is the one is used last Sunday to discuss the State of the Church and to present the Vision. It is also the method I am using this morning - this message is on the topic of preaching styles.

3. Expository Method. The expository method of preaching is one that takes the listener through an extended passage of Scripture and unfolds the meaning of the passage in its proper context and then gives application of the spiritual principles that are contained within the text. The Expositional method starts and ends with the text - the preacher doesn’t bring his own ideas - they come from the Word itself

Example: Preaching through the Book of Galatians, The Book of Daniel, the Gospel of John, and the Book of Job.

Understanding Expository Preaching

The Expository method is the one I most typically use, and it is my preferred style of preaching. I have come to realize, however, that I have not ever explained this to you as a congregation. So I want to take the time to explain to you more fully my understanding of the pulpit ministry and why I preach this way.

To begin, I want to read an excerpt from an article that highlights how expository preaching is central to a Church’s health.

“The most important distinguishing mark of a healthy church is expositional preaching. It is the most important because careful and thorough preaching of God’s Word will bring many other blessings to a church. Without expository preaching, other signs of health may be accidental. They may be discarded or distorted all too easily because they did not spring from the Word, nor are they continually being reshaped and refreshed by it. But if you establish the priority of the Word, then you have in place the single most important aspect of the church’s life. With the Word established, a church may experience growing health; without the Word, a church’s health is imperiled.” (Mark Dever, “Why Topical Preaching can never build a healthy Church”)

Strengths of Expository Preaching

The listener gains an understanding of the text in the manner the original author intended. Developing the text in context guards against errors. Preaching through the Gospel of John in context with guard against error when dealing with verses such as “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it” () When taken out of context you end up with prosperity preachers claiming they drive Ferrari's and Lamborghini’s because they asked God for them.

Preaching through the Bible in an expository manner will also prevent a preacher from avoiding certain issues. When a pastor relies solely on the topical method of preaching he can avoid any issue that he doesn’t want to preach on, such as Hell, divorce, alcohol, sexual immorality, election, or church discipline. The Expositor deals with the issues that are presented in the text as they arrive. This helps the pastor “proclaim the full counsel of God” () as Paul shared with the elders of the Church at Ephesus. If God thought an issue was important enough to be included in His book, then we should be aware of it, and how He would have us to live out our faith accordingly.

The expository approach also guards against personal agendas coming through the sermon. When the text focuses on a controversial issue such as divorce, the message is then on divorce. The message on divorce, however, is not directed at a specific couple who is experiencing marital problems that the pastor may have just heard about it.

The expository method will also help the listener develop a better understanding of the Word as a whole. Many Christians now about a lot of the “pieces,” but they are not aware of how they “fit” into the big picture. A practice that helps learners navigate the Word more faithfully should be embraced.

Dangers of Expository Preaching

While expository preaching has many benefits, there are some potential negatives, and I want to discuss them as well.

Stale Preaching. Going verse by verse through a book of the Bible can become boring and stale. If the pastor is not careful, the sermon can turn into a running commentary and the listener is presented with just a bunch of information.

No reliance on the Holy Spirit. This complaint centers on the idea that planning a series of messages is just not spiritual. Advance planning implies a lack of dependence upon the Holy Spirit. If the pastor knows what he is going to be preaching on 4 to 6 weeks in advance, he is just operating in the flesh.

I totally disagree with this thinking! I can see how a listener can be reach this conclusion, but I do not think it is automatically valid. [Granted, it is possible, and when there is a rigid unwillingness to alter the plan in any way, pride and arrogance are in view]. But what this belief actually means is that the prayer and preparing of the pastor doesn’t count