And they read from the book, from the law of God, translating to give the sense so that they understood the reading.
Nehemiah 8:8
One of the main distinctions of Acton Faith Bible Church is its commitment to the expositional preaching of the Word of God. What does this mean? In a nutshell, the following minimal elements identify expository preaching:
- The message finds its sole source in Scripture.
- The message is extracted from Scripture through careful exegesis. (An exegesis is the interpretation and understanding of a text on the basis of the text itself.)
- The message preparation correctly interprets Scripture in its normal sense and its context.
- The message clearly explains the original God-intended meaning of Scripture.
- The message provides Scriptural application for today.
Consider the English word group: “expose, exposition, expositor, expository.” According to Webster, an exposition is a discourse to convey information or explain what is difficult to understand. Application of this to preaching requires that an expositor be one who explains Scripture by laying open the text to public view in order to set forth its meaning, explain what is difficult to understand, and make appropriate application.
Therefore I testify to you this day, that I am innocent of the blood of all men. For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.
Acts 20:26-27
(Adapted from Rediscovering Expository Preaching, Richard L. Mayhue)