Sometimes topical preaching turns the Bible into a self-help manual for our own immediate agendas. Instead of hot topics, our sermon series are shaped by doctrine. Following the historic church calendar from Advent to Pentecost ensures that we cover the basic principles of Scripture every year. In summer we preach on a particular book of the Bible. It never ceases to amaze us how the Spirit applies predetermined passages to our ongoing crises.

If we isolate verses from their context, we risk reading into the Bible something that is not there. It is better to read a passage within the whole narrative of Scripture. So preceding the sermon, we read aloud two passages from the Old Testament and two from the New. The main text is preached in relation to these other texts.

Specific application points at the end of the sermon can easily bog us down with more to do to be spiritual. Rather than telling us just what to do, the pastor invites us to submit to the Word for our life in silence before God. It might be an attitude to confess, a commitment in faith to make, or a situation that calls for obedience to God’s plan.