How preachers motivate others to be holy (the chief concern of the last theme of the previous section) is often the telltale sign of Christ-centered preaching. Legitimate concern for the necessity of obedience has historically caused much criticism of grace-centered preaching because it is difficult to remove obedience as a qualification for divine

Personal abilities. Even though you want your knowledge and skills to grow, there is no good reason to jump into an expository series on Ezekiel or Revelation if you do not yet have the background to handle accurately its contents.

By phrasing the application’s instruction with the key terms of the explanation, preachers help listeners not only understand why they were listening to the explanation but also connect the instruction of the preacher with the authority of Scripture.

The true gospel proclaims that obedience itself is a blessing that results from God’s love for us.

Closely related to narration is description. With this form of explanation, a preacher describes a word, a scene, a character, or a situation in such a way that listeners are better able to understand a text.

Although they contain little raw information, transitions greatly contribute to the thought of a message—aiding its flow, progress, and beauty. Skilled transitions are often the distinguishing mark between mundane messages and excellent sermons.

The structure detailed in this section exhibits certain instructional principles without intending to suggest that there are no other proper expository forms. At the same time, this structure can serve as a standard without making its specifics normative.

Although homileticians vary over the best time to write an introduction, most preachers begin to construct an introduction after they have roughed out a sermon’s outline, and then they continue to hone its elements as their preparation progresses.

Reflective. The path to implicit aspects of the gospel of grace that are imbedded in every biblical passage does not require tortuous expeditions of logic or theological safaris to remote mountains of higher learning.