In his sermon, Jason Dohm discusses the church's commitment to sequential expository preaching, which is a method that emphasizes preaching the Bible in a structured, continuous manner. Dohm highlights the sufficiency of scripture, stating that the Bible alone is necessary for understanding how to live a life pleasing to God. He stresses that while all scripture is true, the central message revolves around Jesus Christ and His redemptive work, which should be a constant theme in church gatherings. Dohm elaborates on different types of preaching, focusing on expository preaching, which involves explaining the meaning of scripture in a clear and organized way, and sequential expository preaching, which follows the text in its natural order. He argues that this approach helps to maintain the integrity of the scripture's original flow of thought, prevents the preacher from deviating into personal opinions, and ensures that the congregation hears the Word of God. Dohm illustrates his points with examples from biblical figures like Jesus, John the Baptist, and Paul, all of whom were preachers. He emphasizes the importance of being diligent in studying and understanding scripture to faithfully convey God's message. The sermon concludes with applications encouraging believers to insist on expository preaching and for preachers to remain diligent in their study and delivery of God's Word.

Title of the sermon this morning is our commitment to sequential expository preaching. We have embarked on 12 weeks considering our core commitments and or distinctives. Sometimes they're core commitments that are distinctives that set us apart from other local churches, sometimes they're just core commitments, sometimes they're just distinctives. I'll be using that terminology all through the 12 weeks. We began with the sufficiency of scripture that we began there on purpose.

All we have is the Bible. All we need is the Bible. If we were marooned on an island and we just had the Bible, we would know how to build a life together and how to walk with the Lord and how to build lives that please Him, how to worship Him. We wouldn't need a second book for those things. Last week we continued to the centrality of the gospel.

All of the Bible is true, but the Bible has a center. And who Jesus is and what He has done on behalf of sinners is the center of Scripture. We should never be far from the good news of Jesus Christ in any of our meetings. A lot of true things will go unsaid from one week to the other, but one thing that should never go unsaid is that Jesus has made a way for sinners to be made right in the eyes of God. So may that be heard every week that we gather.

This week we're considering our commitment to sequential expository preaching and I'm gonna actually be working and thinking about sequential expository preaching. I'm going to be working backwards and getting more specific as we go we are committed to preaching and then a specific kind of preaching expository preaching and even a specific kind of expository preaching, sequential expository preaching. So we'll start broad with our commitment to preaching and then we'll just keep getting more and more specific. So without further ado, Let's ask God to help us and embark on the topic. God, thank you for the opportunity to open up our Bibles, to hear from you.

Thank you that you have given us this mighty revelation of truth to tell us all these things that we wouldn't know if you haven't given us the scriptures. Thank you for them. Thank you for preaching and I pray that this would be a time that's really helpful in helping us understand preaching. Pray in Jesus name, amen. We're going to begin with our commitment to preaching.

So we're starting broad. Please open your Bibles to 1st Corinthians chapter 1. I'll be reading 1st Corinthians 1 verses 20 through 25. Paul talks about preaching and he acknowledges that if you're not part of the people of God, it's foolishness. So we should probably start by saying that.

Preaching isn't a category that can be appreciated by people who don't know God through Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 20 through 25. Paul writes, where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age?

Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God. It pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign. Greeks seek after wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness.

But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Now, tell me, what do you Christians do again on Sundays? Well, we gather every Sunday, yes, every Sunday. What do you do when you gather?

Well, we sing and we pray, we observe something called the Lord's Supper and we have preaching. What's preaching? Well, somebody stands up front and opens up the Bible and explains something to us from the Bible. And of all those things that we do when we gather, the biggest time slot goes to the preaching. That's what you do with your day off.

And this thing called preaching gets the biggest time slot. Foolishness. Now most of us have lived in Christian culture long enough that we don't go through that sequence, that conversation with the person who is unfamiliar with these things. But really, from the outside looking in, It really is a very strange thing. They don't understand what we do with this day.

They don't understand why we do those things on this day or why we would give sort of the place of honor during that time to preaching, though each of those things is precious. Before we go farther, let's define the term. What exactly is preaching? The word that we say is preaching is a translation of the Greek word kairouso. I won't spell it because I'm not sure I could do it without looking right at the iPad And if I did it doesn't look like it sounds and so you you wouldn't remember it anyway But K Russo is the Greek word And it literally means to be a herald, to publish or proclaim openly.

The idea is that of a town crier, the one sent into the city square to say, everyone, hear the words of the king. He cries out. He's not a weeper. He's not weeping. He's not a town crier in that sense.

He's one that goes out and cries out. The king says this. The King would have you know this That's what preaching is very simply it is to herald to be the town crier that goes out to Proclaim the words of the king and if the town crier goes out and he says his own words, oh, is he in trouble? He might lose his job or way worse than losing his job. You can't stand in the city square to say the king said this when the king didn't say that.

Oh that's asking for such trouble. And the New Testament is filled with preachers and with preaching. The New Testament personalities, the key personalities of the New Testament are preachers, comprehensively preachers, and so much of the content is actually the content of these messages, these sermons, they're preaching. John the Baptist was a preacher. Listen to Matthew 3 verses 1 1 through 3 Matthew chapter 3 verses 1 through 3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying Repent for the kingdom is at hand for this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah saying The voice of one crying in the wilderness.

There's your town crier the voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, make His path straight. God the King sent the town crier, John the Baptist, to say, the King says, make way for the Messiah, make ready for the promised Savior. Jesus was a preacher. We think of Jesus for his work on the cross and for his many miracles. We're more likely to think of see him on the cross in our mind's eye or To think of him as one who raised from the dead or gave sight to the blind hearing to the deaf healed the sick and And that's right.

We don't have life that is work on the cross. So I'm not bemoaning those things, and the most interesting, exhilarating things to read in the New Testament, to study in the New Testament, is to watch Jesus raise the dead or give sight to the blind. I'm not denying any of that or bemoaning any of that, but I would say this. His miracles were largely authenticating signs for his preaching. They were the stamp of God to say, this man is speaking the words of God.

So when he raised the dead or gave sight to the blind, you knew this was not the thoughts of a man. This was truth revealed from God and God was authenticating every word that he said by giving him the power to do miracles. Of course, we know that Jesus was God. In His earthly ministry, more than anything else, Jesus was a preacher. Now think about that claim.

Next time you read through any of the Gospels, test me on this and see if it's not true. Jesus in His earthly ministry, in what is recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, more than anything else, Jesus is a preacher. It's everywhere. Matthew 4, 17. From that time, Jesus began to preach and to say, repent for the kingdom is at hand.

Matthew 423, and Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and Healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people Matthew 9 35 It's almost exactly the same words, but Matthew repeats it so I'll repeat it Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. Matthew 11 verse 1, now it came to pass when Jesus finished commanding his twelve disciples that he departed from there to preach in their cities. Jesus' public ministry was a city to city public preaching tour. Mark 1, 38 and 39, but Jesus said to them, let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also because for this purpose I have come forth Jesus came forth why to preach that seems like a stretch to you mark didn't think it was a stretch Jesus didn't think it was a stretch so that that's what he said let us go into the next towns that I may preach there also town to town to town to town, because for this purpose I have come forth to reveal truth from God, to be a herald of truth." And he was preaching in their synagogues throughout all Galilee and casting out demons and on and on.

I stopped in Mark chapter 1, gave you most of what's in Matthew on the topic, stopped in Mark chapter 1. It's more of the same in Mark, it's more of the same in Luke, it's more of the same in John. Jesus said of himself, he who rejects me and does not receive my words has that which judges him. The word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. Listen to this, for I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me gave me a command what I should say and what I should speak." Even Jesus in the incarnation was the town crier in that sense to come say this is the Word of God these are none of my own words now this is a mystery of the Trinity I don't understand how all this works together but I don't need to we can quote the the text and know that they are true Jesus said I have not spoken on my own authority.

The Father who sent me gave me a command what I should say and what I should speak. It's John 12, 48 and 49. The disciples were preachers. Mark 3, 14 and 15. Then Jesus appointed 12 That they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach why the disciples To be with Jesus and so that he could send them out to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons.

Mark 16 verse 15. And Jesus said to them, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature Paul was a preacher in Fact Paul said this in first Corinthians 1 verse 17 listen to this Paul first Corinthians 1 verse 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. Why did Christ send Paul? Paul tells us exactly. He didn't send me to baptize, he sent me to preach.

Paul was a preacher because Jesus sent him to preach. Paul was primarily a preacher because Jesus sent him to preach. And in his preaching he was not a fancy orator. You or I could have understood Paul just fine if we spoke Greek or Hebrew. He was not a fancy orator.

He said, Christ did not send me to preach, to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. You can believe Paul was a plain spoken preacher. My favorite J.C. Ryle story is that when he was made Bishop of Liverpool in the ceremony where he was installed as the Bishop of Liverpool, a woman in the crowd, just a commoner in the crowd, A woman in the crowd said, that man can't be a bishop. I understood every word he said.

He can't be a bishop. I understand him. That is the highest praise for a preacher. That someone with just a very normal or even a substandard education could understand every word that you say if they can't it's a shame I should have come armed with some Spurgeon quotes. He has some humdingers on that, but I didn't.

So we'll move on. So the central characters of the New Testament were all preachers, all of them. And We have many of their sermons because those words are the words of the king. They came to stand and say Everyone here's what the king says That is what a preacher is to do. And so when Paul writes to Timothy who is ministering in a local church, he says preach Timothy preach That's my translation Let's move on to that text so Our commitment to preaching starting to broad our commitment to preaching is because that is the New Testament commitment.

And preaching Christ is at the center of that. Not all preaching is created equal. Preaching Christ, the centrality of the gospel is central to preaching for sure. Moving to our commitment to expository preaching, to a specific kind of preaching and that specific kind is expository. Turn to 2nd Timothy 3, The text that was read for the sermon Second Timothy 3 I'm gonna read 16 through 4-7.

Again, 2 Timothy 3, starting in 16. All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reprieve, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season.

Convince, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine but according to their own desires because they have itching ears they will heap up for themselves teachers and they will turn away their ears from the truth and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things endure affliction do the work of an evangelist fulfill your ministry so what is scripture it is the inspired word of God All scripture is given by inspiration of God. It means literally God breathed. This book is God breathed.

Okay then what should we do with it? We should preach it. It should be preached. It should be heralded. It should be proclaimed and published openly.

The town crier should go out into the city square and cry out, hear the words of the king, and then give these words in Ezekiel 20 verse 47 God says to the prophet say prophet say this hear the word of the Lord thus says the Lord God Scripture gives a preacher the ability to say that. Hear the word of the Lord, thus says the Lord God. And then give these words. And to say that with confidence. Aren't you glad somebody can stand and say that?

Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord, and what they say will be what God has said. It will be the Word of God. Now back up to verse 13. I didn't read this earlier but look at it.

2nd Timothy 3, 13, but evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived but you. So it's a warning. Evil men and imposters are going to come and deceive others and be deceived themselves. But Timothy, you're not like that. You continue in the scriptures.

They are the inspired words of God preach the Word of God it is the antidote to the poison of false teaching So is there false teaching out there? You bet there is. What's the... Is it poison? You bet it is.

What's the antidote? The preaching of the Word. It's not just preaching. It is the preaching of the Word of God. It's not me or anyone standing to give their own thoughts.

It's me charged to say based on the Word of God, hear the Word of the Lord, thus says the Lord. For the word of God is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." That's Hebrews 4 verse 12. What a treasure we have in the Word of God. What a shame when a man stands to give his opinions on a topic when we have the Word of God. That is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart.

A preacher doesn't have any other resources that fit any description that's like that. Therefore it ought to be proclaimed and published openly. It ought to be heralded. Expository preaching is simply preaching where the meaning of a text of scripture is the subject of the sermon. That's what expository preaching is.

The meaning of a text of scripture is the subject of the sermon. That's what expository preaching is. The meaning of a text of scripture is the subject of the sermon. The text drives the organization of the sermon, drives the content of the sermon. To exposit, expository preaching, to exposit is simply to unfold the meaning to expand it so that it's thoroughly understood to explain to make clear it's preaching that the whole point of it the whole object is to make clear what the the text of scripture is saying that's the whole job Make it clear in an expository sermon the preacher is simply a servant of the text the The preacher is simply the slave to the text The text is the boss Whatever the text says the preacher is supposed to say.

Whatever the text means, the preacher is supposed to explain. In Nehemiah chapter 8, the people are gathered, the whole nation is gathered in Nehemiah chapter 8. And they tell Ezra, the scribe, to bring the book. This is what the nation gathers and they say bring the book of the law of Moses and Ezra is Lee is reading the law to the people and listen to Nehemiah 8 verses 7 and 8 the Levites helped the people to understand the law. And the people stood in their place.

So they read distinctly from the book in the law of God, and they gave the sense and helped them to understand the reading. So it's this great gathering of the nation in Nehemiah chapter 8 and they are reading the law but they're doing more than that. They're helping the people to... The Levites who have been studying the law, memorizing the law, are helping the people to understand what it means. They're unfolding it for them.

They're clarifying and explaining what it means. This is what expository preaching is. Expository preaching is about God having his say to his people through his word God has centered our gatherings around him having his say to his people through his word. He wants us to hear him. He wants to speak.

He has spoken. Scripture is never to be an afterthought in the middle of a self-help sermon. I'll say it again. Scripture is never to be an afterthought in the middle of a self-help sermon. Seven tips for a better marriage, four pillars to financial freedom.

There's a place for all of that, but that is not the core function of a preacher of the Word of God. It is to say what God has said, to make it clear, to make it plain. Will it help you with your marriage? Yes. Will it help you be financially free?

I trust. Is that the job of the preacher? No way. Scripture is to be the centerpiece of the sermon. The sermon structure should be the text structure.

The sermon's meaning should be the text's meaning, thoroughly explained and applied. The point of the sermon should be the point of the text. Now back to 2nd Timothy for a moment. Listen to what Paul says in 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 15 2nd Timothy 2 verse 15 he says this to Timothy be diligent to present yourself approved to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed rightly dividing the Word of truth so by the time we get to chapter 4 in him saying preach the Word by the way he doesn't just say preach the Word he says I charge you as a man who's going to stand and be judged by God. Preach the word.

He has already said, be diligent to present yourself, approve to God a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. An expository preacher is to be a diligent worker who labors hard to handle the word of truth in a way that is approved by God so he doesn't have to be ashamed of what he's doing. He serves the text and in doing so he is approved by the God of the text. Don't put distance between God and His Word. A man who serves the text is a man who is serving the author, and I don't mean Paul or Moses, I mean God Almighty.

That's the job description of anyone who stands in this pulpit, of anyone who stands in any pulpit to serve the text and in doing so be approved by the God of the text. To be diligent, to rightly divide that word that God has given to his people. Listen to 1st Timothy 5 verses 17 through 18. 1st Timothy 5 verses 17 and 18. Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.

For the scripture says, You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain and the laborer is worthy of his wages." What is that saying? That is saying that we as the Lord's people should find some men whose walk with the Lord demonstrates maturity and who are sound in their doctrine, and we should buy their hours and send them off to go deep on a text of scripture and then on Sunday morning to bring us along, bring us into everything that they learned. That's what God is calling for in this text. Okay, we need to find somebody who has demonstrated mature Christian character and who sound in their doctrine and we're gonna we're gonna buy up their hours we're gonna buy up their daylight hours to go away and to study the Word of God to be to do diligent work to make sure that they're getting it right, to go deep in their study of the Word of God, and then to bring us along when we meet on Sundays. That's what Paul was calling for there.

So we've had our commitment to preaching, our commitment to expository preaching, now finally our commitment to a sequential expository preaching, the most specific. A topical sermon can be an expository sermon where the preacher organizes the message around a topic and brings together different scripture passages on that topic to teach what the Bible says about that topic. Topical sermons can be tremendously Topical sermons can be tremendously valuable and we need that kind of preaching. So a hearty amen from me on my own statement. Well, whatever.

But those kinds of sermons, topical sermons, like this sermon, tend not to go as deep into any one of those passages because the objective is not to get into the ins and outs of each passage but just to draw out what the passage teaches us about the topic. That has been on display in the sermon. If I was teaching, if I was doing a sequential expository preaching sermon on this text, we would have gone through each section leading up to this text and we'd be going deep on this text in a way that I haven't at all in this text because this isn't that kind of a sermon. I would be talking extensively about what it means that Scripture is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction and righteousness. I'd be defining every one of those things and applying every one of those things.

I don't have time for that today. This is a topical sermon. We've been to other places. We're going to other places. It's not the purpose.

Sequential expository preaching is what has been our steady diet for all 13 years of our existence, and that is on purpose. Sequential expository preaching. Going in sequence. The last book that we just finished, Romans, here it was. Romans chapter 1 verses 1 through 7, the beginning of a sequence, The beginning of going in order.

Then Romans chapter 1 verses 8 through 15. Then Romans chapter 1 verses 16 and 17. Just two verses in that one. Boy, they were great verses. Not ashamed of the gospel, that's that one.

Then Romans chapter 1 verses 18 through 23. Then Romans chapter 1 verses 24 through 32. One chapter, five sermons going in sequence, section by section, and going deep on every section and building. The second sermon built on the first, the third sermon built on the first and the second, and so forth. And that's really true of all of Romans.

Now, do I have a chapter in a verse that says we have to do that? No, I do not. But it is certainly preaching the Word, certainly fits that description, and it keeps us tied to the author's flow of thought. These books of the Bible aren't random assortments of facts. It is a flow of thought.

It is a logical sequence. And you can do a beneficial sermon on the seventh link in the chain and it can have its place, but it's a different thing to do the first six links in sequence. The seventh link looks different to you then. That is sequential expository preaching. It keeps us tied to the author's flow of thought and keeps us connected with the context both immediate, the context, what just got said before this passage and what's going to be said right after that passage.

Should we know that? Should we consider that when we're looking at this passage? Of course we should. And the overall theme and context of the book. It is the best way to go deep, not just for a single sermon, but for a long string of sermons.

Because the authors are building. They're building. You can track with them as they build. We get the most. We think we get the most when you track with the authors of each book of the Bible as they build.

We are in the middle of 12 topical sermons and that seems like an eternity to me, Especially when the AC is off. Because I'm never happier and I never feel safer than when we're doing sequential exposition. Why? Because I know there will be less of my thoughts when I do sequential exposition. And I'm acutely aware that my thoughts are not what we need.

We need the Word of God. This topical series is not the norm for us, but even so, our year 2024 will be 75% sequential expository preaching and 25% everything else. And this is a strange year where we're doing a lot more other than we normally would I bet you can't find Another year of our 13 where we've done this much and we're still overweight on this 75% to 25% Applications Give you two and then pray for the food. Not quite. Application number one, Wherever you are, whatever church is your home church, insist on expository preaching and consider favoring sequential expository preaching.

Now why do I say it like that? Because some of the greatest preachers in history didn't do sequential exposition though they were brilliant expository preachers. Charles Furgin is one of them. He didn't go book by book, chapter by chapter through by and large. So I wouldn't tell you not to go to his church.

If he were alive in Metropolitan and Tabernacle, we're next door, we'd probably all go there and be well fed. Wherever you go, whatever church is your home, insist on expository preaching and consider favoring sequential expository preaching. It's so safe. It's so safe for the preacher, for the hearers. Listen to Amos 8 verses 11 and 12.

It'll break your heart. Amos 8 verses 11 and 12, Behold the days are coming says the Lord God that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread nor a thirst for water but of hearing the words of the Lord. They shall wander from sea to sea and from north to east, they shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord, but shall not find it. A commitment to sequential expository preaching is a safeguard that we do not enter a famine of the Word of the Lord. Because we know next week we're coming back to the Word of the Lord, the next section.

It's what the people of God need, the word of the Lord. Two, pray for James and I to be diligent, sequential, expository preachers. Sovereign Redeemer Community Church needs to hear from God. I think you'll hear more from God if James and I are diligent sequential expository preachers and endeavor to be a diligent sequential expository hearer. Is there such a thing?

Of course there is. You know, you can come and go and not remember a single thing that's said. Brilliant sequential expository preaching, I don't like claiming any of that, but brilliant sequential expository preaching can fall on deaf ears. There is as much in the hearing as there is in the preaching. You should give yourselves, we should give ourselves to being diligent hearers of the Word of God and to want As the preacher goes deep and works to bring us into that to go deep with him.

God, thank you for your word. Pray that it would be honored in preaching. I pray that as we work through books of the Bible, chapter by chapter, section by section, that you would, oh God, please come and speak to us. Save us from our own thoughts and our own ways. Pull us up to your thoughts and your ways through the preaching of your word, I pray in Jesus name, amen.