Ep3. Two Ways To Expound A Passage 1 Peter 2 1-3 Web V

Two Ways* to Expound a Passage

*One is usually better than the other! * PCJB PP Presentation devised and prepared at Gujranwala Theological Seminary may be copied for non-commercial use only March 2005

This Presentation… 

Is prepared for use in the classroom (using a

multimedia projector beamed onto a white wall or screen)  

Can be easily adapted by the teacher Allows for class interaction with the text (using

the edit mode for class suggestions, e.g. for “best” lay out of the Scripture text)

Method A:

Method B:

Verse by Verse

Identifying the subject of the passage

- as in a commentary

and then

opening up the passage to reveal

the heart-beat (core message)

EXAMPLE

Expounding 1 Peter 2:1-3

1 Peter 2:1-3

The TEXT

Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House) 1984.

EXPOSITION A. The Verse-by-Verse Method

1 Peter 2:1-3 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ---------------------------------------------------------------------EXPOSITION (Verse-by-verse) 1.

Getting rid of evil habits

     

How to get rid of malice How to get rid of deceit How to get rid of hypocrisy How to get rid of envy How to get rid of slander

1 Peter 2:1-3 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation

2

-----------------------------------------------EXPOSITION

(Verse-by-verse)

The need for spiritual nourishment

  

Babies’ need of milk What is pure spiritual milk? The Word of God? Godly teaching?

Spiritual growth and salvation

 

Different aspects of Salvation (saved from the power of sin, etc)

1 Peter 2:1-3 now that you have tasted

3

that the Lord is good. -----------------------------------------------------------------EXPOSITION (Verse-by-verse)

The goodness of God

 

Experiencing God intimately as Master

EXPOSITION (Verse-by-Verse Method) OUTLINE 

Getting rid of evil habits     



Need for spiritual nourishment  



Babies’ need of milk What is pure spiritual milk?

Spiritual growth and salvation 



How to get rid of malice How to get rid of deceit How to get rid of hypocrisy How to get rid of envy How to get rid of slander

Different aspects of Salvation

The goodness of God 

Experiencing God

EXPOSITION (Verse-by-Verse Method)

Note: 

This method is very good for personal bible study because: 

It uncovers interesting information



It discovers helpful lessons

So what’s the problem? For a sermon:



Too many topics



No indication of how they relate to each other



Fogging the key point And remember...

Jesus, when he taught... 

Did not aim to

impart spiritual information into the minds of his hearers Rather  He aimed to make a significant change in their lives We should too!

EXPOSITION B. The Heart-Beat approach

Preliminary Work

Re-arrange The Text

The UNITS of THOUGHT Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. What are we looking at? Like newborn babies, The Bible is crave pure spiritual milk, carefully constructed (not a so that by it haphazard bundle of verses!) you may grow up We need to in your salvation, consider the structure… now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

The STRUCTURE Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

Heart-Beat approach OUTLINE We ask the following basic questions: • • •

What is Peter writing about here? What does Peter say about this? What is the ‘heart-beat‘ of his message on this subject?

Heart-Beat Approach Over-All SUBJECT

1.

What is Peter writing about here? --------------------------------------------

Spiritual Growth

Heart-Beat Approach TEACHING about Over-all Subject What does Peter say about Spiritual Growth? --------------------------------------------------Are you new born? Then get rid of former evil attitudes 2.

Replace such impulses with spiritual cravings

Heart-Beat Approach TEACHING about Over-all Subject 2a. What else does Peter say about Growth?

Spiritual

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

We should be like babies:  

Crave for intimacy with the Lord Find our satisfaction in the Lord,

not in indulging in bad attitudes towards others 

Work hard at getting such nourishment

from the Lord

Heart-Beat Approach TEACHING about Over-all Subject

2b. Is there anything else Peter says about Spiritual Growth? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

The ultimate goal of Spiritual Growth is entering into our full salvation

Heart-Beat Approach The HEART-BEAT

3.

What is the Heart-Beat of Peter’s message? ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Find your satisfaction

in God and His Goodness alone

Expounding 1 Peter 2:1-3 Question Which message do you want your congregation to have after they leave you? 

Remember...

From Sermon A ? 

Getting rid of evil habits     



Need for spiritual nourishment  



Babies’ need of milk What is pure spiritual milk

Spiritual growth and salvation 



How to get rid of malice How to get rid of deceit How to get rid of hypocrisy How to get rid of envy How to get rid of slander

Different aspects of Salvation

The goodness of God 

Experiencing God

Or

From Sermon B ?



Find your satisfaction in God and His Goodness alone!

Method A: Expounding a Passage Verse by Verse

The Verse by Verse method has these benefits: 

It encourages the preacher to keep to the text and not forget what the passage is saying



It is easy for the preacher to offer some comment on each verse without too much study or work



It enables the congregation to follow in their Bibles (if they have one with them)



It covers the content without missing out important parts

But it also has these disadvantages: 

It can get boring, especially if there are many verses



It easily degenerates into moral lessons and pious platitudes



It fogs the core message of the passage



It doesn’t link the passage to this “heartbeat”



It leaves the congregation with a long list of ideas instead of focusing their attention on the key issue

Expounding a Passage Verse by Verse CONCLUSION 

It is an easy way to preach at short notice and better than not keeping to the text at all But…



As a way of thinking about the passage, it is undemanding and therefore limited in its effectiveness

Method B:

Expounding a Passage

through

Beat

its Heart-

The Heart-Beat Method offers these benefits: 

It makes sure the speaker does his/her homework in preparation



It provides a clear focus for the attention of the congregation



It allows a clear mapping of the rest of the passage instead of a jumble of ideas whose connections are not indicated

Further benefits of the Heart-Beat approach 

Educationally people learn more and better through a focused message, even when a long passage is being studied



Spiritually people are challenged more strongly by one over-arching idea than by a battery of ideas whose connections are not immediately obvious

Another benefit of the Heart-Beat approach



It avoids the temptation to look for moral lessons and pious platitudes in every line

Expounding a Passage through its Heart-Beat CHIEF BENEFITS 

It makes the whole passage come alive



It allows God to speak clearly and directly from His Word

NOTE In either method avoid bringing in other ideas from elsewhere Use other Biblical references only to make clear or re-inforce the heart-beat of the passage

THE END