Why we preach verse by verse.
Our pastor doesn't preach topical sermons chosen week by week. Instead, he works through books of the Bible one passage at a time. This is called expositional (or expository) preaching. Here's why.
What expositional preaching actually is.
Expositional preaching means the sermon is driven by the Bible passage, not the other way around. The pastor picks a book of the Bible, works through it passage by passage over weeks or months, and lets the text determine what gets taught.
In practice: if we're in the book of Romans, the sermon on November 1 is the next verses after the ones preached on October 25. If a passage raises a hard question, the pastor addresses it. If a passage talks about money, we talk about money. If a passage talks about suffering, we talk about suffering. The agenda is the Bible's.
The opposite of this is topical preaching, where the pastor picks a theme ("marriage," "anxiety," "generosity") and finds verses to support it. Topical preaching has its place. But expositional preaching is our regular diet.
Three reasons we preach this way.
1. It keeps us accountable to the whole Bible, not just our favorite parts. If I only preach what I feel like preaching, I'll avoid passages I find difficult or convicting. If I preach through books, I have to deal with every verse, including the ones that challenge me and my congregation.
2. It lets Scripture set the agenda. Our goal is not to say what we want to say with the Bible as a prop. Our goal is to let the Bible say what the Bible says. Expositional preaching is the simplest way to make sure that happens.
3. It teaches people how to read the Bible for themselves. When a congregation watches a pastor open a passage, examine the context, explain what it meant to its original hearers, and apply it to today, they learn how to do it themselves. Over years, a congregation under expositional preaching becomes a biblically literate people.
What a Shearer sermon looks like.
A typical sermon runs 30-35 minutes. The pastor reads the passage aloud, then works through it with three to five main points drawn from the text itself. He explains any unclear terms, gives context, and traces how the passage fits in the larger argument of the book and the whole Bible.
Then he applies it: what should this passage change about how we think, how we live, how we worship, how we treat our families, our neighbors, our enemies?
Then he closes with the gospel: how the passage ultimately points to Jesus Christ and the good news of grace through faith in Him.
No PowerPoint. No video illustrations. No funny opening story. Just the text, carefully explained, faithfully applied, pointing to Christ.
Sample a sermon.
If you want to know what Shearer preaching sounds like before you visit, our recent sermons are available on YouTube and BoxCast. See the Watch page for the archive.
A good first sermon to listen to: whatever the pastor preached last Sunday. If that doesn't grab you, listen to one from six months ago. If you still don't connect, pick one from a different book of the Bible. The style stays the same, but a passage from Romans will land differently than a passage from Ecclesiastes.
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