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ForSBCReform said:
That makes a bit more since. I have found simple topical preaching to be a scourge on the SBC and the foundation for the seeker sensitive movement within our denomination. I think that there is a place for it, but as a singular style it leaves a lot to be desired.
Actually, "Topical Preaching" is a legitimate method to make known God's truth. It simply means preaching from the various passages of Scripture that teach that specific topic. However, I believe what you are complaining about, and rightly so, is that many men are preaching "topics" and not expounding the actual texts in their respective contexts. Paul's admonition is to "preach the Word".... not some topic, which in most cases today is "moralizing".

The failure to preach "expositorily" doesn't belong only to contemporary, seeker-friendly churches. Many Dutch Reformed churches are likewise guilty, at least those who still adhere to the old tradition of preaching through the 52 Lord's Days of the Heidelberg Catechism. Instead of "moralizing" or telling funny stories, etc., they preach the Catechism, an uninspired document. I can't tell you how many ministers in those denominations I have conversed with and suggested that rather than preaching the Q & A of the Catechism, that they take one or more of the "proof-texts" that undergird them and preach from those texts; expound the Word of God. In this way, everyone not only is the purpose behind Catechetical preaching realized, but by preaching the Word of God itself, the promise of the Holy Spirit working in and through it is fulfilled and thus those who hear are blessed.

In His Grace,

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simul iustus et peccator

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