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CJH Venter

Subject Group: Practical Theology

Faculty of Theology

Potchefstroom University

Potchefstroom

South-Africa

E-mail: kwscjhv@puknet.puk.ac.za

Abstract

Expository preaching - a re-evaluation for today

In this paper research is directed at a re-evaluation of expository preaching for today, especially in the view of two recent contributions in the field of Homiletics. A re-evaluation of the exegetical and homiletical methods utilized in expository preaching is also undertaken.  It is recommended that an overarching model be utilized in which the processes of exegesis, hermeneusis and homilesis each plays its full part in compiling expository sermons in an effort to communicate with contemporary audiences. 

1.  Introduction 

Within the broad field of Homiletics, scientific research today takes place on two levels in particular, the level of the so-called hermeneutical -homiletics and, due to this research, expository preaching is also being reconsidered. Research in the field of hermeneutical-homiletics,  with reference to that of, for instance, Craddock (1978, 1979 and 1985), Buttrick (1987 and 1994), Dingemans (1991) and, in South-African context, Vos (1995), Pieterse (1979, 2001) has contributed valuable information. Fresh views have been formulated that ought to be discounted for further research. BUT: it is exactly these considerations that necessitate a re-evaluation of expository preaching since they create very specific critical questions on the practice of expository preaching. Buttrick (1994, p.82) for example questions  the manner in which themes are chosen and treated under specific sub-headings in sermons. He argues that neither the theme nor the  division readily flows from the "moves and structures" of the sermon text itself. Breuninger (1993, p.21) puts the critical question whether an unconditional acceptance of the so-called historical-critical exegesis as a condition for expository preaching is not overly one-sided. Willhite (1992, p.355) states that not all proponents  of expository preaching view application as a condition for expository preaching, which leaves it open to become "…merely pedantic explanation, almost to the extreme of being an oral commentary." 

This paper is an endeavour to contrubute to the discussion. The research hypothesis is that a re-evaluation of expository preaching can contribute to a process or method  for preparing sermons that will do full right to the Word of God and to the congregations of today. 

2.  An evaluation of a selection of definitions on expository preaching 

Definitions of expository preaching vary widely (Keith, 1975, p.13-41 and p.275-291). Some define it with a strong focus on the preaching text in context: "It is emphatically not preaching about the Bible, but preaching the Bible". It begins in the Bible and ends in the Bible and all that intervenes spring from the Bible" (Mayhue, 1990, p. 117 and Lawson, 2001, p.199-200). Other see expository preaching  as the art of preaching a series of sermons (vid. Bryson, 1995, p.39-40). A third group state that a text for an expository sermon should more or less be a full chapter from Scripture (vid. Keith, 1975, p.30). 

Evaluation  

One aspect common in the definitions, is the central position afforded to the Bible (i.c. the sermon text). This should be evaluated positively. God is to have the Word (Allen, 2000, p.514-515), the Word of God and not the person of the preacher lends authority to a sermon (vid. Swank, 1990, p.9-10) and in this way expository preaching also offers  a pastor the opportunity of proclaiming the full counsel of God over a longer period. 

On a more critical note the question should be put whether the use of the historical critical method, widely accepted as the best if not the only method for expository preaching, is not an inherent onesidedness? What about the integration of other recognised exegetical methods like  thought structural analysis, repetitive patterns and figures of speech, sociological exegesis etc.? 

A second question is whether these definitions  sufficiently relates to the person and spirituality of the preacher. Should the congregation not see and experience in which way the sermon text went through the mind, heart and experiential life of the minister before it is shared with the congregation? (vid Bras, 2000, p.302-313, Robinson, 2001, p.25-27). 

A last critical point raised about certain definitions of expository preaching is whether the text is applied or applied strongly enough to the world and the circumstances and personal religious lives of the congregation members. (vid. Robinson, 2001, p.27-30; Chapell, 2001, p.199-211). Such a question  may seem strange because the Word of God, and therefore sermons based on the Word of God, are per definition and should be directed to the reality of life. In the proposed guidelines there will be dealt more extensively with this matter. 

Based on these questions and evaluation of a selection of definitions, expository preaching is taken to mean for our purposes the preaching of a particular smaller or longer thought unit from Scripture, utilizing acknowledged methods of exegesis to open Scripture and after experiencing personally what the message of that praticular preaching portion is, the preacher is called to apply it concretely to the congregation in their situation. 

3.  An evaluation of two more recent perspectives on preaching 

In this section attention is devoted to perspectives of Craddock and Buttrick. A mainpoint in the Homiletics of Craddock is that a deductive method of preaching should be rejected, since it is used in a sermon to move from a general truth to an elaborate application or experience. Such a sermon does not do justice to the Scriptures (i.c. the text for a sermon) (Craddock, 1979, p.54-55). The theme of a deductive sermon may or may not come from Scripture. Very often the Word is used only to illustrate the chosen theme. In this way the authority of Scripture is undervalued (vid. Eslinger, 1989, p.95-96). A further dimension in deductive preaching is that it relegates the congregation to a passive role of listening and rationally agreeing with the sermon without being actively involved and working with the sermon.(Craddock, 1979, p.56). A further point of comment is that deductive preaching does not leave room for "structure and movement" of the text itself (vid. Eslinger, 1989, p.06). In this way both theme and structure are forced into the sermon text from outside like a strait jacket. Thus the only "move and structure" being discounted in deductive preaching is the bridging between the subsections of the sermon. 

Craddock further criticises the way in  which language is used in preaching. In the place of so called rigid language, he states that more emphasis should be placed on the inductive method of preaching, making use of metaphors (Craddock, 1989, p.123-124) to create a personal "experience" in the listener. The role of the preacher now becomes one of guiding each congregation member in how to listen to the sermon and react to it. 

Evaluation of Craddock's point of view

From Craddock's criticism it is quite obvious the he uses the term deductive preaching for referring to what was earlier known in Homiletics as thematic (rather thematistic) preaching, where a theme, not derived from the preaching text, was chosen and forced into the text. Craddock's criticism on deductive preaching is legitimate. Care should however be taken not to confuse deductive preaching with expository preaching. In expsitory preaching the theme of the sermon is formulated as the main kerugma of the preaching text and applied within the situation of today. 

One should also appreciate that Craddock gives such a prominent place to Scripture and to his effort to take the congregation along as the sermon unfolds Scripture. Also his viewpoint on using language to guide the  congregation in experiencing the Word. The question however is whether sufficient consideration is given to the fact that for example the narrative is a specific literary genre and as such , also is the mediator of a specific kerugma. Is the emphasis not sometimes placed one-sidedly - for the sake of experiencing the sermon - on how the congregation is to identify with a specific figure or figures from the biblical narrative? Is enough juistice done to the element of godly revelation? 

The viewpoint of Buttrick

Buttrick's viewpoint on preaching is closely connected to that of Craddock when he (Buttrick) states on earlier methods of preaching: "We distilled topics from biblical passages. We looked at some selected biblical passage objectively and then, as if the passage were a still-life picture, we took out something to preach on, namely a subject matter, some aspect of the passage as a topic (Buttrick, 1994, p.80)." 

What was lost in this process? "Why,we lost the whole story. We discarded both narrative structure and, in non-narrative passages, the rhetoric of structural movement." (Buttrick, 1994, p.82). Texts are like moving films not like a still-life picture. Texts " display movement of thought, events or image." (Buttrick, 1994, p.87). Each sermon pericope has its particular logic, intention and moves and structures. During the homiletic process the question should therefore be asked to why a certain author used a certain literary form in his writing and how he used it in his writing? The moves in the sermon should be analogous to that in the text. "Preaching is replotting the plot of the text" (Butttrick, 1994, p.86). 

Evaluation

 The fact that Buttrick has drawn our attention (again) to the function of moves and structures and to their performative nature in the homiletical process, should be regarded positively. It is necessary however to find a method to enable preachers to analyse the moves and structures and to transfer them to the homiletical process in a scientific controllable manner. 

It is also important to ask the question whether every preaching text can be analysed from the perspective of moves and structures? Do they for example always manifest in wisdom literature, which proclaims practical and realistic wisdom, or in Psalms, which echo a poet's experience of distress and danger, or of God's care and support?. 

4.  Perspectives on the method of expository preaching 

Most authors incorporate the overarching method for compiling expository sermons in a few key concepts. Holgate (1993, p.232), for instance, proposes that: "The first is to work at understanding the biblical passage we are to preach on, and the second is to express that understanding creatively in a way that our hearers will appreciate and remember". 

Bugg (1993, p.417) uses three questions as an umbrella scheme in the method of expository preaching. He states them as follows: What does the text say? What does the text say to me? What does the text say through me to the congregation? 

Chapell (1995, p.6) delineates the methodology for expository preaching as: "Word presentation, explanation and exhortation" on the grounds of the three-fold structure of preaching given in the New Testament. 

These facts are valuable as synoptic components for the process of compiling a sermon. The practice of expository preaching necessitates more elaborate indications or guidelines, however; guidelines in which not only specific steps for the practice are proposed, but which also make provision for the person of the preacher and the situation of the congregation (vid. Buttrick, 1987, p.173-234). 

These guidelines should not be interpreted as a rigid pattern, but rather as processes related closely to each other, and sometimes even overlapping. These processes can be summarised as the actions of exegesis, hermeneusis, and homilesis. 

The process of exegesis refers to the work the preacher undertakes to determine what a Bible writer meant to say and communicate to the first readers in the past (then there); what his purpose was, and how he went about attaining it (vid. Chapell, 1995, p.4). This is why the process of exegesis should not only include the so-called historical-critical method, but should also make use of other recognised exegetical methods to determine what lived in the mind of a specific author. Leading hermeneutical principles should be: no writer writes with the purpose of not being understood and the Bible itself is transparant. "A text cannot mean, what it has not meant" (Robinson, 1997, p.23).  

The second action in the process of compiling a sermon, that of hermeneusis, is in the heart and mind of the preacher contingent on the first, namely the process of exegesis. Hermeneusis does not in the first instance refer to hermeneutics as such. Today, hermeneutics focuses on the study of the action of understanding texts. Hermeneusis, on the other hand, refers more to the (explanatory) bridging of the text from the past to the present, within the specific circumstances prevailing at the moment. The process of hermeneusis is a movement of the text from the past to and over a bridge to the present. On the bridge, the text from Scripture and the text from life meet one another. Here a hermeneutical interaction occurs between text and (current) reality and thus the century old message is translated to the present (vid. Venter, 1996, p.15; Holgate, 1993, p.232; Müller, 1996, p.62-63). 

The third action in the process of expository preaching is that of homilesis. This means that the sermon is given form in accordance with the structure and movement of the text and how the text is explained, over the bridge of hermeneusis, to reach the congregation of today. 

4.1  The process of exegesis in the preparation of expository preaching 

Beforehand, it should be stated that the first requisite in the whole process of exegesis, hermeneusis, and homilesis, is that of prayer (vid. Holgate, 1993, p.233; Mayhue, 1990, p.121). This is motivated by the fact that the Holy Spirit is the first author of the sermon text and that He knows best what exactly He wanted to communicate to the first readers through the writer (vid. Bugg, 1992, p.16). In Romans 8 the work of the Holy Spirit is very emphatically linked to prayer. The Holy Spirit wants to be asked what his purpose with a specific text is. Additionally, the exegete, despite being re-born, still has restricted insight and a sinful heart - therefore the prayer for self-emptiness and humility (Blackwood, 1982, p.55). 

·        Choice of text 

Expository preaching needs neither a whole chapter from the Bible as a text for a sermon, nor ten to fifteen verses from the Bible.  The prerequisite for the choice of a text is that it should form a complete idea unit epitomising God's revelation. A text for a sermon is a door, but a very specific door, to the central contents of the whole Scripture. 

·        The first reading of the text 

The preacher should undertake the first reading and re-reading of the text in his or her mother-tongue. "All faculties of the mind and heart are open, with no concern for what one ought to think, much less what one will say later in the sermon. This is the time to listen, think, feel, imagine and ask" (Craddock, 1979, p.105). Holgate (1993, p.232) concurs by saying that each part of the preacher's vision is as it were involved in the process of comprehension: the eyes (read, understand, study), the nose (being critical towards yourself), ears (listen to yourself, the church, the world), the mouth (articulate), and the heart (continuously in prayer to understand). 

This is also the moment when the "big idea" of the preaching portion is established by means of pinpointing the subject and complement (Litfin, 2001, p.84-85; Robinson, 2001, p.31-45; Willhite, 1999, p.13-24; Gibson, 1999, p.63-72). A refined formulation takes place at the end of the process of exegesis. 

It is exactly at this level - before the formal exegesis is initiated - that the person and spirituality of the preacher, his pre-suppositions, the depth of his religious life, and his communion with the Gospel, come in line. All focus on the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the preacher. "As the expositor studies the Bible the Holy Spirit studies him" (Robinson, 1982, p.24). 

This is the exact reason why the preacher, during the first re-reading of the section in which the text occurs, repeatedly asks the question: What does this part say to me, in my own relationship with God? Where does this text touch and wound me? Where/How does this text console me? How can I relate what this text does to me to the congregation (vid. Venter, 1999, p.191 and further; Kruger & Venter, 2000, p.185 and further). 

·        Formal exegesis of the sermon text 

As a preliminary, it has to be stated that a comprehensive exegetic paradigm is still lacking. Different exegetic methods lead to different viewpoints on the text.  The so-called historical-critical approach was taken to be the (only) acceptable method, with some variations, in expository preaching for many years. Later, the more literary approaches followed, for instance, discourse analysis, reception theory, and semiotics (Vos, 1995, p.229-234). In this regard, Long (1994, p.7), among others, also plead for more attention to be given to the performative nature of language. "In a biblical text something is said in order to accomplish some purpose; texts are inserted in social systems with the intention of levying a force on those systems to create change. Meanings in texts occur at the intersection between what is said and the forceful intention embodied in the language of the text". 

From the study up to this point, there is no doubt that the literary forms of sermon texts have been afforded little attention in expository preaching up to very recently. "Hence much of their expository work has lacked clarity and interest, beauty and force" (Blackwood, 1982, p.123). 

This statement implies that literary methods in the exegesis of expository preaching warrant urgent attention, as does the so-called sociological exegesis in which questions like the following are posed:  Who were the people to whom the text was first adressed - what were their religious, socio-cultural, political, and socio-economic contexts?  What interpersonal relationships took place in that society?  What was the characteristic structure of the social relationships? (Vos, 1995, p.239). 

The other steps in the exegetic process will now be explained. 

·        Determining the genre of the text 

Genre "... provides clues to the potential effect of the text" (Long, 1994, p.9). It relates to what has been said about literary form.  In the Old Testament, for instance, narrative, prophetic, and lyrical texts can be differentiatied (Greidanus, 1988, p.200) and in the New Testament, evangelical, historic, letters, and apocalypse (Vos, 1995, p.274). 

·        Scopus of a sermon text 

Here a differentiation needs to be made between the narrower and the wider scopus of a sermon text. The wider scopus asks about the place of the specific sermon text in a Bible book, in a sub-section of a Bible book, and in a specific bigger unit (for instance a chapter of a Bible book). It is important to identify the theme of a Bible book, since it discloses the central thought pattern of the author who wrote the book. The nearer or narrower scopus is determined, on the other hand, by dividing the pericope in which the sermon text appears, into bigger thought units and asking which sections precede and follow upon the specific text (Thompson, 1987, p.59). Conjunctions, for instance because, therefore, then, play a cardinal role in the explanation. 

·        Structure of the sermon text 

A sermon text is not only placed within a specific wider or narrower scopus, but is also poured in a specific syntactic structure so that the author can attain the aim he envisages (Venter, 1996, p.18). 

Not only the syntactic structure, but also the semantic structure (called by some the thought structure) is of importance for understanding a text (Louw, 1979, p.99 and further). Here the focus is on the surface structure to determine specific contours in, for instance, the pericope or chapter from which the sermon text is taken. 

Coetzee (1983, p.2) speaks of a thought structure in which, for instance, a specific pericope is re-written with only one verbal piece or component in a specific line. Thus, a text can be seen in its wider contours and movement, for example, with reference to repetitive patterns, parallellisms, reversed parallellisms, and also figures of speech. This method offers a controllable way of determining, what Buttrick calls the "moves and structures" in a sermon text. A sermon text has life and movement and an idea structure enables the exegete to reach this in-depth structure from the surface structure. 

·        Key concepts in a sermon text 

A specific concept does not always and everywhere have the same meaning in a sermon text. One can indeed speak of something like a core meaning, but the meaning of a concept (for instance, grace, justice, love) in a sermon text is mostly determined by the position in which the expression or concept is used. Syncronic and diacronic analyses of concepts in a sermon text are important aspects of the exegetic process. 

·        The telos of the text of the sermon 

As final phase of the exegetical process, the preacher should ask the question: What purpose did the Holy Spirit have when he had this text of the sermon written in this book of the Bible? What did the Holy Spirit wish to communicate? What does the Holy Spirit want to work in my heart and in the hearts of the congregation with this text? Such, and similar questions, reveal the uniqueness of every text for a sermon.  Without such questions, the text of any sermon is used as a generalisation and very bluntly (Chapell, 1995, p.4). Determining the purpose the Holy Spirit has with a specific text, also poses the purpose the preacher has with his sermon.  After all: the preacher’s aim with his sermon may never differ from the Holy Spirit's aim with the text. Adams (1982, p.31) differentiates three general aims of sermon texts "… to inform, to convince (to believe or disbelieve) or to motivate" (Adams, 1982, p.31). 

4.2  The process of hermeneusis in the preparation of expository preaching

The process of hermeneusis enables the text from the Word to move closer to the text from life, and the text from life to move closer to the text in the Word. This meeting takes place on the bridge of hermeneusis. Here the hermeneutical interaction between the two texts (from the Word and from life) takes place. The text from the Word puts aglow and changes the text from life, such as when fire glows through iron and changes it. 

The key question in the process of hermeneusis is: Which lines flow from the sermon text to the world and circumstances of today? Strydom (1989, p.23-37) names as lines of continuity, the fundamental unity in the canon of Old and New Testament, the trinitarian character of God’s revelation, and the kerygmatic nature of Biblical history. 

The single most important line of continuity between Old and New Testament is in the work of the Triune God. It is one and the same God who discloses Himself in the context of the sermontext, who once again addresses the person of today in his context and through the same sermon text. In the process of hermeneusis, the key question is, therefore, what does God disclose of Himself in this sermon text (for instance, of his creation and maintenance (Father), of his redemption (in Christ), and what does this text work in the heart of the preacher and the congregation (Holy Spirit))?. 

The following line of continuity can be described as"... the depravity factor". "... God remains the same and human depravity remains the same. Our depravity may look different, but it's the same pride, obstinacy, disobedience" (Robinson, 1997, p.24). Where and how does the line of depravity manifest in this text as a line of continuity? 

The third aspect that manifests in the process of hermeneusis, are the dimensions of indicative and imperative. God discloses himself not only in the Gospel. He often discloses himself in a certain way, i.e. through the structures of indicative, imperative, and promise in the Gospel. Indicative indicates God's complete work in his creation; imperative, what God demands from minister and congregation on the basis of his (God's) deeds in the life of the congregation (vid. Cilliers, 2000, p.46-81). The promise element contains God’s reliable promise of mercy, but also his promise of punishment (Venter, 1996, p.22). 

The balance between indicative, imperative, and promise is necessary in an expository sermon. Should only the indicative be preached, it can rock the congregation to sleep fatalistically.  If the imperative is preached, separated from the indicative, it ends up in moralism (the law separated from grace). When the promise element is preached one-sidedly, the focus can be on the eschatological dimension to such an extent that the life and situation of the congregation here and now are not taken in consideration. 

4.3  The process of homilesis in the preparation of expository preaching 

Earlier in this section, homilesis was described as the process that gives form to the sermon after, and based on, the processes of exegesis and hermeneusis. 

Due to the scope of the article and the quantity of available literature, not every aspect of form, such as transfer of the sermon and feedback, can be attended to in this final sub-section of the article. The focus will therefore be placed on the aspects of form-giving that were uncovered during the course of this research, and which are deemed important for the form-giving of expository preaching. 

·        Theme 

The theme is determined from the telos of the Holy Spirit, with a specific sermon text from a specific part of Scripture. The theme of an expository sermon does not come externally like a strait-jacket to the text, but summarises the kerygma of the text in the language of today. This implies that the theme should not get bogged down in the process of exegesis, but should cross the bridge and be formulated in terms of today, as the "homiletical big idea" in the sermon. 

·        Introduction 

In an expository sermon, the purpose of the introduction is to reach the theme of the sermon as soon as the text of the sermon allows. The first sentence is important since it has to draw the attention of the listener, but should not be formulated in a dramatic or shocking manner. An effective point of departure in actual expository preaching, is to commence with the life experience of the congregation, such as by asking a relevant question.

 ·        Division

 In expository preaching the sermon structure does not necessarily have to be divided into two or three parts. The division should follow logically from the text as "moves and structures" and should be communicated to the congregation as such. It should be remembered that the structure of the sermon is to serve the congregation and is no strait-jacket for the text of the sermon. 

·        Application 

In the application the interaction between the sermon text from the Gospel and the circumstances of the congregation is formulated concretely for the congregation. 

The following questions can be posed: 

v     What is the specific situation of the congregation?

v     Which language and images are part of their life environment and world of work, and how can these be used in the sermon?

v     Which religious deficits still exist in the congregation and how can the faith of the congregational members be developed?

v     What choice should the congregation be able to make after this sermon?

v     What is the application level of the sermon text in and for:

·        the personal religious life of the congregation;

·        the situation in the church;

·        the issues in the environment, country, and

·        for the kingdom of God. 

·        Conclusion 

The conclusion should not contain any new material, but should be a key summary of the kerygma of the sermon, thus sending the congregation from the worship service in the church to the worship service in life itself. 

·        Congruence 

Of overarching, but cardinal interest for giving form to expository preaching, is the pre-requisite of congruence between what is disclosed during the exegesis, what is discounted in the hermeneusis, and what realises in the form-giving of the sermon. Should this congruence be lacking, between exposition and application for instance, the unity of the sermon is harmed and the Word cannot penetrate reality in accordance with the purpose of the text. The same congruence should be visible in the formulation of the theme, the introduction, the classification (rather movement) in and from the text, and the ending. 

5.  Summarising statements 

Based on the re-evaluation of expository preaching, the following key statements can now be formulated: 

·        Expository preaching reflects the basic structure of sermons in the Old and New Testament.

·        Expository preaching respects the authority of the Scripture and, therefore, also guides the congregation in their communion with the Word.

·        The prevailing exegetical method functioning in expository preaching, the so-called historical-critical method, should be broadened to improve the congregation’s understanding of the text of the sermon.

·        In expository preaching, the personal communion of the minister with God and with the Bible - as well as how the text of the sermon affected him/her - should be visible to the congregation.

·        The modi relevant to compiling expository sermons, are those of exegesis, hermeneusis, and homilesis.

·        The language, situations, deficits, and choices the congregational members have to make, determine the direction of the application of the sermon text. 

Bibliography

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32.   H.J.C. Pieterse, Skrifverstaan en Prediking (Pretoria: NG Kerkboekhandel, 1979).

33.   H.J.C. Pieterse, Prediking in 'n Konteks van Armoede (Pretoria: Unisa, 2001).

34.   H.W. Robinson, Biblical Preaching. The Development and Delivery of Expository Preaching (Tennesee: Abingdon, 1982).

35.   Haddon W. Robinson, Biblical Preaching. The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2001).

36.   H. Robinson, "The heresy of application," Leadership, 21/23 (1997): 21-23, Summer.

37.   W.H. Shepperd, "A rickety bridge: Biblical preaching in crisis," Anglican Theological Review, 20/2 (1998): 3.

38.   J.F. Stitzinger, "The history of expository preaching," The Master's Seminary Journal, 3/1 (1992): 5-32.

39.   M.C. Strydom, Eksemplaries-heilshistories? Voortsetting van 'n onvoltooide gesprek (Bloemfontein: VCHO, 1989).

40.   C.J. Swearingen, "Homiletics and hermeneutics: the rhetorical spaces in between," Studies in the Literary Imagination, 28/2 (1995): 1-12.

41.   J.G. Swank, "Excitement about expository preaching," Leadership, 9 (1990): 11, Fall.

42.   Thompson, Preaching Biblically exegesis and interpretation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1987).

43.   C.J.H. Venter, "Prediking en die konteks van die eerste teks," in Prediking Kommunikasie in Konteks, M. Nel, ed. (Voortrekkerhoogte: Makro, 1996), 14-26.

44.   C.J.H. Venter, "Die spiritualiteit van die bedienaar met verwysing na sy toerustingstaak," In die Skriflig, 33/2 (1999): 187-202.

45.   C.J.A. Vos, Die blye tyding (Pretoria: RGN, 1995).

46.   K. Willhite, "Audience relevance in expository preaching," Bibliotheca Sacra, 149/594 (1992): 355-369.

47.   Keith Willhite, "Big Idea Preaching: Why a Single Idea Lands the Best Punch," in Keith Willhite and Scott Gibson, eds. The Big Idea of Biblical Preaching (Grand Rapids, 1998): 13-24.

48.   H.W. York and S.A. Blue, "Is application necessary in the expository sermon?," Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, 3 (1999): 70-84.