Written by Sean DeMars, pastor of 6th Avenue Church in Decatur, Alabama

Dear Pastor,

Most of us affirm the value of expositional preaching. But if we’re honest, we’ve also heard sermons—maybe even preached sermons—that carried the label “expository” but missed the mark. They walked through the text verse by verse, included solid theology, and even offered helpful application, yet they somehow failed to say what the text says.

Expositional preaching at its core makes the point of the text the point of the sermon. Nothing more, nothing less. That simple definition has far-reaching implications. In a recent article for TGC, I shared a few common “expository impostors,” and the response I heard was overwhelming: Pastors and church members alike are hungry for the real thing.

So how do we guard our pulpits from subtle expository substitutes? How do we grow in expositional clarity, even as we face the weekly demands of ministry and the weight of rightly dividing the Word?

In the article, I outline four common distortions of expositional preaching, and I also offer a few guardrails to help us avoid them. My aim isn’t to shame but to encourage, to remind us that Christ’s church doesn’t need polished originality or scholarly flair. She needs faithful heralds who will say what God has said with conviction and clarity.

The gospel is powerful. The Word is sufficient. And our task is simple: Make the point of the text the point of the sermon. Let’s keep growing together.

Your fellow preacher,

—Sean