What is preaching?

In the video for this lesson, Dr. Ingersoll gives a crisp definition of what preaching is:

He then unpacks this definition with three descriptions of preaching:

1. Preaching is expository and explanatory.

Preaching educates the people of God by explaining what the word of God says. It equips the body of Christ with the knowledge it needs for the church to do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12). While teaching and explaining take place in other contexts in the church as well, teaching is also one component of preaching.

When you look at the sermons in Acts, they regularly involve the recounting of Israel’s story. These sermons show that what is happening at this moment in time is part of a much larger story, one that goes back to before the creation of the world. Stephen’s sermon in Acts 7 tells the story of Israel from the time of Abraham to the building of the temple.

When the sermons of Acts address a Jewish audience, they are filled with Scripture references. The first sermon of Acts 2 has a long quote from the Old Testament book of Joel. Paul’s sermon in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia is similarly sprinkled with Scripture. 

The preachers of Acts also “contextualize” their sermons. Paul’s sermon to the Athenians quotes Greek poets and uses illustrations from the city of Athens. When Peter is preaching to the Gentile Cornelius, he starts with comments on the situation that led up to the sermon. So while sermons are about truth in general, they also typically have an “address” on them – those to whom the preacher is speaking.

2. Preaching is exhorting and exalting.

In Scripture, preaching is never mere lecturing. There is an audience to whom the preaching is addressed. The sermons we read about in Acts are generally evangelistic. However, each sermon is tailored to fit the context. There is a destination for the message. God wants each individual in each context to know what God wants them to do and be.

When Paul speaks at the synagogue in Antioch of Pisidia, he is asked if he has a “word of exhortation” for the assembled group (Acts 13:15). This is the lead into his sermon there. The book of Hebrews similarly calls itself a “word of exhortation (Heb. 13:22), leading many scholars to suspect that the book of Hebrews was actually a sermon.

Indeed, all of Paul’s letters were read out loud to their intended congregations as words of exhortation. Most scholars think that Phoebe delivered Romans to the congregations at Rome – that is, Phoebe was the “preacher” of Paul’s Romans sermon (Rom. 16:1). Similarly, Sosthenes may have “preached” 1 Corinthians to the church at Corinth (1 Cor. 1:1).

Clearly, these “sermons” went beyond information. They exhorted these congregations. Timothy or Epaphroditus likely delivered Philippians to its house churches, bringing them great encouragement.

3. Preaching is Christocentric.

Rev. Ingersoll emphasizes the “Christocentric” nature of preaching, meaning that Christ stands at the heart of every Christian sermon. In the sermons of Acts, the climax is always “God raised Jesus from the dead” (e.g., Acts 2:32). Every sermon in Acts leads to this climactic moment except for Stephen’s sermon. He would have gotten there if they hadn’t stoned him to death.

It is a reminder that Jesus is the Word of God (John 1:1, 14). Scripture gives witness to Jesus. Preaching uses Scripture to give witness to Jesus.