Tag Archives: Peter Adam

Nothing can prevent a preacher with enough will and creativity from insisting on his hobby horses. John Stott retells the story of the Baptist preacher

“who had such pronounced views about baptism that he simply could not leave the subject alone. One morning he announced his text, ‘Adam, where art thou?’ He then continued, ‘There are three lines we shall follow. First, where Adam was; secondly, how he was to be got from where he was; and thirdly and lastly, a few words about baptism.’ ”

Even the best preachers are tempted to emphasize their favored subjects or to skip over the hard texts! But systematic expositional preaching does impose some much-needed discipline upon the pulpit and the preacher … and on the congregation too for that matter. After all, we may want our pet subjects addressed. We may believe that our priorities ought to be the priorities of every sermon (and of every other church member). But when preacher and hearer alike learn to submit themselves to the text, and the next, and to the one after that, we are spared from imbalance and idiosyncrasy. Peter Adam put it well when he said,

“Expository sermons help us to let God set the agenda for our lives. The danger of topical preaching is that it implies that we know what is important! Expository preaching lets God set the agenda in an obvious and public way.”

Expository Preaching (Blessings of the Faith), David Strain