Preaching: Topical or Not?

I had a good conversation last week with some guys who were asking about preaching philosophy. Should we preach topical sermons or expositional sermons (where you preach primarily passage by passage through entire books)?

In short, my answer to them was "yes." (If the topic bores you, now you know and can move on without reading any more).

I think as pastors we have a responsibility to help people grasp Scripture in such a way that they're able to understand and apply it themselves. If all we ever do is sermons that are solely topical: "How to have a better Family" or "How to Win at Work," but never help people understand Scripture in its context, we run the risk of stunting their growth. Not that family life and winning at work aren't good things, but the whole principle of giving a man fish vs. teaching a man how to fish applies here.

If we're not helping people know how to understand and apply Scripture in its original context on Sundays, we're fighting a losing battle. There aren't enough Sundays in the year to hand feed people the application they need to be well-rounded Christians. In some sense, preaching needs to expose people enough to the process of understanding Scripture that they can replicate it on Monday and Tuesday during their own personal times.

The other challenge to be wary of when we limit sermons only to topical sermons is that we run the risk of missing the point... the point of the Scripture is not simply how to have a great life here. A large focus of Scripture is on the reality that this isn't all there is, so our application and vision need to point our eyes to something bigger than just life this week.

On the other hand, there can be a danger in spending 4 years preaching verse by verse through the Gospel of John. Our congregation knows John, but misses a bigger view of Scripture. And that can lead to stunted growth too, when our people know how many times the Greek word pisteuo is used in John, but couldn't tell you what the Bible says about the challenge their family is facing this week. The trees are great, but the forest as a whole is spectacular as well.

I think there has to be a balance somewhere. Topical sermons must be preached in such a way that the congregation understands the teaching of the text rather than just the creativity of the pastor. Expository (passage-by-passage) sermons must be preached in such a way that the timeless depth of Scripture is exposed as alive and powerful our lives today.