What I mean by preaching is expository exultation. Preaching Is Expository Expository means that preaching aims to exposit, or explain and apply, the meaning of the Bible. The reason for this is that the Bible is God’s word, inspired, infallible, profitable—all 66 books of it. The preacher’s job is to minimize his own opinions and deliver the truth of God. Every sermon should explain the Bible and then apply it to people's lives. The preacher should do that in a way that enables you to see that the points he is making actually come from the Bible. If you can’t see that they come from the Bible, your faith will end up resting on a man and not on God's word. The aim of this exposition is to help you eat and digest biblical truth that will * make your spiritual bones more like steel, * double the capacity of your spiritual lungs, * make the eyes of your heart dazzled with the brightness of the glory of God, * and awaken the capacity of your soul for kinds of spiritual enjoyment you didn’t even know existed. Preaching Is Exultation Preaching is also exultation. This means that the preacher does not just explain what’s in the Bible, and the people do not simply try understand what he explains. Rather, the preacher and the people exult over what is in the Bible as it is being explained and applied. Preaching does not come after worship in the order of the service. Preaching is worship. The preacher worships—exults—over the word, trying his best to draw you into a worshipful response by the power of the Holy Spirit. My job is not simply to see truth and show it to you. (The devil could do that for his own devious reasons.) My job is to see the glory of the truth and to savor it and exult over it as I explain it to you and apply it for you. That’s one of the differences between a sermon and a lecture. Preaching Isn't Church, but It Serves the Church Preaching is not the totality of the church. And if all you have is preaching, you don’t have the church. A church is a bod

John Piper on preaching.