THIS IS WHAT WE BELIEVE

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Preaching is central to the ministry of Bethel.

The Apostle Paul wrote that, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16). In other words, God has given us everything we need to know about salvation and our purpose in life in the Bible.

The pastor has been given a mandate by God to preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching (2 Tim 4:2). At Bethel, we believe that the best way to learn the Word of God is to study it the way it was written, one verse at time. At Bethel we teach/preach the Word of God verse by verse and book by book. In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us that man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4 NIV).

For over 2,000 years the Christian Church was built upon this dependence upon Scripture! We believe that this same practice should be continued today. There are a lot of Bible believing churches today but few Bible teaching churches. At Bethel, our goal is to preach/teach the Word of God as it was given to us one book at a time.

What is Expository Preaching?

Answer: Expository preaching involves the exposition, or comprehensive explanation, of the Scripture; that is, expository preaching presents the meaning and intent of a biblical text, providing commentary and examples to make the passage clear and understandable. The word exposition is related to the word, expose, the expository preacher’s goal is simply to expose the meaning of the Bible, verse by verse.

Expository preaching grounds the message in the text so that all the sermon points are the points in the text, and it majors in the text major ideas. It aligns the interpretation of the text with the doctrinal truths of the rest of the Bible. The unfolding (exposition) of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple Psalm 119:130 (ESV).

10 Reasons for Expository Preaching:

1. Expository preaching is obeying the command of Scripture to Preach the Word! (2 Timothy 4:2).
2. Expository preaching imitates the practice of the apostles and Christ.
3. Expository preaching introduces the congregation to the entire Bible.
4. Expository preaching teaches people how each part of the Bible fits into the overall storyline of salvation.
5. Expository preaching teaches people how to read their Bibles.
6. Expository preaching helps the church maintain a balanced, spiritual diet, and guards it against false teaching.
7. Expository preaching unleashes the transforming, life-giving power of God’s Word and helps to grow the believer into full maturity. 
8. Expository preaching gives authority to the message. Preachers that just try to be “cutting-edge”, or fill their sermons with endless stories, lose authority. The authority of the sermon is not in the suggestions, stories, or observations of the preacher. Authority comes from God’s Word.
9. Expository preaching is God-centered not man-centered!
10. Expository preaching prevents preachers/pastors from having a personal agenda and prevents them from avoiding the difficult subjects in the Bible.