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Exposition has long been understood as a means by which the teaching of God’s Word is made plain (exposed) and applied to the lives of contemporary listeners. Less well appreciated is the conviction that such preaching must focus upon the person and work of Christ. The conviction that every biblical text is ultimately christological is a driving concern for Bryan Chapell. The subtitle of the book: "redeeming the expository sermon" carries a double meaning for the author. Chapell wants to put a fresh emphasis upon redemption as a theme for biblical preaching. He also wants to redeem the practice of expository preaching itself. The book presents a fresh emphasis upon the classic themes of biblical preaching, dealing with the standard categories of explanation, illustration, and application. Not too much fresh ground here. Perhaps the greatest strength of the book, however, is it’s emphasis upon what Chapell calls, "the fallen condition focus" (see below). I once heard Keith Willhite from Dallas Seminary close a meeting where Bryan Chapell had preached. Willhite admitted, "the problem with hearing Bryan preach is that my fallen condition became all too well focused." That will make for good preaching. It is not a bad book either.
Excerpt: Since God designed the Bible to complete us, its contents necessarily indicate that ins ome sense we are incomplete. Our lack of wholeness is a consequence of the fallen condition in which we live. Aspects of this fallenness that are reflected in our own sinfulness and in our world’s brokenness prompt Scripture’s instruction and construction. Paul writes, "Everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope" (Rom. 15:4). The corrupted state of our world and our being cry for God’s aid. He reponds with his Word, focusing on some facet of our need in every portion. Our hope resides in the assurance that all Scripture has a Fallen Condition Focus (FCF). God refuses to leave his frail and sinful children without guide or defense in a world antagonistic to their spiritual wellbeing. No text was written merely for those long ago; God intends for each Scripture to give us the "endurance and encouragement" that we need to today. The FCF is the mutual human condition that contemporary believers share with those to or for whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage. (page 41-42)