How to Write an Expository Sermon in 7 Steps

To write an expository sermon, you choose a passage, study it in its context until you can state its main idea in one sentence, shape your points from the passage's own structure, and then explain, illustrate and apply each part so the congregation hears what God said then and what it means for them now. The seven steps below take you through that process from start to finish.

Expository preaching is simply preaching that lets the text set the agenda. It is not tied to one style, denomination or sermon length. Whether you preach in a large sanctuary or a living room, the goal is the same: make the meaning of the passage plain and press it home. If you want the definition in more detail first, read what is expository preaching.

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

Nehemiah 8:8 (KJV)

Ezra and the Levites give us an early picture of the task. They read the law distinctly, gave the sense, and caused the people to understand. That is expository preaching in one sentence.

How do you make an expository sermon? The 7 steps

1. 1
   1. Choose a complete passage

   Pick a natural unit: a paragraph in an epistle, a scene in a gospel, a whole psalm. If you are preaching through a book, the next section chooses itself.

2. 2
   2. Read it many times

   Read slowly, out loud, and in a few translations. Write down what you notice: repeated words, commands, contrasts, questions, surprises.

3. 3
   3. Study the context

   Ask who wrote it, to whom, and why. Look at what comes right before and right after. Context protects you from making a verse say what it never meant.

4. 4
   4. Trace the flow and find the main idea

   Break the passage into its movements. Then write one sentence that captures what the whole passage is saying. This is your big idea.

5. 5
   5. Shape the outline from the text

   Turn each movement of the passage into a point. The order and emphasis of your sermon should follow the order and emphasis of the text.

6. 6
   6. Add explanation, illustration and application

   For each point, explain what it means, show it with a picture or story, and apply it to the people who will be sitting in front of you.

7. 7
   7. Write the introduction and conclusion

   Open by raising the need the passage addresses. Close by restating the big idea and calling for a response.

Steps 1 to 3: choosing, reading and studying the passage

The temptation for a busy pastor is to skip straight to the outline. Resist it. The hours you spend reading and studying are where the sermon is really born. Points that come from careful reading are clearer and easier to preach than points you invent.

• Keep a notebook open. Write every observation, even the small ones. A repeated word may turn out to be the key to the passage.
• Use cross references wisely. Let other passages clarify your text, but do not let them take over the sermon.
• Consult a commentary last. Do your own observations first, then check them. You will preach with more conviction.
• Pray as you study. Ask the Lord to open your eyes to his Word and to show you the needs of your people.

Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15 (KJV)

Step 4: how do you find the main idea of a passage?

The main idea, sometimes called the big idea or central truth, has two parts: what the passage is talking about, and what it says about that subject. A good test is whether you can say it in one breath. If it takes a paragraph, keep working.

Here is a quick exercise. Imagine someone asked you after church, what was the sermon about? Your answer to that question should be your big idea. If you cannot answer it now, the congregation will not be able to answer it later.

Step 5: how do you outline an expository sermon?

To outline an expository sermon, look at how the passage moves. A narrative usually moves through scenes. An epistle moves through arguments and commands. A psalm moves through stanzas or shifts in mood. Each movement becomes a main point, and every point should support the big idea.

Write the points as full sentences first. Later you can shorten them into memorable phrases. Keep them parallel where possible, and make sure each one is tied to specific verses so the congregation can follow along in their Bibles. Our guide on how to outline a sermon includes a template you can use for this step.

An expository sermon example: Mark 4:35-41

Here is a complete expository sermon example built with the seven steps. The passage is the calming of the storm.

Context: Jesus has just spent the day teaching in parables about the kingdom and the seed of the Word. Now the disciples, who heard the teaching, face a test of faith on the water. Mark's question in verse 41 drives the whole scene.

Big idea: Jesus is Lord over the storms that terrify us, so we can trust him even when he seems silent.

Then they cry unto the LORD in their trouble, and he bringeth them out of their distresses. He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still. Then are they glad because they be quiet; so he bringeth them unto their desired haven.

Psalm 107:28-30 (KJV)

Psalm 107 shows why the disciples were so amazed. In the Old Testament, it is the Lord who makes the storm a calm. Mark wants us to see that Jesus does what only God does.

Introduction idea: describe a moment when a situation slipped out of your control. Everyone has one. Then read the passage and ask what the disciples learned about Jesus in theirs.

Conclusion idea: return to the question in verse 41. Ask the congregation, who is Jesus to you in your storm this week? Invite them to pray, Lord, I believe; help me trust you here.

Step 6: explanation, illustration and application

Expository preaching is sometimes accused of being dry. It does not have to be. Explanation tells people what the text says. Illustration helps them see it. Application helps them live it. When all three are present in each point, the sermon is both faithful and warm.

Step 7: the introduction and conclusion

Write these last. Once you know what the passage says and how you will preach it, you can open with a need that the text answers and close with a clear call. Keep both short. Two to four minutes each is plenty for most sermons.

The best expository sermons do not feel like lectures with a verse attached. They feel like a guided walk through Scripture with a friend who knows the path. When you follow these seven steps week after week, your people will not only learn the passage you preached; they will learn how to read their Bibles for themselves.