Why verse by verse?

Why verse by verse?

I’ve been asked several times ‘Why do you spend so much time going verse by verse through passages when you preach’.   They don’t always use these exact words but you get the idea of what people are asking.  My answer is simple, ‘I don’t know any other way.  I wouldn’t, nor couldn’t, come up with ideas each week for people which would transform their lives?’  You see there is great restorative and transformative power in the gospel and the only way to unlock that truth and power is by allowing the passage to express it’s own meaning, less we bring our own muddled and self centered agenda to the pulpit. Self help talks and a continual diet of topical messages have made for an anemic church not able to stand against the attack of post modern thinking or a confused eclectic view of Christianity in which a simple belief in God and tacit acknowledgement of Jesus is enough to qualify one for the celestial city.  The scriptures are clear, God has been, is, and will continue to write His redemptive story for all creation and that since the beginning of time.  We are participants in that story and recipients of His grace which is bringing us full circle to a perfect restored creation.  And unless we allow Him to tell His story through His Word, we will continue to have a man centered message in which God acts simply from our requests and our interests, saving us simply for our benefit and not His glory and purposes. Read Albert Mohler’s piece for a better explanation. Sola Scriptura