Have You Heard Of 9 Marks?

I happened across 9 Marks site today, I have heard of them, they do wonderful work in helping Churches. If you are not familiar with them 9 Marks is a reference to the 9 marks of a healthy church. What caught my attention today though was the first mark. The first mark of a healthy church is expository preaching. Do you know how many people would disagree with this? It boggles my mind to think of the number of churches out there that think mishandling the word of God does not qualify them for the unhealthy church heap. My pastor in St. Louis said once, "It is okay to preach a topical sermon now and then as long as you repent immediately afterward." Do you get it? Deciding what you want to preach about and then going to the scriptures to find support is exactly the opposite way of rightly dividing the word of Truth. That is where eisegesis becomes one's focus instead of exegesis. I simply will not understand those who do not understand that expository preaching is actually the only kind of preaching there is. If you are not preaching expository sermons guess what? You are not preaching.