Licht op het pad. Over exegetisch verantwoord preken

Samenvatting

Trustworthy preaching depends on careful exegesis of the text and the subsequent
hermeneutical transformation of the exegesis into a sermon. This hermeneutic move can be described from four different perspectives. First: the preacher should handle the preaching text as a compass for life today. In giving us the Bible for daily use daily God provides us not only an ancient history book but also a relevant book for believers today. This the sermon must demonstrate. Second, preachers should select the text of their sermon in such a way that a) it serves the audience’s context, b) it has sufficient homiletical weight, and c) it is a proper periscope understood in its close context. Third, the preacher should use the preaching-text as a window on a) the whole Bible and b) the reality of God’s work in actual history. Fourth, the sermon should help the hearers move beyond the text. The purpose of the sermon is not the better understanding of a particular written text but a deeper hearing of the voice of God in the present. Solid exegesis of the sermon’s text allows the sermon as a final product to illuminate the hearer’s actual situation with the light of God’s grace.