I tend to think you can tell a lot about a homeowner by looking at his yard. Is the grass thriving and weeds diminishing? Are the plants tended and trimmed? Rarely have I seen a lawn so cared for and not found out that it’s owner is not known for diligence, precision, and care.¹ The yard of a home announces something of the character of its owners—whether we like it or not.

There is something similar for those of us who preach. Something that generally comes in the front of our sermons and reveals much about how we approach God’s word: the Scripture reading.

The Forgotten Command of Pastoral Ministry?

One of the forgotten pastoral commands in Scripture is that ordinary pastors are to read Scripture in public. Paul told his young protégé in 1 Timothy 4:13, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.” My aim in this post is two-fold: 1) to convince you to start your exposition by reading God’s word, and 2) to introduce your reading of God’s word in a particular way. The degree to which we are doing these things is a measure of our obedience to Paul’s command. It’s also a mirror into what we believe about God’s word.

Start with God’s Word

My first aim need not take us long. I believe the best sermons are begun by the preacher reading part of or the totality of the passage he is about to exposit. Just as a call to worship lets God have the first word in the worship service, so too does a Scripture reading of the given text let God have the first word in the sermon.² Now, I’m not saying that the first word out of the preacher’s mouth must be the reading of his passage. Transitions and segues are often necessary for services to retain some sense of smoothness. Yet, what I am saying is that before any real work of exposition is done we ought to read our passage.

This not only let’s God have the first word in the sermon, it also implicitly communicates something to our congregations. It points to hope and faith in the truth that God’s word brings life to His people. Our reading of Scripture consists of the only guaranteed-to-be-inspired-and-so-bring-life words we will speak that day.

I assume many of you are convinced of this necessity. Let’s then think about how we can introduce the reading in a way that perpetuates reverence and expectancy in our hearers.

Think Of Yourself As a Covenant Lawyer

I was trained in a Presbyterian context where the preacher would say something after, not before, reading the passage. Usually it was something like, “Thus far the reading of God’s word,” or, “Thus ends the reading of God’s holy, inspired, and inerrant word.” It must be said that such an approach is not bad, not bad at all. But I do think we can do something better.

You may not have thought about it in this way before, but preachers—like the prophets of old—are something like God’s covenant lawyers. They defend God’s word and prosecute the truths of Jesus Christ in order to establish and edify Christ’s church. Do you remember how the old-school covenant lawyers introduced God’s word? ‘Thus saith the LORD.” Now that’s an introduction to God’s word full of power. It demands attention and raises expectation. God is speaking! “Hear ye! Hear ye!”

Modern-day heralds can, and I think ought, to do something similar. Whenever we read God’s word prior to the sermon there is great wisdom in introducing it with a powerfully precise phrase. It’s my own practice to say, “Let’s hear now as God speaks to us through His word.” I want my congregation to know something supernatural is about to occur, God is speaking to us. Whenever someone reads Scripture in the middle of our service they do so by saying, “This is the word of the Lord . . .” Some other introductory statements I’ve heard from other people are:

• “These are the very words of God.”
• “These are the perfect, life-giving words of God.”
• “Listen to God’s unchanging and unfailing word.”
• “Hear God’s holy word.”

Whatever you say, say something authentic to your personality. Say something honoring to God’s word. And then unleash the power of God.

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