more time to student disruptions and commit more time to "programs", available time to teach the skill of writing is lost. Robinson lays out the steps in learning this skill, and the reader can then spend as much (or as little) time learning it as needed.
Robinson first states that the Bible is essential to effective exposition (18). In other words, the key to any message is what the speaker exposes. If one talks of giving, one exposes a concern with money. God has promised to bless His word (Isaiah 40:8), not other people's ideas about His word, so adherence to His word in expository preaching is essential. Robinson also notes that in delivering the message one cannot hide the speaker (24), even if he isn't visible (radio, tape, etc.) Yet, the job of the preacher is to preach a message, not the messenger.
Before beginning his system, Robinson gives the test for any message to determine whether it is coherent or patchy. If the aim and substance of the message can be expressed in one sentence (35), then it will be effective because it will be remembered. If not, then the preacher needs to work on it. He then begins his system of expository message composition (41) with the injunction to use one's mind. It is not for no reason that Jesus told the Pharisees and Sadducees that the greatest commandment was
. . . Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this [is] the first commandment. (Mark 12:29 30)
If one does not love the Lord with one's mind, one will not be a successful preacher.
Another important element of any message is attention to the time allowed. There are many important things to say out of God's word, but the preacher's time is always limite
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