When we preach a Bible passage, we need to preach the text. That may sound obvious, but many don’t do it. 

Some preachers use the text as a launching point – they read the text and then preach an associated thought from their own thinking or theology.  

Others bounce briefly off the text and then preach other passages with some perceived connection. 

God is the best communicator, so as preachers, we want to reflect his communication as best we can. When you are preaching a passage, really try to preach it. That includes helping your listeners to see what is there, to understand what is there, and to feel the force of what is there. 

To really preach a passage is not simply to educate listeners in the meaning, although that is a good start. It is to get them into the text and get the text into them, and it is to introduce the God who is revealing himself through the text so that they experience the transformative power of a personal encounter. 

The preacher is not merely teaching, but introducing, match-making, and fanning the flames of the relationship between listeners and God.

If we commit to truly preaching a passage, then we will come up against the challenge of saying more than the text says. That is, if we are really committed to a high view of the biblical text, are we straying if we add any detail not overtly stated in the passage?  

If we have a biblical narrative, are we restricted in telling the story so that we cannot fully tell it, but instead end up preaching theological points connected to it?  

Are we trying to cram a 100-word reading into a 4000-word speech without really saying anything beyond the 100 words of the passage?

Here are five thoughts that may help when it comes to the subject of “adding to the text.” 

1. Think about the “informing texts” 

As well as the passage you are preaching, there will be other passages that inform the content of your preaching passage. 

Any passage quoted, or alluded to, or that provides the relevant history (think Acts for some of the epistles) should be considered as fair game for helpful content as you preach your passage.

2. Consider “related texts”

This is more subjective, but some passages are more related to your preaching text than others. The same author or the same time period will tend to be more related than a distant author and era (unless the era is earlier and may have informed your writer, but then we are back to number 1: informing texts). 

Related texts can be helpful, but don’t lean on them so much that your preaching passage is lost in the process.

3. Make plain “assumed knowledge”

When the Bible writers wrote, they were not thinking of readers in a different culture, language, location, and historical era. So there is a lot of background information that is assumed. 

The author might assume the reader knows who the Pharisees were, named individuals, cultural events, or societal norms. Geographic descriptions weren’t needed for the original readers, but they might be highly helpful for modern listeners to make sense of the setting of a passage. 

It is not going beyond the text to state overtly what is implicitly assumed within the text. Study the background, the culture, the geography, etc., and help people to understand, visualize, and feel the impact of the passage as you preach.

4. “Imagined” thoughts and feelings in a passage can be shared honestly

We don’t know what was going through a character’s mind, or even what was happening in their life around the events of a story.  Where we use our imagination to help bring a passage to life, be sure to help listeners know that you are not asserting divine revelation. 

I was listening to a Haddon Robinson sermon recently, and he said something like, “I’m not sure he said this, but I know we do…”  It was a helpful way to connect the real-life aspects of the story to the real-life experiences of Haddon’s listeners. 

“I can imagine how Peter may have felt…” is a perfectly legitimate statement because your listeners know you are using your imagination.

5. Only “assert what the text asserts”

While sanctified, humble, and informed imagination can be helpful, it should never be the substance of your preaching points.  Let the thrust of your message, both at the level of the main idea and the main points, come from the passage. 

Do not make assertions based on assumptions, imagination, or guesswork.  An example comes from Psalms where the historical setting is not stated but only guessed, and then the preacher makes a point that depends on a guessed historical setting. 

Let the text drive the points you are making.  Use your imagination to help proclaim the passage.

Seasoned preachers know that the bigger challenge will always be what to leave out, rather than what to add to a message. But in some settings, people have an overly restricted view of what should be said in a sermon. 

They fear saying anything more than the passage itself states overtly.  That can restrict effective preaching. 

Let’s make it our goal to plumb the depths of our passage, to proclaim it as fully and engagingly as possible, and to make sure that it does its work in bringing listeners into an encounter with the God who reveals himself through the Word. 

Peter Mead is mentor at Cor Deo and author of several books. He blogs at Biblical Preaching.