Explaining for impact

Posted on February 10, 2026 
Filed under Resources

“In his book Setting Hearts on Fire, the Sydney evangelist, John Chapman, counsels preachers to do six things for every point in their sermons:

• State the point
• Show where it’s from in the Bible
• Explain the point
• Illustrate the point
• Apply the point
• Restate the point.

Of these, our explanations are often the most dull and unexciting parts of the sermon. Illustrations are relatable, illuminating, and often humorous; applications are concrete and practical. When preachers explain the text, however, we wish they’d just get on with it and tell us what to do; it feels like a hoop we have to jump through in order to get to the good stuff. …”

– At The Expository Preaching Trust, Michael Leong explains how to Explain for Impact in a sermon.