What does a Healthy Church and
Healthy Church Member Look
Like?
WEEK 10:
WHAT IS A HEALTHY
CHURCH MEMBER?
1.IS AN EXPOSITIONAL
LISTENER
2.IS A BIBLICAL THEOLOGIAN
MARCH 10, 2013
What is a Healthy Church?
 Summing it all up
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Expositional Preaching
Biblical Theology
Understanding the Good
News
Understanding Conversion
Understanding Evangelism
Understanding
Membership
Church Discipline
Discipleship and Growth
Church Leadership
What is a Healthy Church Member?
 Introduction
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Expositional Listening
Biblical Theologian
Gospel Saturated
Genuinely Converted
Biblical Evangelist
Committed Member
Seeks Church Discipline
Growing Disciple
Humble Follower
Prayer Warrior
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
Review from Week 3:
What is Expositional Preaching?

This is a kind of preaching that “exposes” God’s word. It takes
a particular passage of scripture and explains what it says and
then applies the meaning to the life of the congregation.
What does the passage say?
 Why does the author say it in that way?
 Why does the author say it here?
 Why do this passage and book belong at this point of in the
Biblical story?
 What response did the author want from his hearers or readers?
 What response should we make today?

A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
What is Expositional Listening?
 Expositional listening is listening for the meaning of a
passage of Scripture and accepting that meaning as the
main idea to be grasped for our personal and corporate
lives as Christians.

2 Tim 3: 16-17: All Scripture is inspired by God and
profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for
training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be
adequate, equipped for every good work.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
5 Benefits of Expositional Listening:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
It cultivates a hunger for God’s word. (Psalm 119: 103-104)
Expositional listening helps us focus on God’s will and to follow Him.
(John 10:27)
Expositional listening protects the Gospel and our lives from
corruption. (2 Tim 4: 3-4)
Expositional listening encourages faithful pastors. (1 Tim 5: 17)
Expositional listening benefits the gathered congregation. ( 1 Cor 1: 0;
1 Peter 3: 8; Rom 12: 16)
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
How can we cultivate the habit of being an Expositional Listener?
1)
Come Sunday morning Expecting God to Speak.
Practical Steps to Take
1. Look up next Sundays Bible passage and read it at home during the
week.
2. Pray for next Sunday’s preacher in the middle of the week.
3. Pray often to yourself, that by His Spirit, God will grow in you a
heartfelt expectation that God Himself will speak to you as His word
is preached.
4. If you can, try not to come to the sermon exhausted but come rested
and ready to pay close attention.
5. Deliberately quite your mind and heart before the sermon and say to
yourself, ‘This is when God speaks to me’ and pray ‘Lord, speak to me
I am listening’.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
2) Admit God knows better than you.
Practical Steps to Take
1.
Which part of this weeks preached Bible passage challenge your
beliefs or lifestyle?
2.
Does the passage clearly teach these things?
3.
Pray for the Work of Gods Spirit to enable you to submit to what the
Bible clearly says and to help you change.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
3) Check the preacher says what the passage says.
Practical Steps to Take
1. Read the passage or listen carefully when it is read?
2. What is the main point of the passage? Are there any surprises in the
passage?
3. Who was the passage originally written to?
4. Why do you think the Bible writer wrote this passage? What is the
passage intended to achieve?
5. Pray like Martin Luther did; “Lord, teach me, teach me, teach me”.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
4) Hear the sermon in Church and be there week by week.
Practical Steps to Take
1.
Keep count for 6 months or a year of how many weeks you are in your
own local church to hear the sermon. Make notes of the reasons why
you are not there.
2.
If you find you are away more then you realized, more then you ought
to be, take practical action to make sure you’re there regularly. Come
back from vacation on Saturday, be home earlier on Saturday to get a
good night’s rest, etc.
3.
Be aware of others in your local church as you listen to the sermon.
Talk to them afterwards, not only about how we should respond as
individuals but how the passage should shape the church.
4.
Pray often for the work of God’s Spirit to shape both you as an
individual and as a body of Christians together.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
5) Do what the Bible says.
Practical Steps to Take
1. After this week’s sermon write down all the ways you wish other people would
obey that teaching. Don’t hold back. After you have written it all down tear it
up.
2. Now let’s get to business. Write down as definitely and precisely as you can
some action you need to take to obey this passage. It may be a little change of
attitude, or a change in the way you speak, or some action you need to stop or
start doing. Whatever it is, write it down.
3. In a week’s time, and then a month’s time, look at what you’ve written and ask
yourself if that Bible passage has made any difference to you.
4. Pray, pray and pray again for God to work obedience in you to His word.
A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener
6) Do what the Bible says today and rejoice!.
Practical Steps to Take
1. Ask yourself how the preached passage shows you an attitude, or
words, or actions that need to change.
2. Then change, urgently praying for grace to enable you to repent.
3. Ask yourself in what way the passage encourages you to trust in God
and in Christ afresh. Then resolve urgently to put that fresh trust into
your life as God helps you.
4. Enjoy preaching, not as entertainment but as God’s regular gracious
invitation to walk with Him, rejoicing in a clear conscience.
A Healthy Church Member is a Biblical Theologian
 What is Biblical Theology for a Church member?
 To practice Biblical theology is to know God Himself, all His
attributes as revealed in the Bible. The Bible is the selfrevelation of God, it’s the source material for having great
thoughts about God.
How do we
become a Biblical
Theologian?
C.H. Spurgeon
1) Read a good book on Theology
2) Study the scriptures
3)
4)
5)
6)
thematically
Adopt the New Testaments
attitude toward the Old
Testament
Study the OT with Jesus and the
NT in mind
Study books of Prophecy in the
Old Testament
Know and agree to support your
Church’s Statement of Faith
Class Outline
What is a Healthy Church
Week 1: The Church (What is a Healthy Church Chap. 1&2)
Week 2: What is the Church’s Purpose and Function

What is a Healthy Church Chap. 3&4 and Article II from
PBC Constitution
What are the “Essential” marks of a Healthy Church
Week 3: Essentials of a Healthy Church

What is a Healthy Church Chap 5, 6 & 7
Week 4: What the Church Believes

Article III PBC Statement of Faith
What are the “Important” marks of a Healthy Church
Week 5: A Biblical Understanding of Conversion
What is a Healthy Church Chap. 8,
Week 6: A Biblical Understanding of Evangelism and
Church Membership Part 1.

What is a Healthy Church Chap. 9 and 10 and 9Marks
Church Membership book
Week 7: Church Membership Part 2 and Discipline.

What is a Healthy Church Chap. 10, 11 and 9Marks Church
Membership book
Week 8: Biblical Discipleship.

What is a Healthy Church Chap. 12
Week 9: Biblical Church Leadership.

What is a Healthy Church Chap. 13
What is a Healthy Church Member
Week 10: A Healthy Church Member is an Expositional
Listener and Biblical Theologian.

What is a Healthy Church Member Chap. 1 & 2 and
Listen Up booklet
Week 11: A Healthy Church Member is Gospel Saturated and
Genuinely Converted.

What is a Healthy Church Member Chap. 3 & 4
Week 12: A Healthy Church Member is Biblical Evangelist
and a Committed Member.

What is a Healthy Church Member Chap. 5 & 6
No Class on Easter
Week 13: A Healthy Church Member Seeks Discipline and is
a Growing Disciple.

What is a Healthy Church Member Chap. 7 & 8
Week 14: A Healthy Church Member is a Humble Follower
and a Prayer Warrior.

What is a Healthy Church Member Chap. 9 & 10