Why Healthy Churches Must Breathe Scripture
A Moment I’ll Never Forget
On May 6, 2015, my wife and I welcomed our daughter, Madison Elizabeth, into the world. But her entrance wasn’t peaceful. When she was born, she wasn’t breathing. Her skin was pale blue, and the silence in the room felt deafening. Alicia began asking what was wrong. The nurse, calm and focused, immediately went to work; clearing Madison’s airways, applying oxygen, and administering compressions.
I stood over my daughter, helpless and praying with everything in me: “Please, God. Please, God.”
Then she took a breath. Her skin turned pink. Her vitals stabilized. And just like that, sorrow turned to joy. From that moment to now, the vitality and energy Madison displays daily reminds me of what life looks like when life enters the lungs.
It also reminds me of something else.
Churches That Have Stopped Breathing
Just like a newborn who needs breath to live, churches need the breath of God to thrive. And that breath is found in the Word of God.
Too many churches today are gasping for air—lethargic, lifeless, and unclear on what really gives spiritual vitality. Rather than drawing life from God’s voice in Scripture, they’re chasing cultural relevance or pragmatic strategies. The result is predictable: shallow sermons, spiritually anemic congregations, and a growing disconnect from God’s truth.
But Scripture gives us a better picture. In Nehemiah 8, we see what happens when a people who had been silenced by exile finally hear God’s Word again. Their response is instructive—and convicting.
Open the Book: God Speaks Through His Word
After the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt, something far more important took place. God’s people gathered “as one man” (Neh. 8:1) and asked Ezra to bring out the Book of the Law. For hours, Ezra read aloud from God’s Word while the people listened attentively.
This wasn’t a formality. This was spiritual resuscitation.
These exiles had waited seventy years to publicly hear the Law of God again. Now, restored and reassembled, they were desperate to hear the voice of their Redeemer. And Ezra, standing above the people, opened the book—and lifted their eyes to the only Word that could bring revival.
This is the heart of expository preaching: opening the Word, explaining what it says, and submitting to what it means. It’s not about entertaining stories or clever life hacks—it’s about exposing the text so that God’s people can hear God’s voice.
When the Word Is Honored, God Is Worshiped
Nehemiah 8 doesn’t just describe a sermon—it describes a response. When Ezra opened the book, the people stood. They lifted their hands. They shouted “Amen.” And they bowed their faces to the ground.
Why? Because when God’s Word is honored, God is worshiped.
We live in a culture that’s growing increasingly irreverent. But true expository preaching produces the opposite. It lifts our eyes, bends our knees, and stirs our hearts in reverent worship.
When a church treasures God’s Word, it doesn’t settle for five-minute devotionals and recycled illustrations. It cries out, “Give us the Book!” And not just our favorite parts—but the whole counsel of God.
Explaining the Word: Clarity That Changes Lives
One of the most beautiful lines in Nehemiah 8 comes in verse 8: “They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading.”
That’s the goal of expository preaching: Clarity. Understanding. Transformation.
God never intended His Word to be admired from a distance or reduced to academic data. He gave it to be understood and obeyed. As Ezra 7:10 reminds us, the faithful preacher is one who studies the Word, lives the Word, and teaches the Word.
When preaching aims at understanding, it produces transformation. That’s exactly what happened in Nehemiah’s day. After the reading and explaining of the Word, the people rejoiced —Why? Because they had understood what was declared to them (Neh. 8:12).
The Word Brings Life
When God speaks, life happens.
God created through His Word (Gen. 1). God sustains by His Word (Heb. 1:3). And God saves through His Word (2 Cor. 4:6). The same God who said, “Let there be light” is the One who shines light into our hearts through the gospel.
That’s why expository preaching matters. It’s not just about style—it’s about source. God creates, convicts, comforts, and sanctifies His people through His Word.
So when a church commits to preach book-by-book, chapter-by-chapter, and verse-by verse, it’s not adopting a method—it’s submitting to the Master.
Give Us the Book
Pastors, don’t aim to impress. Aim to proclaim. Don’t tamper with the Word—trust it. And don’t soften the edge—sharpen your understanding. Your people don’t need your opinions. They need God’s Word.
And churches, don’t settle for sermons that tickle the ears or cater to preferences. Demand the Book. Rejoice when it’s opened. Respond when it’s preached. And worship the God who speaks.
There’s no life without breath. And there’s no spiritual life without God’s Word.
So may our churches breathe again.
And may our pulpits once again echo with this glorious phrase: “Thus saith the Lord.”