Moses' Paradigmatic Preaching Proportions

[Deut. 4:32-40] offers pastors a paradigm for preaching, not only in its content, but also in its proportion. In a text consisting of 163 words, Moses uses 109 to tell the story of Israel's historical experience of grace; he uses 26 to reflect theologically on those events; and then he concludes with 26 words of application. This paradigm contrasts with much contemporary evangelical preaching, which, in its drive to be practical, fails to develop the story of God's gracious redemption (or tells it in hurried and passionless tones) and consequently also fails to show the theological implications of that story. Instead we spend our time on pointed but trite and facile application.

--Daniel I. Block, Deuteronomy (NIV Application Commentary; Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 147.