I was walking and talking with my wife yesterday discussing one of the latest books that I’ve read. One of my comments about the book was how I liked that the author went to different parts of the Bible to show common themes and to highlight certain details. My wife responded with something like “so the book did what you hate happening in sermons?” Correct, let me explain.
I am sold 100% on expositional preaching, which basically means that the preacher should let the Bible do the talking. Expository preaching walks through a Bible text and expounds what it says. I’m sold on that kind of preaching as the regular diet of a Christian because it is, in my opinion, the best way to disciple people. Expository preaching gets people to hear what God intended in His Word and not my latest hobby horse or the newest trend in the world of global church. If expository preaching is done well then a church will touch on most issues that we face in life as they naturally come up in the Bible rather than shoehorning a topic in.
So, back to my wife’s comment, why do I really struggle when preachers bounce around the Bible when preaching? Because doing so can often miss the point of what the Bible author is communicating, what the original audience would have understood and how it fits in with the overarching story of the Bible.
This may seem like a small detail, but when a preacher bounces around the Bible they probably say helpful and good things that intrigue and interest the mature believer but they can often lose the new or less mature believer and the non-Christian.
Our preaching, at its most basic level, should point people to Jesus, to help them love Him more and grow in their devotion to Him. In order to do that we need to communicate clearly, logically and not assuming tons of knowledge. A church gathering will naturally have a mix of all ages and stages including a variety of people at different place of spiritual maturity. Therefore, if a preacher bounces around the Bible someone may have just done a deep dive study into Joel for example whilst someone else might not know where the minor prophets are in the Bible. Some people may have memorised the movements of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and where the exodus and exile happened, whilst others might not.
In my opinion, bouncing around the Bible in a sermon is not necessarily helpful and can make what the Bible presents as a clear teaching point seem confusing and difficult to grasp.
If you’re a preacher, consider the people in front of you. Don’t dumb down the Bible, I’m not advocating for that at all, but don’t bounce around the Bible. Instead stay in the text, draw people in to feasts on God’s Word and let the Spirit do His work in the lives of His people. Let the Word of God speak.
Chalmers' Blog 
I guess it depends on what you mean by “bounce around the Bible.” I had a childhood pastor who was known for saying, “Now put your finger in Psalm whatever” (telling you to turn to a new passage and mark it because we might come back to it later), and members who took him up on it would soon run out of fingers to use.
But with the idea that Scripture interprets Scripture, it can be extremely useful to use one passage of Scripture to give background to another. It can be overdone, but I’d far rather see an illustration from the Old Testament than a modern-day sports illustration or a movie clip.
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