Preaching Books

Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication

Andy Stanley, Lane Jones

Amazon Price: $13.59 List Price: $19.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Multnomah Books Amazon Marketplace: 49 new & used starting at $11.37

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Christian Living -> Leadership
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Sermons

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

When You Talk, Are People Changed?

Whether you speak from the pulpit, podium, or the front of a classroom, you don’t need much more than blank stares and faraway looks to tell you you’re not connecting. Take heart before your audience takes leave! You can convey your message in the powerful, life-changing way it deserves to be told. An insightful, entertaining parable that’s an excellent guide for any speaker, Communicating for a Change takes a simple approach to delivering effectively. Join Pastor Ray as he discovers that the secrets to successful speaking are parallel to the lessons a trucker learns on the road. By knowing your destination before you leave (identifying the one basic premise of your message), using your blinkers (making transitions obvious), and implementing five other practical points, you’ll drive your message home every time!

“Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away…”

“Once upon a time…”

“In the beginning…”

Great stories capture and hold an audience’s attention from start to finish. Why should it be any different when you stand up to speak?

In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley and Lane Jones offer a unique strategy for communicators seeking to deliver captivating and practical messages. In this highly creative presentation, the authors unpack seven concepts that will empower you to engage and impact your audience in a way that leaves them wanting more.

“Whether you are a senior pastor with weekly teaching responsibilities or a student pastor who has bern charged with engaging the hearts and minds of high school students, this book is a must-read.”

Bill Hybels

Senior pastor, Willow Creak Community Church



“A very practical resource for every biblical communicator who wants to go from good to great.”

Ed Young

Senior pastor, Fellowship Church, Grapevine, Texas

“To communicate effectively, you have to connect. Andy has been connecting with people for years, and now he’s sharing his insights with the rest of us.”

Jeff Foxworthy

Comedian

INSIDE LEFT FLAP

In Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley shares the seven imperatives that define his approach to challenging people’s minds in order to change their lives: Determine Your Goal Pick a Point Create a Map Internalize the Message Engage Your Audience Find Your Voice Start All Over

These seven concepts will simplify your approach to communication and transform your sermons, lessons, and presentations into powerful life-changing experiences for your listeners.



Story Behind the Book

Andy Stanley and Lane Jones are on staff at one of America ’s largest churches, North Point Community. Leaders of thousands of people, they regularly speak in front of large groups. They also listen to numerous speakers and know the disastrous effects of a poorly delivered message. This book is the result of their efforts to make public speaking—one of the most common fear-inducing activities known to mankind—simple, easy, and even enjoyable, so that God’s messages will readily produce the life-changing results they should.

Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 1

Amazon Price: $31.96 List Price: $34.19 Usually ships in 1 to 3 weeks By: Westminster John Knox Press Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $30.94

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Reference -> Encyclopedias -> Music
Subjects -> Reference -> Encyclopedias -> Religion
Subjects -> Reference -> Encyclopedias -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

A new approach for preachers' commentaries (RCL) 4 out of 5 stars.
4 of 5 people found this review helpful.

This is the first volume to be published of a new commentary series for preachers, organized around the readings of the Revised Common Lectionary.

When completed, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable feasts & high holy days.

For each lectionary text, Hebrew Bible, Psalm, Gospel, and Epistle, preachers will find four brief essays on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text.


Each lectionary year (B 2008-2009, C 2009-2010, A 2010-2011) will be treated in four volumes, one for the Advent and Christmas seasons, one for Lent and Easter, and one for each half of Ordinary Time (the season after Epiphany & the 'long green season' after Pentecost).

While the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that non-lectionary preachers may make use of its contents.

Editors of the series are Barbara Brown Taylor, Butman Professor of Religion at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, and David L. Bartlett, Professor of New Testament at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages

Haddon W., Robinson

Amazon Price: $14.95 List Price: $21.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Baker Academic Amazon Marketplace: 65 new & used starting at $6.87

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> General
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A very helpful method for preaching 4 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

Introduction

"In this book, I pass on a method to those learning to preach or to experienced people who want to brush up on the basics" (14). So says Dr. Haddon Robinson as he offers this second edition of this classic volume known as Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. Though first published in 1980, this work is still a staple in homiletics departments and pastors' studies across the world.

Robinson received his Ph.D. at the University of Illinois and serves as the Harold John Ockenga Distinguished Professor of Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Prior to this position, he served as president and professor of homiletics at Denver Seminary after teaching homiletics at Dallas Theological Seminary for nineteen years.

Summary

Chapter One, entitled "The Case for Expository Preaching," Robinson begins by saying, "This is a book about expository preaching, but it may have been written for a depressed market." In this chapter, Robinson shows the lack of regard for expository preaching in evangelical circles, then outlines the church's need for this manner of preaching and exactly what expository preaching is. Chapter Two, entitled "What's the Big Idea?" displays the importance of an expositor to mine out one main concept or idea. He defines an idea as something which "enables us to see what was previously unclear" (39). He also notes that "an idea begins in the mind when things ordinarily separated come together to form unity that either did not exist before or was not recognized previously" (39).

In Chapter Three, entitled "Tools of the Trade," Robinson introduces three stages in preparing expository sermons: "choosing the passage to be preached" (53), studying the passage and gathering the notes (58), then proceeding to "relate the parts to each other to determine the exegetical idea and its development" (66). Chapter Four, entitled "The Road from Text to Sermon," includes stage four which is "analyzing the exegetical idea" (75).

In Chapter Five, entitled "The Arrow and the Target," Robinson covers stages five and six in the development of expository preaching: "Formulating the Homiletical Idea" in which he encourages preachers to state their exegetical idea in "the most exact, memorable sentence possible" (103); and determining the purpose for the sermon. "A purpose differs from a sermon idea, therefore, in the same way that a target differs from the arrow; as taking a trip differs from studying a map; as baking a pie differs from reading a recipe" (107).

In Chapter Six, entitled, "The Shapes Sermons Take," Robinson helps the preacher decide how to accomplish the purpose of the sermon as well as outlining the sermon (stages seven and eight, respectively). Chapter Seven addresses filling in the sermon outline and, as Robinson states in his title, "making dry bones live" (139). Chapter Eight has the provocative title, "Start with a Band and Quit All Over," which deals with the preparation of introductions and conclusions.

Chapter Nine, entitled, "The Dress of Thought," Robinson notes, "Gift or not, we must use words, and the only question is whether we will use them poorly or well" (184). He helps the preacher in areas such as transitions, clarity of thought, developing a personal style, and the use of metaphors. The last chapter, "How to Preach So People Will Listen," deals with the delivery of the sermon itself. Robinson says that sermons "live only when they are preached. A sermon ineptly delivered arrives stillborn" (201).

Critical Analysis

With engaging writing and timely humor, Robinson seeks to communicate one prominent theme: "expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept" (35). Even though one would be more persuaded by his thoughts had he served more in the preaching ministry of a local church (he served at Dallas Youth for Christ from 1952-55, then as Associate Pastor at the First Baptist Church of Medford, Oregon from 1956-19581), his principles of preparing and preaching expository sermons are tremendous and will serve the Church of Jesus Christ and his ministers very well indeed.

One of the strengths of this work is its pastoral nature. Preachers are not called to be lecturers and are not simply called to preach the Word of God. Preachers are called to preach the Word of God to God's people. Robinson rightly observes that "we must preach to a world addressed by the TV commentator, the newspaper columnist, and the playwright" (29). In the Preface to the Second Edition, Robinson notes how the culture has changed since 1980 when this work was first published. "Television and the computer have influenced the ways we learn and think. Narrative preaching has come into vogue and reflects the reality that listeners in a television culture think with pictures in their heads" (10). While he may go too far in giving room for narrative preaching, he rightly assesses 21st century culture. This culture is the world in which the expositor preaches. So not only does Robinson note that "as shepherds, we relate to the hurts, cries, and fears of our flocks," we must also understand the external issues to which our people are exposed every hour of every day.

Along with this area of pastoral ministry in connection with preaching, Robinson also gives more room to the role and responsibility of the listener. He notes:

Expositors may be respected for their exegetical abilities and their diligent preparation, but these qualities do not transform any of them into a Protestant pope who speaks ex cathedra. Listeners also have a responsibility to match the sermon to the biblical text. As Henry David Thoreau wrote, "It takes two to speak the truth -- one to speak, and another to hear." ... If a congregation is to grow, it must share the struggle (24).

Robinson notes that the average listener in the pew hopes you will answer this one question: "So what? What difference does it make" (86)? Before this question is in the congregants' hearts, this question must be answered in the study as he asks, "Exactly what is the biblical writer talking about (66)?" The shared struggle starts with the preacher in the study as he wrestles with God to find out his intended meaning.

Another strength in this work is the engaging humor Robinson employs in this volume. While many would consider reading a book on expositional preaching boring (even some preachers may feel this way!), Robinson's use of humor helps hook the reader in order that the reader may approach this material with ease. This example, though mentioned earlier, stands as a great example of opening up the very first chapter with humor: "This is a book about preaching, but it may have been written for a depressed market" (17). In the preface to the first edition, he makes this observation:

If I can claim any qualification, it is this: I am a good listener. During two decades in the classroom I have evaluated nearly six thousand student sermons. My friends marvel that after listening to hundreds of fledgling preachers stumble through their first sermons, I am not an atheist (14).

In another example after he acknowledges his debt to all who have influenced his thinking on expositional preaching, he closes the paragraph by noting, "Since all of these and others influenced me deeply, it is only fair that for weaknesses in this volume they should shoulder a large share of the blame" (15)! This brand of humor disarms the critic and relaxes those who initially approach the topic of expository preaching with any misgivings or fears.

One weakness is a quote located in the Preface to the Second Edition about his view of women ministers, a view which has changed since his first edition in 1980. He notes:

I've also changed my language to reflect my theology. God doesn't distribute gifts by gender. Both women and men have the ability and the responsibility to communicate God's Word. I have always believed that, but the language in my first book reflected a distinct male bias. . . . In this revision I hope I have demonstrated the fruits of my repentance (10).

Robinson's theology is on display when, in an explanation of how our outlines should have development, he plays the part of a listener who asks of the preacher, "What evidence does she have for that statement" (140)? Here again he opens the door for us to peer into his theological framework which allows for women ministers. If Robinson had titled this book, "Biblical Teaching," then the reader would understand the necessity for this revision. Many men and women in our churches teach, but the New Testament sets parameters on who teaches whom and where (1 Corinthians 14:33-35, 1 Timothy 2:11-13). For twenty-seven years however, this book has borne the title, "Biblical Preaching." When Robinson notes that the theology he has is "my theology," this reviewer is troubled by the use of the `my.' For someone who claims to look to authorial intent, the description of his views seems too self-centered. This reviewer believes that his theology has strayed in this area from Scripture.

Conclusion

Robinson excels in bringing a topic which many would deem dry and gives it life by coupling his extensive homiletical and hermeneutical knowledge with picturesque wit. Aside from the one weakness mentioned above, this book is a must-read for every pastor and aspiring preacher of the Gospel.

Editorial Review:

Haddon Robinson's Biblical Preaching has become a modern classic on the preparation and delivery of expository sermons. Much has changed, however, in twenty years and Robinson has undertaken the task of updating his work to benefit a new generation of preachers who will speak to a markedly different world.

While retaining the original outline of the book and Robinson's ten-stage process of sermon development, this new edition offers significant improvements. Many of the illustrations and arguments have been updated, the prose has been changed to gender-inclusive language, each chapter is enhanced with suggestions for further study, and the discussions of narrative and inductive preaching have been expanded.

Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon

Bryan, Chapell

Amazon Price: $19.79 List Price: $29.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Baker Academic Amazon Marketplace: 43 new & used starting at $14.99

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> General
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

AMAZING! 5 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

I love this book! It is by far the best book I have ever read on preaching, Chapell explains expository preaching in a light that few authors can. He puts all of the focus on Christ and how the audience needs to hear about Jesus. If you are looking for a book to revive your preaching look no further.

The Foolishness Of Preaching 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

Bryan Chapell has provided an outstanding model for seminarians, and lay-people alike. This work is robust and qualifies for its faithfulness to the truth, and the preaching thereof.

Reformed and sound, it has emphasized the correct Godspell-motive: to preach Christ and Him crucified.

An wholesome portrayal and balanced representation, spiced with important and trustworthy 'preachers' as biblical examples to emulate.

'By stating what a text means, placing that truth where it originates in the text, and proving how the text establishes the truth, you fulfill the fundamental obligations of an expositor.' pg 126

*For an equally inspiring book on preaching, get:
Tongues Aflame by Roger Wagner

Editorial Review:

This complete guide to expository preaching teaches the basics of preparation, organization, and delivery--the trademarks of great preaching. With the help of charts and creative learning exercises, Chapell shows how expository preaching can reveal the redemptive aims of Scripture and offers a comprehensive approach to the theory and practice of preaching. He also provides help for special preaching situations. The second edition contains updates and clarifications, allowing this classic to continue to serve the needs of budding preachers. Numerous appendixes address many practical issues.

Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year B, Vol. 2

Amazon Price: $31.96 List Price: $39.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Westminster John Knox Press Amazon Marketplace: 14 new & used starting at $30.95

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Ministry
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Education -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Well done 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I've enjoyed what I've read so far. Good writers and a great idea of breaking up the four ways of seeing the scripture right on the same pages.

Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons

Frederick Buechner

Amazon Price: $11.86 List Price: $13.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperOne Amazon Marketplace: 45 new & used starting at $4.25

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Buechner, Frederick
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Christian Living -> General
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Christian Living -> General AAS

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Frederick Buechner has long been a kindred spirit to those who find elements of doubt as constant companions on their journey of faith. He is a passionate writer and preacher who can alter lives with a simple phrase.

Buechner's words, both written and spoken, have the power to revolutionize and revitalize belief and faith. He reveals the presence of God in the midst of daily life. He faces and embraces difficult questions and doubt as essential components of our lives, rather than as enemies that destroy us. "Listen to your life!" is his clarion call. This theme pervades this definitive collection of sermons, delivered throughout Buechner's lifetime. Presented chronologically, they provide a clear picture of the development of his theology and thinking. Reflecting Buechner's exquisite gift for storytelling and his compassionate pastor's heart, Secrets in the Dark will inspire laughter, hope, and bring great solace. Turn the pages and rediscover what it means to be thoughtful about faith. See why this renowned writer has been quoted in countless pulpits and beloved by Americans for generations.

He Is Not Silent: Preaching in a Postmodern World

R. Albert Mohler Jr.

Amazon Price: $15.63 List Price: $22.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Moody Publishers Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $13.80

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Church Administration
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Ministry
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Ideal for Preachers and Non-Preachers 5 out of 5 stars.
20 of 20 people found this review helpful.

Preaching is not just for preachers. Every Christian can, and, I'm increasingly convinced, should be educated about the task and calling of the preacher. I am convinced that there is great benefit in all Christians becoming students of preaching. This applies even to those who will never stand behind the pulpit and bring the Word of God to His people. The book I would recommend to laypersons wishing to learn about preaching and to pastors wishing to learn how to preach better, is Al Mohler's He Is Not Silent. Just released by Moody Publishers, this book is a brilliant and insightful look at the task and challenges of preaching in a postmodern world. It is not a how-to guide and is not a dry exhortation valuable only for those with theological degrees; instead, it is a compelling, winsome, biblical case for understanding the utter centrality of preaching to Christian worship.

This postmodern world has lost its respect for preaching. Once regarded as the center of Christian worship, preaching is now seen by so many Christians as something that is supplemental instead of instrumental. In the Foreword to this book John MacArthur writes, "One of the clearest lessons we can learn from church history is that strong biblical preaching is absolutely vital to the health and vitality of the church. From the birth of the New Testament church until today, every significant phase of authentic revival, reformation, missionary expansion, or robust church growth has also been an era of biblical preaching." Indeed, from the church's earliest days to the Reformation, through revivals and awakenings, it is always preaching that has been the tool God has used to call, draw, change and revitalize his church. And in the face of history's testimony, "it is remarkable that over the past half century (or longer) evangelicals have devoted vast quantities of energy and resources to the invention of novel church-growth strategies that tend to discount biblical preaching." We have taken our eyes off Scripture and off the testimony of history.

Mohler begins his examination of preaching by discussing the state of preaching in our day, turning to Dickens and his famous words, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Though there are signs of great promise and though many Christians are renewing the emphasis on preaching, there remain thousands of churches where the preaching of the Word is minimized or forgotten all together. Mohler offers six factors which together have contributed to undermining the role of preaching in the church and to define it as something other than the exposition and application of the biblical text. Here we see how the world has invaded and shaped the church.

Having set the stage, Mohler puts preaching in its proper context at the very heart of Christian worship, looks to the Trinitarian nature of preaching and then defines true, biblical preaching as being expository in nature. After a chapter defining this type of preaching, he looks to the preacher's authority and purpose, to the importance of preaching the Bible's big story and to the importance of every pastor being a theologian. The book wraps up with a look at the particular challenges of preaching to a postmodern culture, with an exhortation to preachers about the urgency of their task and an encouragement to preachers drawn from the ministry of Ezekiel. An Epilogue provides a brief biography of Charles Spurgeon and discusses his contagious passion for preaching.

This is a book that will challenge and, I hope, shape many pastors. I cannot imagine the pastor would could not derive some benefit from it. Mohler, a great preacher in his own right, is passionate about this topic and speaks as a preacher to other preachers. If you are a pastor, read this book! You will find it a source of great wisdom and great encouragement.

But, as I indicated a short time ago, I think it is also an ideal book for all Christians to read and absorb. Let me illustrate this way. If you were to commit to going to a baseball game at least once per week for the rest of your life, I suspect you would want to understand the sport. Though you would always know that you would never be out on that field, you would still want to know what makes a great player great; you would want to understand how a pitcher faces a batter and attempts to outwit him with a mixture of pitches, speeds, breaks and locations; you would want to see how a manager attempts to set the perfect lineup to face the opposition. Without such knowledge you would not fully understand the game and would not derive as much pleasure and benefit from it. What you take from the game is in many ways contingent on your understanding of it.

In the same way, understanding preaching will help the Christian in many ways. He will know what kind of preaching he should expect and what kind of preacher to seek out; it will give him new respect for the preacher and for the difficulty and uniqueness of the task; it will give him reason to praise God for His gift of preaching and preachers. As Dr. Mohler writes, "A theology of preaching begins with the humble acknowledgment that preaching is not a human invention but a gracious creation of God and a central part of His revealed will for the church." Of course he must read carefully and humbly, knowing that his preacher is imperfect and prone to sin. But his understanding of preaching will teach him how to listen, when to listen and why he must listen to the preaching of the Word.

This is the third book from the pen of Dr. Mohler we've seen in 2008. In my view, it is the best (at least of the three I have read to this point). Though Mohler aptly addressed culture and new atheism in his previous two titles, there is a new kind of passion in this book. Mohler calls for the "re-centering" of an element of worship that has been pushed to the periphery. He does so with confidence based on Scripture and in a way that can appeal to any reader. Buy it, read it, and while you are at it, buy a copy for your pastor.

101 Hymn Stories

Kenneth W. Osbeck

Amazon Price: $10.19 List Price: $14.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Kregel Publications Amazon Marketplace: 100 new & used starting at $1.62

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> Instruments & Performers -> Voice
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> Musical Genres -> Religious & Sacred Music -> Christian
Subjects -> Entertainment -> Music -> General

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A little disappointing 3 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

The book is worth reading for anyone who enjoys hymns. However, many of the "stories behind the hymns" are nothing more than a brief biographical sketch of the author and composer.

The reason for this is legitimate, of course: no one has a written account of the author's intent when he or she wrote many of these hymns, especially the older ones. There are notable exceptions, of course, such as the story behind "It Is Well With My Soul," one of my favorites.

So my recommendation is thus: take the time to read the book. You'll learn some history, and probably some new hymns as well. But, don't be surprised when all you get at times is a background of the author, not of the hymn itself.

Great devotional 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have read at least one of these hymns and the commentary about them, each day for several years with great enjoyment.

Would suggest more about the hymn writers and less other commentary, and perhaps include the music in the future.

Dennis R. in Pasadena

Editorial Review:

"Hymn singing reflects a congregation's spiritual vitality and their response to God's grace.

Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale

Frederick Buechner

Amazon Price: $13.14 List Price: $18.00 Usually ships in 24 hours By: HarperOne Amazon Marketplace: 79 new & used starting at $1.82

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General
Subjects -> Nonfiction -> Philosophy -> General AAS
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Authors, A-Z -> ( B ) -> Buechner, Frederick

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

A sermon arises out of silence, preacher and writer Frederick Buechner reminds us, and that silence is both an opportunity and a warning. An audience sits in the pews waiting, and each of those who sit there bring with them a long and complicated history. How will you reach them? How will you awaken them? "Tell them the truth," Buechner says in this brief and powerful book. The Gospel begins here, out of this silence: "It is life with the sound turned off so that for a moment or two you can experience it not in terms of the words you make it bearable by but for the unutterable mystery that it is." Out of this silence, he writes, the "real news comes, which is sad news before it is glad news and that is fairy tale last of all."

This series of lectures explores these three ways of seeing the Gospel: first as tragedy, as honest sorrow and suffering--this must be faced before anything else becomes possible. From this comes the comedy of new life: a child born to Abraham and Sarah in old age, Lazarus raised from the dead. This is the folly of the Gospel--what Buechner will ultimately call the fairy tale. Drawing deeply from the well of The Wizard of Oz and other stories, he reminds us in this final chapter that "there is a child in all of us," a child in touch with a truth deeper than the logic of tragedy. --Doug Thorpe

Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures

Dennis E. Johnson

Amazon Price: $16.49 List Price: $24.99 Usually ships in 24 hours By: P & R Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 24 new & used starting at $15.57

Buy at Amazon.com

Browse similar items by category:
Subjects -> Religion & Spirituality -> Christianity -> Ministry & Church Leadership -> Preaching

Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

The Goal Of Our Instruction 5 out of 5 stars.
11 of 13 people found this review helpful.

'Truly apostolic preaching is not ethical imperative ungrounded in theological indicative. It is not psychological manipulation, moralistic harangue based on guilt, or pragmatic life coaching, untethered to the truth of Christ's redemptive accomplishment on behalf of others.' pg 177

Johnson's life-work is Christocentric to its core and inspiring in its allegiance to the fidelity of timeless truth. His unique and rich portrayal of Christ at the center of life and Scripture, is recommended reading and insightful scholarship. This added to my understanding of revelation in a truly comprehensive biblical way.

The variables that enter into receiving the Word are many. Not everyone attends church regularly every Sunday. Not everyone attended Seminary. Many Christians hear the saving Word amidst fear of reprisal and under threat of death. Yet Christ said: 'My sheep hear My voice, and I know them and they follow Me.' John 10:27

How this is effectually communicated is portrayed by Proff Johnson in this study of preaching and preachers: both old and new. 'Since God commissions and sends preachers (Rom 10:15; Matt 28:18-20), the right to define the purpose of preaching is His.' pg 63

Calvinistic preaching contends that God be glorified through proclamation. Only as and when God is justified, fallen man's need for salvation is exposed. One surefire way of achieving this end is in taking the text as primary source. '...the apostolic preacher must be prepared to answer to his Master as one found faithful in administering his stewardship, both preserving and propagating the message of life without modifying its content.' pg 65

Observance of the Word brings believers comfort and assurance. 'The apostolic model of parenesis (exhortation) in the NT grounds believer's obligations in the Gospel itself, showing how the indicatives describing Christ's saving work precede and entail the imperatives that define our believing response to His mercy.' pg 42 We may safely grow in grace knowing all we are called to do, our Lord did and said, and was repeated in word and deed by the apostles, to our exclusive benefit and instruction. 'What John needed to learn, as did Jesus' disciples at a later point (Acts 1: 6-8), was that God reserves the right to fulfill His promises in His own way, even if His ways should contradict our natural, normal, ordinary, literal reading of those promises.' pg 143

'God's truth in Christ exposes and refutes false ideas about the nature of the divine, the nature of humanity, and the purpose of the universe.' pg 65 This may mean that not only sin, but subjective reality is to be combatted in the walk of a Christian. The problem is the human heart settled in opposition to God. It appears even '...when Paul challenges the mature (Gk teleios) at Philippi to share his recognition that he has not yet been perfected (Gk teleioo), Phil 3:15.' pg 66 Thus sound teaching and admonition combine to alter one's wrong life perspectives - only then effectively altering the subjective Christian experience consistently, effecting sanctification.

The hermeneutical model that Johnson has described so glowingly is truly the heart and soul of this exploration. To the evidently hard-of-hearing, as I myself once was, there comes the discovery of a lifetime in the connecting of what once was heard and knew to be true, to this credible book. Much to my surprise the biblical-theological understanding of the Bible's message is completely familiar, but also makes previously veiled portions of Scripture, such as prophecy and fulfillment, altogether a whole lot more discernable as truth the whole counsel of God.

'The redemptive events narrated in the Old Testament had a symbolic depth that (meant) with the coming of Christ, physical Old Testament types and prophecies are fulfilled in ways that transcend the physical.' pg 137

Generating unbelievable examples from passages that I thought I had a full grasp on, Proff Johnson applies this model in such a way that the thoughtful seeker of truth comes not only to appreciate, but admire as the rich topography of Biblical Theology unfolds. Johnson interacts with the major scholarship of evangelical hermeneutics and drives home a real desire to see a homiletical correspondent to the 'all Scripture is given by inspiration of God.'

'If Christian preachers claim that God's promise to restore David's son to his throne is fulfilled in Jesus' heavenly session (as does Peter in Acts 2: 30-36), can such a non-literal fulfillment serve any persuasive purpose to draw unbelievers to the faith?' pg 142

This sizeable theological treatise commands much appreciation, as the rich fabric woven is most intimately God-exalting and unquestionably the best resource available on the hermeneutical subject.