The Art Of Faithful Preaching

There are few problems in the contemporary church today that can match terrible preaching, and the poor exposition of the word of God. Perkins had much the same problem in his own day and in his own city. In this volume, written specially for ministers, he provides a foundation of bible truths to teach the manner in which ministers may preach effectively and faithfully to their congregations, as well as showing Christians how they may read their bible with profit and understanding. This is a classic work that should be at the side of every preacher and every student of the bible to be read again and again. This work is not a scan or facsimile and has been made easy to read with an active table of contents for electronic versions.

"Faithful preaching is the responsible, passionate, and authentic declaration of the Christ-exalting Scriptures, by the power of the Spirit, for the glory of the triune God."--Publisher's Description.

A veteran pastor with thirty years of experience guides readers through a ten-step process to preaching Old Testament narratives from text selection to delivery. The first edition received a Christianity Today award of merit and a Preaching magazine Book of the Year award. This edition, now updated and revised throughout for a new generation, includes a new chapter on how to preach Christ from the Old Testament and an exemplary sample sermon from Mathewson. Foreword by Haddon W. Robinson.

In A Lay Preacher's Guide: How to Craft a Faithful Sermon, Karoline M. Lewis provides lay preachers with an essential and accessible guide to the basics of Sunday morning preaching. Laypeople are increasingly called to serve congregations and are preaching regularly. But often they do not have immediate, reliable, or trusted access to homiletical instruction or support for their preaching. As a result, these church leaders--feeling called to ministry and to preach, and affirmed by denominational leaders to do so--are left on their own to figure out how to preach. In A Lay Preacher's Guide, Lewis gives this unique subset of preachers the foundations of biblical preaching, so they can preach faithfully in their unique contexts. She lays out in a concise and clear format the steps to preaching a faithful sermon, a process that can be immediately applied to weekly sermon preparation. This book is a go-to resource for lay preachers, providing a basic course for faithful preaching.

In this unique resource, Fr. Michael E. Connors, CSC, gathers and expertly guides the collective wisdom of experienced preachers and homilists to provide a unique resource that examines the preacher’s unique role as shepherd and a spiritual leader. The chapters will investigate these dual roles according to the roots of the Catholic spiritual tradition and provide practical advice for priests, deacons, seminarians in homiletics classes or preaching classes, retreat leaders, RCIA catechists—all who preach. Preaching as Spiritual Leadership provides solutions to the following questions: How is preaching embedded in the Church’s pastoral mission? What does it mean to be a shepherd and spiritual leader for others? How can a preacher flourish in the role of spiritual leader? How can we lead others into committed discipleship through preaching? To be a shepherd and spiritual leader, the preacher must be in some sense a mystic, who is filled with the Lord’s gracious presence, a presence to be shared with others. Homilists are a sacramental people, they must also be a mystagogues: ministers who can both lead the community’s ritual celebrations, and help the People of God to plunge into the liturgy with lively faith, to touch the holy realities behind them.

Be Equipped to Prepare and Deliver Engaging, Biblical, and Effective Topical Sermons Sooner or later, every preacher will come upon a situation where they need to preach a topical sermon. Yet few are taught to preach topically. Even preachers who are gifted in expositing the Scriptures may struggle to deliver a topical sermon that is engaging, culturally relevant, and true to the biblical text. Worse, many pastors worry these messages undermine confidence in the Bible or its authority, leading to a human-centered rather than a God-focused sermon. But that doesn't have to be the case. In Topical Preaching in a Complex World, Sam Chan and Malcolm Gill answer these objections and chart a path for how preachers can deliver faithful and effective topical messages. First, they address the biblical, theological, and cultural reasons pastors should add topical sermons to their preaching repertoire. Then, they introduce a straightforward, four-fold approach for preaching a topical message and answer important questions like these: How do you approach a topic with the proper interpretative lens? How can you speak to two or more audiences with the same sermon? What should you consider theologically, culturally, and pastorally in your preparation? How do you trace the topic back to Christ? How can you better connect with your audience? Best of all, they help readers craft a message that says something people truly need (and want) to hear! Filled with wit, humor, and wisdom from decades of preaching, this book will equip preachers, pastors, ministry leaders, and students to preach relevant, biblical, and engaging topical sermons. Author Sam Chan says, "Just over a decade ago, I was asked by an organization to speak at their end-of-year dinner. They wanted me to address the topic of being a Christian single, but I had no idea how to prepare and deliver a topical talk. When the night arrived, I preached an old three-point expository sermon and merely changed the ending to include some application on singleness. At best, I got some polite comments afterwards. At worst, people's looks indicated that my biblical talk had little relevance for them. They could not have been less fooled by my disingenuous workaround. I went home vowing never to repeat that poor performance. I felt like the unfaithful servant who had not adequately used what talents had been given to him. As a result, I have dedicated the last decade of my preaching ministry to overcoming and mastering the art of topical preaching. This book is a product of that journey.

A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Christian Communicators. This extensive encyclopedia is the most complete and practical work ever published on the art and craft of biblical preaching. Its 11 major sections contain nearly 200 articles, comprehensively covering topics on preaching and methodology, including: Sermon structure and “the big idea.” The art of introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Methods for sermon prep, from outlining to exercising. Approaches to different types of preaching: topical, expository, evangelistic, and more. Best practices for sermon delivery, speaking with authority, and using humor. Leveraging effective illustrations and stories. Understanding audience. and much more. Entries are characterized by intensely practical and vivid writing designed to help preachers deepen their understanding and sharpen their communication skills. The contributors include a virtual Who’s Who of preaching from a cross section of denominations and traditions, such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, Andy Stanley, and many others. Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson—two of today’s most respected voices in preaching—provide editorial oversight. Includes audio CD with preaching technique examples from the book.

Practical advice for preachers everywhere, written out of long experience and deep learning. Homilists will welcome its advice about language, the role of the imagination, preaching and prophecy, the liturgical setting of the preached word, and social justice. +