Musings on Spiritual Matters

There are thousands of books on the art of preaching. Some books are beneficial while others are wasteful of time. A text on preach should be read at different stages of a preacher’s develop. Certain books are for developing the basics of sermon communication while other books polish the preacher’s style and delivery. Here is an orderly account of books to read on preaching.

1. The First Steps in Preaching Development.

A. Sermon: Design and Delivery by Thomas Holland.

B. Speaking for the Master by Batsell Barrett Baxter.

These books are the foundational texts in preaching within the churches of Christ. The books are broad with easily applied applications. These books are for the beginning preacher, but predominantly for members of the church that have a desire to occasionally preach.

2. Developing the Expository Style.

A. Biblical Preaching by Haddon Robinson.

B. Anointed Expository Preaching by Stephen Olford.

C. Power in the Pulpit by Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix.

D. Christ-Centered Preaching by Bryan Chapell.

The books in this section refine the style of Biblical preaching. Instead of topical or textual sermons, there is the finer art of expository. These books increase in specialization. It begins with the basics of expository and ends with focused expository.

3. Polishing the Presentation.

A. A Complete Guide to Sermon Delivery by Al Fasol.

B. Preaching that Connects by Mark Galli and Craig Brian Larson.

C. The Witness of Preaching by Thomas Long

These books polish the presentation of the sermon. They deal with using vocal tactics to increase persuasion and stylistic variety to increase dynamic impact. Finally, the last book in the section introduces various methods of preaching the text.

4. Developing the Narrative Style.

A. Preaching by Fred Craddock.

B. The Homiletical Plot by Eugene L. Lowry.

C. Preaching by Calvin Miller.

The narrative sermon done well is a powerful device, done poorly, it is a cute story. This style is for the modern hearer of the word. It seems to engage the listener better than the previous styles.

5. Soul food for the hungry preacher.

A. Preaching with Spiritual Passion by Edward Rowell

B. The Preaching Life by Barbara Brown Taylor.

C. The Cherry Log Sermons by Fred Craddock.

The final section here is some inspiration in the first book about the feelings that come from preaching to some words of wisdom from a master preacher to perfection in sermon development. These books are the living models of great preaching.

Related posts:

1. How To Improve Preaching
2. Read “Preaching What We Practice”
3. Read “Preaching that Connects”
4. Better Sermons
5. Read “The Four Pages of the Sermon”

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This entry was posted by Matthew on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 10:19 am and is filed under Books. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.