One of the key tasks of a Pastor is preaching God’s Word and it is a wonderful privilege! Over the last few years I’ve had the joy of training a group of men in the church where I serve in a preaching group. We’ve discussed the in’s and out’s of preaching, how to understand a text, how to preach different genres, how to faithfully proclaim God’s Word and more. Over that time I’ve recommended many different books on preaching, but this is one of the most recent I’ve read and I really enjoyed it! So you’re getting it recommended too 🙂
This book is written by Douglas Sean O’Donnell and Leland Ryken, a student and his seminary professor (Ryken is the professor). O’Donnell sat in Ryken’s Literature of the Bible class and then years later was asked by his professor to team up and write this book.
The thing I like about this book is that each chapter covers the theory of preaching different genres of Scripture and end with practical advice and helpful tips for your average Pastor or preacher.
In six chapters these authors take you through preaching narrative, parables, epistles, poetry, proverbs and missionary writings. Each chapter is the result of years of experience in the pulpit and in the class room. Each chapter is rooted in a deep desire to see God’s Word taught faithfully to the spiritual benefit of the Lord’s people.
In these pages you’ll find the words of two men who love the Word, who love to see churches grow in their understanding of the gospel and to see preachers equipped to preach well to the glory of God.
This book is for preachers, whether you’ve been preaching for a couple of months or for a couple of decades, every preacher who reads this book will be encouraged, challenged and filled with a wonderful view of the beauty of preaching according to God’s Word.
There are, as with every books, elements that you may not agree with, there may be practices that you wouldn’t be comfortable doing in a pulpit (for example the use of personal stories, etc.). There is also a bit of repetition across the chapters. Neither of those issues should stop someone reading and benefitting from this book though!
If you’re a preacher, and if you train preachers (which I think every preacher should be doing), then I recommend you grab a copy of this book. You can grab a copy here.
*** I received a copy of this book from the publishers in exchange for an honest review. This does not change the way I rate the book. My views are my own. ***
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