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The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching is an encyclopedia of preaching covering every aspect of the preparation and delivery of biblical sermons. Featuring contributions by writers as diverse as Jeff Arthurs, Craig Barnes, Rob Bell, D.A. Carson, Kent Edwards, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, John Stott, Rick Warren, William Willimon, and Kenton C. Anderson (a contributing editor), the table of contents is a kind of who’s who in biblical preaching. Highly readible, many of the 200+ articles formerly appeared in Leadership Journal or preachingtoday.com. The bundled audio CD also includes sermons by Gordon MacDonald, Brian McLaren, Rob Bell, Max Lucado, Bryan Chapell, Haddon Robinson, Rick Warren, and others. This is essential reading for preachers of the word of God.
Table of Contents:
Part 1: The High Call of Preaching: How can I be faithful to what God intends preaching to be and do?
Part 2: The Spiritual Life of the Preacher: How should I attend to my soul so that I am spiritually prepared to preach?
Part 3: Considering Hearers: How should my approach change depending on who is listening?
Part 4: Interpretation and Application: How do I grasp the correct meaning of Scripture and show its relevance to my unique hearers?
Part 5: Structure: How do I generate, organize, and support ideas in a way that is clear?
Part 6: Style: How can I use my personal strengths and various message types to their full biblical potential?
Part 7: Stories and Illustrations: How do I find examples that are illuminating, credible, and compelling?
Part 8: Preparation: How should I invest my limited study time so that I am ready to preach?
Part 9: Delivery: How do I speak in a way that arrests hearers?
Part 10: Special Topics: How do I speak on holidays and about tough topics in a way that is fresh and trustworthy?
Part 11: Evaluation: How do I get the constructive feedback I need to keep growing?
Excerpt: No matter what our station, daily life in a fallen world is a walk through a gauntlet of belittlement. Those who attend our churches are daily bombarded by false values and beliefs that cheapen God’s creation, by personal slights and insults, by Satan’s accusations. Their minds are assaulted by scabrous images in the media and by profanity that is objectionable to God precisely because it debases the creation. They are subject to sins that mar God’s image within them. They suffer distorted images of themselves that contradict God’s truth.
After such a week, it’s a wonder that a person can walk into church with any sense of worth (and the faces of many confirm that).
But then they hear anointed preaching, and gravity reverses as people sense the upward pull of heaven. The sermon reveals the character of God, who infuses all life with meaning and majesty. The sermon tells who we are in God’s sight: created in the divine image, beloved beyond description, destined for glory. The sermon uncovers sins – then announces how to be redeemed. The sermon honors the morality that exalts humankind. The sermon assumes that people can think and discern about life and the Book of Life. The sermon appeals to the will, treating people as responsible agents whose choices matter forever. The sermon preaches Christian Immanuel, forever hallowing human flesh, second Adam who will one day resurrect believers in his likeness. a sermon is the most intense dose of dignity any person can receive. (Craig Brian Larson, 30)