I recently received a copy of The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching: A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Communicators, and have been browsing through it from time to time. Whether you’re a full- or part-time preacher or even if you spend any time at all speaking in front of others as a Christian attempting to bring others to a better understanding of the Bible, or to bring them to a point of decision, you need this book on your shelf. It is the finest compendium of useful preaching/exhortation articles I have ever seen.

[Full disclaimer: This book was written and produced by my employer, Christianity Today, and edited by my good friend and coworker, Craig Brian Larson. But I’m not writing as a shill here. I get absolutely nothing out of additional sales of this book (unless you buy it via my Amazon Associates link, of course).]

I’ve only just started to browse through this tome, but every article I’ve glanced at or read has excited me, filled me with ideas on how to improve my preaching and prep-time, and given me already useful techniques to make my delivery more effective. Many of the articles were repurposed from timeless Leadership journal journal articles, some were cullled from the PreachingToday.com “Skill Builder” articles (click on the link for free articles), but there are a ton of new articles written fresh just for this project.

About the two editors: Haddon Robinson is considered by many to be one of the finest preachers alive today. I’ve always enjoyed the interviews and teaching I’ve heard from Robinson, and he has a clear, fatherly style of teaching. The blurb from PreachingTodayAudio.com says, about him:

“Dr. Robinson has been named one of the 12 most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. His text, Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages, is used in more than 100 seminaries and Bible colleges in North America. He is also host of Discover the Word which airs on 400 radio stations across the world.” (Click the DtW link to listen.)

To get an idea of the kind of content you’ll find within this book, read the interview with Haddon Robinson titled, “Preaching That Opens Ears and Hearts.” (Sorry, that link used to be free, now it requires membership.)

Craig Brian Larson is pastor of Lake Shore Church (Assembly of God) in downtown Chicago, and is the managing editor of PreachingToday.com. He’s well-known in the world of sermon illustrations, having compiled several illustration compendia (see Movie-Based Illustrations for Preaching and Teaching, volumes one and two, for example), and coauthored a guide for helping preachers add journalistic impact to their messages (see Preaching That Connects).

Though these two men compiled and edited this book, and contributed to it in a few articles, the contents were provided by the best preachers and preaching teachers in the field, covering a huge spectrum of denominations and traditions. Some of the writers you might recognize include  John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, and Andy Stanley—just to name a few.

If you preach or teach at all, you really owe it to your listeners to pick up this book and refer to it from time to time. It will be a resource you refer to for years, and it will challenge you at every turn. This book is truly a gift to the Church!

Rich.

[tags]BlogRodent, preaching, homiletics, Craig Brian Larson, PreachingToday.com, The Art and Craft of Preaching, Haddon Robinson, Rick Warren, John Ortberg, Warren Wiersbe, John Piper, Andy Stanley, sermons[/tags]

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Rich Tatum