When you stand before your congregation, what do you hope to accomplish when you preach the Word? If people have Bibles and the freedom to read and pray on their own-why do they need you? In short, what do you bring to the table? Author, Pastor, and Professor John Koessler answers those questions and many more. Why does one sermon have a powerful effect on the audience while another falls flat? Why should listeners heed what the preacher says? Is...

The public narrative about religion in America warns of loss and decline. But the young men and women voicing their convictions in this book tell a different story. They gathered in Lexington, Kentucky, in January of 2017 to preach at the National Festival of Young Preachers. This printed version of their words of hope and transformation is the eighth in this series bringing together the young and talented from all traditions of the Christian community....

Sidney Greidanus's previous two preaching books - The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text and Preaching Christ from the Old Testament - have received wide acclaim. Preaching Christ from Genesis offers more of Greidanus's solid, practical homiletical fare. Packed with unique features, Preaching Christ from Genesis • uses the latest scholarly research to analyze twenty-three Genesis narratives • presents the rhetorical structures and other literary...

A man who's been transformed by Christ and desires to preach the gospel might say he feels called to be a pastor. This personal conviction, while heartfelt, doesn't acknowledge important, challenging steps necessary to be a qualified leader. So where should full-time ministry begin? In The Path to Being a Pastor, Bobby Jamieson explains why it's better to emphasize "aspiration" over "calling" as men pursue the office of elder and encourages readers...

Perfect for a preaching series on the parables Jesus told, this handy book can also be used by Sunday school teachers and speakers.

As we are getting closer to the end of this world, certain biblical truths, which were not revealed to our fathers and forefathers, are going to be made known to us. For the Bible tells us that knowledge shall increase in the last days (Daniel 12:4). One of these is the truth about hell and hellfire. Hellfire is not a literal fire as some people think, but rather the state where souls will yearn for the Word of God and will not have him. Their souls...

The volumes in Belief: A Theological Commentary on the Bible from Westminster John Knox Press offer a fresh and invigorating approach to all the books of the Bible. Building on a wide range of sources from biblical studies, the history of theology, the church's liturgical and musical traditions, contemporary culture, and the Christian tradition, noted scholars focus less on traditional historical and literary angles in favor of a theologically focused...

While growing churches dot our urban centers and country landscapes, church-goers and students today are actually less likely to maintain a Christian worldview than in the past. In fact, the majority of society does not even believe in objective truth. A minister out of touch with this culture is like an uninformed missionary trying to teach in a foreign country. To communicate God's Word effectively in the twenty-first century, teachers need to know...

This collection of more than fifty of Fred Craddock's sermons provides a glimpse of a master preacher at work. Amazingly, only one of the sermons was preached from a manuscript written in advance, as Craddock considered a sermon to be an event in the world of sound. As a result, the selections here wonderfully reflect and preserve Craddock's "voice" and engage readers with all the immediacy of the spoken word.

The church in America is part of a changing culture, and today's preachers must be prepared to engage the unique issues of our postmodern age. Editor Scott M. Gibson has skillfully combined the works of many well-known preachers, including Haddon Robinson and Bryan Chapell, into one practical guide written for present and future church leaders. Including questions for reflection and suggestions for further reading, this helpful resource addresses...