The Big 5: Books on Preaching

List 5 books you would recommend on preaching?  Think of a seminary student or newbie...what would help him?  Think of a seasoned preacher...what would spice things up after years of the same process?   Please no books of preaching or transcribed sermons.  This should be a list of books on the art and science of preaching, on the preparation and delivery of sermons.  In this post I'm thinking of preaching as the weekly public proclamation to a local church and visitors. I'm going to let you make your suggestions first before I give my list. 

Comments

[Darryl]

Hmmm...

1. Biblical Preaching by Robinson
2. Christ-Centered Preaching by Chapell
3. Preaching to a Post-Everything World by Eswine
4. Him We Proclaim by Johnson
5. Communicating for a Change by Stanley

If I had room for one more it might be The Ancient Preacher and the Modern Text by Greidanus.

Can't wait for your list.

[Tim Etherington]

Piper - Supremacy of Christ in Preaching (obvious first choice)
EM Bounds - Power Through Prayer (seriously!)
Heath(s) - Made to Stick (but only AFTER you've read the first two)
Mathewson - The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (how badly can new preacher and some older ones handle that genre)

[Tim Etherington]

Sorry about the borked formatting in the previous post.

Yea, Chapell would be my fifth book

[Josh Montague]

1. The Supremacy of God in Preaching - Piper
2. Christ-Centered Preaching - Chappell
3. Speaking God's Words - Peter Adam
4. Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching - Various
5. Communicating for Change - Stanley (great thoughts on effective communication)

[Chris]

Christ-centered Preaching - Chappell
Preaching that Changes Lives - Faberez
Spirit-led Preaching - Heisler
Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture - Goldsworthy
Planning Your Preaching - Rummage

[Stephen Murray]

1. I Believe in Preaching - John Stott
2. Setting Hearts on Fire - John Chapman
3. Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture - Graeme Goldsworthy
4. Speaking God's Words - Peter Adam
5. Biblical Preaching - Haddon Robinson

Chapman is where all young preachers should start - he's probably not well known in the US being an Aussie and all but he comes from the same crowd as Goldsworthy.

[Joel]

A few not listed (yet) that i love about the art of preaching...and some just good preaching.

Preaching and Preachers - Lloyd-Jones
(new...but tasty) Doctrine that Dances by Robert Smith, Jr.
Cherry Log Sermons by Fred Craddock

[Louie Marsh]

Just two off the top of my head -

John Stott's book on preaching - can't remember the name and all my books are in storage right now.

Rick Warren's seminar on preaching - it's not a book but should be! And it's GREAT!!

[Terry J]

1. Between Two Worlds: The Challenge of Preaching Today - John Stott

2. Preaching to a Post-Everything World - Zack Eswine

3. Preaching: The Art of Narrative Exposition - Calvin Miller

4. Him We Proclaim - Dennis Johnson or Preaching Christ From All of Scripture - Goldsworhty (tie)

5. Doctrine That Dances: Bringing Doctrinal Preaching and Teaching to Life - Robert Smith & James Earl Massey

[Chris Meirose]

The Supremacy of God in Preaching - Piper
Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture - Goldsworthy
Made to Stick - Heath
Communicating Change - Stanley
Biblical Preaching - Robinson

Chris Meirose
http://wasecachurch.org
http://mrclm.blogspot.com

[Jonathan Dodson]

Tim Keller's Unintentional Preaching Models (lectures at GCTS)

Michael Quicke, 360 Degree Preaching

Graham Johnston, Preaching in a Postmodern World

[Steve McCoy]

Alright, my turn. I'll give my original list and add a few that haven't been mentioned.

My 5 are...
Stott's Between Two Worlds
Chappell's Christ-Centered Preaching
Stanley's Communicating for a Change
Made to Stick
(cheat, not a book) Keller's Preaching to Believers and Unbelievers

A few others worth mentioning...
- Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit (no longer in print)
- Spurgeon's Lectures to My Students (classic)
- Dever's lecture on preaching I heard with about a dozen other guys several years ago influenced me a ton. I don't know of anything online to point to.

[Steve McCoy]

Two housekeeping comments...

1. Feel free to interact with the lists given. It's not just about the lists.

2. If you have a "The Big 5" book list idea, send me an email. I already have many in the works, but I'm sure to miss some.

[Joel Burdeaux]

The obvious:
Christ Centered Preaching - Chappell
The Supremacy of God in Preaching - Piper

The not-so-obvious:
Preaching and Preachers - Lloyd-Jones

The previously unmentioned:
Spirit-empowered Preaching - Azurdia
The Cross and Christian Ministry - Carson
(not technically about preaching, but if preaching is your ministry, then it is...)

[Chuck Land]

My Top Five...

1. "Preaching the Gospel" by Tim Keller
2. Piper's book
3. Chappell
4. Preachers and Preaching by Lloyd Jones
5. Light and Heat

The Sermon Maker by Calvin Miller is worth checking out.

Okay, the Keller book is a dream!

[Scott Slayton]

The Supremacy of God in Preaching- John Piper
Christ Centered Preaching- Bryan Chappell
Evangelical Eloquence- R.L. Dabney
Preaching with Freshness- Bruce Mawhinney
Between Two World- John Stott

[Justin Buzzard]

1. Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (you'll underline every page)

2. Tim Keller, Preaching the Gospel in a Postmodern World--RTS Doctor of Ministry Program (only for the chosen)

3. John Stott, Between Two Worlds

4. Haddon Robinson (ed.), The Art and Craft of Biblical Preaching (700 pages of excellent short article from preachers of all stripes)

5. Tim Keller, Preaching to the Heart--Ockenga Institute Pastor Builders, 2006 (cheating here--this is an audio resource)

[Rob]

Five I don't think have been mentioned yet:

The Ministry of the Word – Taylor
On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons – Broadus (Not sure if it's in print)
Thoughts on Preaching – J. W. Alexander
The Preacher and Preaching – Logan (ed.)
My Heart for Thy Cause – Borgman

[Richard A. Bailey]

&tSince Steve said no transcribed collections, then I won't shamelessly promote The Salvation of Souls. In that wonderful volume's stead:

1. Preaching and Preachers, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
2. The Supermacy of God in Preaching, John Piper (especially the first half)
3. Between Two Worlds, John Stott
4. Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, Kent Hughes (maybe not strictly preaching, but so needed)
5. ;em>Preaching with Bold Assurance, Hershael York (not merely shameless promotion of a friend's book)

[Richard A. Bailey]

Steve, did I hear that talk of Dever's with you? I can't remember.

[Josh Montague]

Can't believe I forgot Goldsworthy. I'm embarrassed and ashamed.

[Jonathan Dodson]

Sacred Anointing on Lloyd Jones by Sargeant. Outstanding book on unction.

Sargeant has a new book out too: Gems From Martyn Lloyd-Jones - by Tony Sargent

[Ken in Virginia]

Two that are not obvious:

- Putting the Truth to Work: The Theory and Practice of Biblical Application, by Dan Doriani. (Doriani's book fills an important niche, is extremely practical, and shows how to preach Christ from all of Scripture. Doriani was a colleague of Bryan Chapell, I believe his book builds on the basic ideas of Chapell but is in my opinion superior.)

- The Soul Winner, by Charles Spurgeon.

[Mick Porter]

I'm not going to give a list because it would overlap with so many of the ones given. But I've got a couple of comments:

- Some of these books had a massive impact on my thinking, my life, my family, my church, my friends' churches... I went looking for books on how to preach Christ and they led me to really get to know Him. Particularly Piper, Goldsworthy, Greidanus.

- I agree with you about the Keller mp3. Interestingly, very few books on preaching deal with preaching the gospel to both believers and unbelievers. Application of the text is so often seen as purely for the church, as if Scripture is only ever directed at those who are already in.

- Do any of the books tell you how to look as cool as the weird preacher dude in the photo?

[cavman]

Didn't see this one:

Preaching w/Purpose by Jay Adams

In addition I'd take:
Piper- the Supremacy of God in Preaching
Chappel- Christ-Centered Preaching
Stott- Between Two Worlds
notes from Keller's seminar on Communicating the Gospel Today & his paper on the Centrality of the Gospel (Jesus, hear my plea that he should put this in book form!)

[Sean LeRoy]

Steve,
There have been several references to Keller...are these on your Keller reference page?
My 5:
1. Modern Preacher / Ancient Text - Greidenus
2. Preaching Christ - Greidenus
3. Anatomy of preaching - Larsen
4. Telling the old story - Larsen
5. Preaching OT - Kaiser

[Steve McCoy]

Richard, I don't think so. I was in the second weekender group, I thought you were in the first.

Sean, I put a link on my reference above, which is also on the Keller page. All the articles are on my Keller page. Jonathan Dodson's reference is to $34 worth of CD's.

[Burly]

"Preparing Expository Sermons: A Seven-step Method for Biblical Preaching" by Ramesh Richard. Super practical and manageable. I appreciate and have learned from other books on preaching, but this one simplified things for me into a manageable seven-step method to a slightly less dysfunctional sermon.

[Cameron]

1. Christ-Centered Preaching- Chappel, only thing this book is missing is a missional aspect
2. Preaching and Preachers- Lloyd-Jones
3. Keller's Preaching the Gospel in PM World- RTS (thanks Justin, Rick and Bryan passed it on)
4. The Supremacy of God in Preaching- Piper
5. Preaching Christ- McIllvaine

Someday I'll read Goldsworthy and Greidanus in seminary, i think, i hope..

[Richard A. Bailey]

Yes, Steve, as usual you are correct.

[TeacherDave]

Mick, that'd be the (in)famous Mark Driscoll... who appears to be doing "Jazz Hands."

[Richard A. Bailey]

I know I have five already, but this is actually a pamphlet (so doesn't count). And, though in sermon form, it is on the theory of the task. Plus, Joe will approve; so Steve will allow.

Solomon Stoddard, "The Defects of Preachers Reproved."

[Brian G. Hedges]

1. Christ-centered Preaching, Chapell
2. Preaching and Preachers, Lloyd-Jones
3. Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture, Goldsworthy
4. Between Two Worlds, Stott
5. The Preacher: His Life and Work, Jowett

[Keith Walters]

Rediscovering Expository Preaching - John MacArthur
On the Preparation and Delivery of Sermons - John A. Broadus
Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching - Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
The Supremacy of God in Preaching - John Piper
Preaching the Whole Bible As Christian Scripture: The Application of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching - Graeme Goldsworthy

And since it has not been mentioned:
Famine in the Land: A Passionate Call for Expository Preaching - Steven J. Lawson

[Heather Zempel]

From several different perspectives:

1. Preaching and Teaching With Imagination (Wiersbe)
2. Supremacy of God in Preaching (Piper)
3. Communicating for a Change (Stanley)
4. The Passion-Driven Sermon (Shaddix)
5. Preaching to a Post-Everything World (Eswine)

[Dana Olson]

As an old man commenting on preaching books among all you young bucks (and Heather! glad you mentioned Wiersbe's book on Imagination, which prompted the following thought): so many of the books I would list are already mentioned, such as Piper, Stott, Lloyd-Jones, etc. But there is a different kind of book that inspired me as a young preacher, especially when weary, distracted, finding it hard to study, lonely, frustrated. I would reach up and take down one of Wiersbe's Giants volumes, Walking with the Giants or Listening to the Giants. Here are profiles of great preachers of the past, with stories and details. I was always encouraged, always afterward ready too get back at it. I don't think these are currently in print but used copies must be available...they are gems, very worthwhile, worth their weight in gold for tough Mondays. Preachers and Preaching and also Spurgeon's Lectures had a similar impact on me.

[Ken in Virginia]

These lists were helpful to me (and obviously others), thanks Steve for this topic and thanks everyone for posting.

Comment: Judging by titles, it seems that there are fewer books on the life of the preacher - his character, unique challenges or trials, etc. Of course, it would take a seasoned man to write such a book. After looking through these lists I'm going to go find "Preachers and Preaching" by Lloyd-Jones which sounds like it addresses these issues well.

[Beat Attitude]

Regarding Piper, since he pops up so much... I know he's an excellent and passionate theologian, but sometimes I feel that his sermons do not take into account the way that people listen or what they might actually be hearing from him.

Personally, I really appreciate his sermons because I'm used to them now and I'm on the wavelength. But I played them to my home-group and people found it very hard going to follow his points. His ministry is international through DG, but I don't always feel that his presentation is.

In the world of mp3s and podcasts and online video, surely the international audience should be considered by the preacher.Of course, you preach first and foremost to those in the room with you, but remember your message could be going global!

I've found that, for example, John Ortberg at Menlo Park has a far more accessible and engaging presentation style, even if the theology is not always quite as detailed. It is considerate, intelligent, challenging and honest, and you are left with the impression that the preacher has integrity, that he's not just putting up a well-rehearsed "front" and as a result, the message can go deeper.

I love preachers to take style into consideration as one of the conduits for the message. It's *by no means* the most important thing, but so often preachers get into a certain hypnotic cadence that is difficult to break free from, and the congregation often goes home with less than they ought.

[David Cooke]

I am amazed that such a long list has failed to include the following couple of books. My friend Simon Ponsonby who I think is a very fine preacher (check out St Aldates Church, Oxford and his soon to be published books in the US 'More' and 'And the lamb wins' which you should seek out and read) put me on to this one.

1 Explosive Preaching by Ron Boyd-MacMillan. The two chapters on the Chinese Church blew me away and the life of the preacher chapter is great.
2. Preach the word edited by Greg Haslam is an amazing resource of wisdom from England's leading preachers. All who preach should have this on their shelves.

Agree on Stott, Lloyd Jones and the Keller Gordon Cornwell lectures.

Loving the 5 big books season.

[PJ Tibayan]

1. Christ-centered preaching (Chapell)
2. The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Piper)
3. Spirit-empowered preaching (Azurdia, see spiritempoweredpreaching.com)
4. Preaching that Changes Lives (Fabarez)
5. The Christian Ministry (Charles Bridges)