Heralds of God

by James S. Stewart

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Church, Faith, Christian, Theology, Christianity

228 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1946

About the author

James Stuart Stewart was a Scottish preacher.

Reviews

[John Dube · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve never read a better book on preaching, nor could I imagine a better one.

[Matthew Winning · Rating 5 out of 5]

A family member picked this book up for me at random(!) from a second hand bookshop and it turned out to be really excellent. James Stewart gave these lectures right after the second world war to students going into Presbyterian ministry (at St Andrews university I think), so he's speaking into a very unique cultural context mixed with both disillusionment and hope (in Stewart's words). Very practical and also very devotional, and the author is so immersed in other writers that he draws illustrations and quotes from various different corners. Nice to see an eye turned towards overseas missions and cultural engagement too. Absolutely brilliant.

[Michael Locklear]

per Kevin DeYoung (1.10.22)

[Jin Wan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had no idea who James S Stewart was until I read about him from another book (can't remember what that book was). Boy was I pleasantly surprised. This book put in simple but invigorating and beautiful terms what preaching is meant to be. The beauty of this book is that it not only explains why and how we preach but more importantly how we should feel when we preach the Word of God - to be filled with the power of God and be on fire for God through the Holy Spirit! I am greatly encouraged and edified by James S Stewart's writing, so much so that I have ordered a few more of his books from Book Depository (because they're not available on Kindle). Logic on fire, yes please, my Lord and Saviour!

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book from the 20th century Scottish pastor and professor, who was once named greatest preacher of the 20th century. Stewart divides his material into five lectures: the preacher’s world, theme, study, technique, and inner life. Gold on every page. This was my fifth time through. Also read 6/25/98 & 5/6/2011 & 8/1/2014 & 12/21/20.

[Michael Philliber · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book. A valuable help through and through. still relevant even 66 years after it was published. If you are a preacher/pastor/priest I highly, highly recommend this book. it will fill you with renewed hope and conviction, correct your rambling tendencies, and help you with direction. Get it and read it ASAP!

[Michael Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stewart's book, in some respects, was a tour de force regarding the primacy and glory of preaching. From the opening illustration of Dr. Vaughan Williams deciding to go down to the people rather than sit in the towers of artistic elitism, to the closing admonishment that a preacher will be “a man on fire for Christ,” Stewart's book excelled at drawing out the primacy and glory of preaching God's Word. This is a much needed message for pastors today in a culture where preaching is not only not held in glory, but many ministers seem not to grasp what they have been called to. In order to communicate the weight of preaching, Stewart wonderfully showed forth the weight of preaching by considering the all-encompassing call that it is to be a preacher. One clearly understands from Stewart that the vocation of a minister is more than earning a living, it is a divine call to which we are appointed. And it is by grasping this, that the weightiness of preaching is rightly derived. Early on, Stewart affirms the sentiments of St. Augustine: “What I live by, I impart.” This seems to be a helpful matrix by which to understand Stewart's entire view of preaching, that in many regards it receives its weight from what the preacher is called to. Stewart then, defines the preacher by his world, theme, study, technique, and inner life.
Regarding the preacher's world, Stewart reminds ministers that they caught in the great trial and tension of the world. Steward reminds us that while the message of Gospel is unchanging, that we are called to be those who “go down to the world.” That we must bring the message of the Gospel into the particular situations and contexts of God's people. Stewart as a very helpful way of describing the contemporary situation in three different sub-sections. He notes first, there is disillusionment and hope, second, escapism and realism, and third, skepticism and faith. In many regards, these characterizations are still rampant in so many quarters of the world—though perhaps understood slightly differently. What Stewart impressed me with, is that he sought to show how the message of the Gospel presents a counter-culture to what our world is in the midst of. It is important for ministers to have a right understanding of the times in which they live in order to share the Gospel effectively. In a day and age where there is so much talk of contextualization, I found Stewart's observations to be salient. I remember once hearing John Piper respond to Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll that he was happy they had a freedom to really pursue the culture, but that for him, the point of contact he strove after with the world was the common misery of sin that we all share. Stewart's appraisal of the world/culture did not strike me as him commending particular fads or the ethos of the day, but acknowledging how sin expresses itself in the world in which find ourselves and that it is sin that the preacher seeks to confront.
Stewart then turns to the preacher's theme and reminds his listeners that not every sermon can achieve all things. It appears that Stewart really divides the preacher's theme into two chief concerns—the indicative and the imperative. In a telling place, Stewart quotes Dr. L. P. Jacks as bring right: “every truth that religion announces passes insensibly into a command. Its indicatives are veiled imperatives.” But he goes on to say: “the indicatives are basic and fundamental.” As far as this quote goes, I think Stewart is right. The theme of the preacher is bring further the glories of Christ (indicative) but to show the people that Christ demands absolute allegiance (imperative). In this way, the theme of the preacher is to preach Christ in a way that Christ confronts the world with his all encompassing grace.
The third section details the preacher's study. I think the most salient point in this section, is that Stewart recounts how studying the Word of God and teaching is not a sufficient means of preaching. One can know all the techniques and mechanics of preaching and still fail to preach. For me, this underscored what Martyn Lloyd-Jones said elsewhere that good preaching is caught and not taught. That said, there is still a place for understanding the mechanics of preaching as Stewart highlights in the remainder of this chapter. Some of the mechanics that Stewart selects is our reading and meditating on the Scriptures, expository preaching, and laboring to make the sermon as good as you can. Surprisingly, Stewart also commends the observing of the Christian calendar. I did not find him overly persuasive, but I did appreciate his attention on the basic fundamentals of the faith. What I appreciated most about this section, is that Stewart does not shy away from showing that a sermon is a very unique and special specimen so unlike anything else. The preacher needs to keep this in mind.
The final two sections focus on the technique and the inner life. Here Stewart makes general observations about the use of illustrations, quotes, words, and such things. His pragmatic advice is helpful and straightforward. Of particular interest to me, is the way in which Stewart encourages playing with one's particular method of preaching. Today, there seems to be a bit of an over-emphasis on one particular preaching style (e.g., thematic, lectio continua). But Stewart is right to observe that the Bible does not demand one particular method and there are times when, for the sake of one's congregation, it would be helpful to break from one's regular mode to stress or emphasize a needed point. I find such an approach to be refreshing in granting a great degree of liberty in how one chooses to preach a text. And the final section on the preacher's inner life stresses the importance of the preacher's own growth in grace and holiness and guarding one's own way.
In all, I found this book to be quite invigorating. What I appreciated about it, was the constant reminder that a sermon, though the instrument of God in saving his people, is preached through the use of a man, and that this man has a calling from God that is to shape and be absorbed into all of life. Stewart did not simply exalt the preaching of the Word, but showed that preaching must come from a man who is thoroughly acquainted with his calling and with who has called him. It served as a helpful reminder to me of the importance of letting the calling to be a preacher condition the entirety of my life.

[Randy Corn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book came into my hands in 1985. I had read bits and pieces of it, but not until this week had a determined to read it from beginning to end. This is the print form of the Warrack Lectures at the Universities of Edinburgh and St. Andrews in perhaps 1945. It is one of those volumes that you wonder why it took you so long to get around to.

The volume is divided into five chapters dealing with the preacher’s world, theme, study, technique, and inner life. Like many such lectures from the mid part of the 20th century, it is filled with quotations of earlier writers. This is one of the strongest points of the book, but the author will often drop in a phrase in Latin with the assumption that the reader will instantly get the point. If he were giving these lectures to an audience today, I doubt the Latin would be as frequent. His assumption is that the readers are literate, even well read people. That is not a safe assumption in our day.

I suppose the chapter that I liked the most was the final one on the preacher’s inner life. He contends that preachers should be characterized by 5 qualities. They must be utterly dedicated to their work, men of prayer, possessing great humility of heart, be men of authority, and finally, men on fire for God. I say I liked this chapter, I mean by that I found it most convicting. I do wonder, now that my ministry is coming to a close if I came close to any of these? I know that my tendency is to say that I did so more than some I know, but that isn’t the question. I believe it might be the kind of thing that might drag me down, if I let it. All I can do is repent and do the best with whatever time I have.

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a series of lectures/sermons to inspire preachers. It certainly does this brilliantly and holds up surprisingly well to today. Maybe a lot less has changed than we imagine! The problems remain remarkably consistent after all these years and the advice is just a pertinent.

Stewart brings a comprehensive literary background that few preachers today could manage where the focus is all too much on being contemporary. I particularly appreciated the quotations from John Donne. The style of communication has moved on somewhat, but it is also important to appreciate flair in language use that is often neglected in verbal communication today and which Stewart clearly masters.

[Andrew Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best book on preaching I have ever read. I have not been pastoring long, but it’s been long enough that I’ve accumulated a shelf-full of thoughtful, wise books on preaching. If that entire shelf burned, but Heralds of God somehow remained untouched, my shelf would still be at 98% of its usefulness.

Stewart’s practical guidance in Chapters 3-5 are reliable; not dated in the least. But it’s Chapters 1 and 2, “The Preacher’s World” and “The Preacher’s Theme,” that are worth the price of the book.

5 stars.

[Daniel S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring. challenging. I took a star off because it seems as though Stewart thinks Paul's sermon in Acts 17 wasn't a very good sermon.

[David Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent, heart-stirring book!

[Jimmy Reagan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mr. Stewart ministered in Scotland. This volume was originally a Warrick Lecture and is organized around five subjects for the preacher: his world, theme, study, technique, and inner life.

We are in this world as a herald of God to people who are disillusioned confused and need to hear of our Lord. We are to smash that disillusionment, he says, with the Cross of Christ.

He reminds us to be sure we worship as we lead worship. He is one of the best I have read in describing how the sermon itself is a key component or worship. That is so often forgotten today. He speaks to what I’ve heard many preachers talk about–running out of fresh ideas for sermons. He proclaims: “The longest ministry is too short by far to exhaust the treasures of the Word of God.”

He makes it beautifully clear that Christ must be our theme. We must be careful not to be swallowed by side issues.

When he speaks of our study, he encourages us to throw our all into it because of the importance of the message we have to preach. We work with treasure. To better know how to preach to men, better know God. He also makes a powerful plea for expository preaching. As he says, “Let the Bible speak for itself.” He says it will deliver us from monotony. He is right!

After giving practical advice on technique, he launches into our inner life. He argues that we must take heed to ourselves before we do so for the flock.

This is another winner!

[Andrew Canavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best books on preaching I've read. Stewart says a lot about technique, etc. that was picked up by later writers, but he does so in a much more literary and focused (i.e. brief) way. Theologically, Stewart seems to be a few clicks toward the theological left from someone more reliably orthodox and evangelical (like John Stott, his contemporary in the UK). Still, he is an evangelical, committed to the proclamation of the Gospel, salvation in Christ alone, and the central importance of Scripture in preaching. This is a great book for pastors and seminary students to read.

Second reading (2024): I still think there’s a lot of good stuff here, but you can detect some of the weakness in even the evangelical wing of the 20th century Church of Scotland that would have tragic results in the years to come (e.g. Stewart presents as a novel idea, worth trying every so often, to preach through larger sections of Scripture rather than a single verse to fit a theme. I am thankful for a return to lectio continua expository preaching!).

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book on preaching which was written in the aftermath of world war II. Except for the fact that it lacks gender inclusive language, this seems remarkably contemporary. There is some helpful tips for sermon craft, but what makes this book so enjoyable is how inspiring it is. Stewart lays out the case for expository preaching, that is preaching a biblical text. I think I will probably end up reading this book again.

[Deke]

251

[Garrett Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

the only preaching book I keep rereading, amazing