How Sermons Work

by David P. Murray

How do sermons work? How does a preacher get from the basic nuts and bolts of a few Bible verses to the delivery of a full sermon? That s the question David Murray answers in this instructive and immensely practical book. He demonstrates that behind the thirty to forty-five minutes we see and hear on a Sunday morning are many hours of mental, spiritual and practical labour. Like all pastoral labour, it involves head, heart and hand.Murray breaks up the sermon preparation process into a clear and simple stepby-step method, covering topics such as how to choose a text, how to introduce a sermon, how to explain a text, and how to apply it. It will provide an excellent refresher for experienced preachers and a reliable guide for those just starting out. It will also be extremely helpful to Bible class teachers, Bible Study leaders, or anyone who has to prepare a Bible message.Above all, however, it is the author s desire that this book will also be read by those who do not preach. He wants to give non-preachers an insider s look at sermon preparation. By taking readers behind the scenes and asking, How do they do that? Murray wants to supply answers that will increase respect for pastors and their preaching.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Spirituality, Nonfiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

David P. Murray is Professor of Old Testament and Practical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. He was born in Glasgow, Scotland, and worked for five years in financial services before being converted to Christ. He studied for the ministry at Glasgow University and the Free Church of Scotland College (Edinburgh). He was a pastor for 12 years, first at Lochcarron Free Church of Scotland and then at Stornoway Free Church of Scotland (Continuing). From 2002 to 2007, he was Lecturer in Hebrew and Old Testament at the Free Church Seminary in Inverness. He has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Reformation International Theological Seminary for his work relating Old Testament Introduction studies to the pastoral ministry. He and his wife, Shona, have four children: Allan, Angus, Joni, and Amy. He also blogs at Head Heart Hand.

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book has many helpful thoughts, it is presented in such a dry, pedantic form, that it was more drudgery than delight to read. I also thought the author overused alliteration, failed to adequately develop the importance of illustration, and especially in his examples, leaned more towards a textual-expository approach to preaching (much like Spurgeon, whom I love) rather sequential exposition through books (which I prefer). I also think the book is weak in the areas of contextualization amd apologetics (areas where Tim Keller’s book on preaching excels).

[Owen Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful book, although it’s written in a succinct, “bullet-point” kind of format. I will use it as a reference in the future.

[Jonathan Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short book with lots of nuggets. I found myself dog earring many pages. This book literally takes you through the steps of creating and delivering a sermon. It was very well done. My only qualm was that it was so short. I would love to read even more of Murray’s thoughts on preaching. As it is it is still a five star book! Recommended

[Travis Breedveld · Rating 5 out of 5]

This should be an absolute read for anyone who wants to preach, full-time or part-time. It communicates clearly and effectively with a lot of helpful tips.

[Vincent Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

David Murray’s How Sermons Work is one of the most helpful and practical tools that I have encountered regarding the topic of preaching. Right in the introduction, Murray states his purpose in writing the book, and that is to write a ‘How do they do that?’ book about preaching. Additionally, Murray explains that he writes to four audiences which include seminary students, for elders being asked to preach in various settings, to experienced preachers requiring a refresher, and ultimately to non-preachers. The book accomplishes the purpose in which Murray writes as it provides the reader with a brief, concise, applicable “how to?” manual for preaching that is practical and informative, walking the reader through the preparation of a sermon chapter by chapter. The summary in each section help explain Murrays’ main objectives.

[Jeremy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murray's work here says a lot about how to prepare sermons without introducing too specific a methodology. I was especially grateful for the vast variety of organizational patterns and applications that he walked through, careful to provide Scriptural and practical examples for each one. Murray encourages a text-centered message that points us to Christ. This would be excellent for beginning preachers to take in a lot of information and intermediate preachers to review what we are learning. An experienced preacher could use this book to help beginners and offer personal examples as the student works their way through the material. This book is a great whetstone for improvement in preaching.

[Wade · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to preaching. Murray defines what biblical preaching is and then breaks down the parts of a sermon into digestible smaller units. Helpful for the person new to biblical ministry (whether preaching regularly, or simply teaching Scripture on a regular basis) as well as for the minister decades into preaching who needs to be reminded to get back to the foundational basics.

[Christian Eckmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a good book. Easy to read through quickly and pick up great tips and reminders. I appreciated the focus on becoming a clearer and better speaker to remove stumbling blocks of understanding. Order, logic, and clarity glorify God. Therefore, we must labor to improve our preaching and communication for the listener's benefit and God's glory.

[Adam Cain · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more details but this was a basic overview that would probably be good for someone just beginning to preach or teach. In that regard for a short book it at least served as a reminder of basics.

[Alex]

A very practical little book on preparing and presenting sermons that lends itself to further reference (at least for a beginner).

[Jimmy Raymond · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book was well done, it is easy to read and a great practical tool for sermon preparation.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cursory but helpful.

[Matthew Kottman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a good introduction for those who are thinking about preaching ministry or have recently entered into it.

[Steve Hemmeke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murray writes a clear and brief summary of what makes a good sermon tick.

He touches all the bases: the preacher's piety, the kind of text, how to engage the text, the kind of sermon, organizing, introducing, applying the material, and finally presenting the sermon. Some may complain he doesn't cover each adequately, but the point was to be brief and he does capture the essentials.

This was an excellent refresher course for me, after my first 10 years or so of preaching.

I especially enjoyed the last chapter and section on plainness. Don't use too much material, too many words, too many long words, too many long sentences, too much logic, too many quotes, too much doctrine. There's a difference between a shallow sermon for babes needing milk, a plain sermon that serves up meat, but well seasoned, cooked and cut, and a dense sermon that's just avoiding being shallow but plops a huge hunk of raw meat on the plate. Look, it isn't shallow!

One quibble: the author tends to assume the sermon will be based on one or two verses. I tend to preach longer texts.

Murray also balances well the work of exegesis with the piety of the preacher. A love for the Word and the people goes a long way to a good sermon, but you can't rely only on that with no study and thinking.

Please pray for your pastor during the week, that his daily study would be fruitful come Sunday.

[Ben Duncan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a very basic nuts and bolts presentation of how to prepare and deliver sermons. This book is a compilation of blog posts from the author's website. I actually prefer the website's free video presentations which cover the material presented in each chapter.
It might be easy to dismiss this book as too basic for someone who has preached more than a handful of sermons. However, book is actually quite liberating in that it demonstrates how one can be Reformed and still have room in one's preaching repertoire for types of sermons other than verse-by-verse exposition of biblical books.

[Mark A Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

How does a sermon grow from Scripture? What differentiates one sermon from another? These are types of questions Murray seeks to answer—for both pastors and their congregations. He tries to cover a wide range of ground in short fashion, and that is the book’s undoing. While what was presented here was helpful to the extent of its reach, far too much was attempted in such a short volume. The result is choppy and often underdeveloped.

[Jonathan Klimek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every preacher needs to read this book!

I would highly recommend this book to all preachers and anyone wanting to preach. It should be a rule that no man get up to preach, without first reading and applying this book with much effort and prayer. David Murray provides many great tips and Biblical principles that will help transform both the preacher and the preachers manuscript to hopefully rid the pulpit from boring, confusing and dry sermons…

[Glyn Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great primer in preaching for all who have the honour of standing behind the pulpit and opening God's Word to the sheep. Simple, well-written, easy-reading, with practical examples that will help anyone at any level.

[Michael Dionne]

I love this book. It's a bit dry and definitely more of an outline. But it's a helpful, crucial, efficient look at what makes up a sermon. I plan to use an abridged version when preparing sermons to help clarify my approach and clean up my sermon writing!

[Peter Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too bare bones for my taste. Felt too much like an outline. It works best a good quick refresher on how to make sermons.

[Douglas Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written too much like an outline, but containing a lot of good material nonetheless.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

More a short collection of preaching advice then a structured book. There are some practical tips that might be helpful to some, but nothing groundbreaking.

[Kyle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book. While there are better books on the subject, for a quick refresher or learn about sermons it's excellent.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very concise, very simple. But very, very practical. Great book!

[Alasdair Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful when reared in the process of preparing a sermon.