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Preaching?
Like many things in life, the skill of good preaching is 95% perspiration and 5% inspiration. Alec Motyer gives us a simple guide based on a multitude of sermons over many years of preaching, in many different situations. At its basic level he tells us that preparing a good sermon is like baking a cake. It requires the correct ingredients for each type of cake to be baked, likewise with preaching, know your subject and pull all the pieces together to make up the winning recipe. Preaching is a privilege accorded to few and the fruits thereof welcomed by many - let Alec help you reach out and make the best of the gifts God has given you.
174 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 2013
40 people are currently reading
224 people want to read
About the author
J. Alec Motyer
36 books44 followersJ. Alec Motyer (M.A., B.D., D.D.) was formerly principal of Trinity College in Bristol, England. He has extensive experience in parish ministry and is well known as a Bible expositor. He is author of The Prophecy of Isaiah, and he is Old Testament editor of IVP's commentary series, The Bible Speaks Today. He has written several volumes in that series.
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October 23, 2013
The review below was originally posted at thoughtsprayersandsongs.com:
When the opportunity to review a new preaching book by Alec Motyer presented itself, I jumped at the chance. A competent biblical scholar, Motyer has written several commentaries that I have on my shelf (both in paper format and electronic). Notably, his commentaries on Isaiah is essential to anyone who wishes to gain a greater grasp on Isaiah’s prophecy. He is the general editor of the Old Testament for the Bible Speaks Today commentary series (published by IVP) and has contributed several volumes to the series. He is also former principal of Trinity College, Bristol.
In Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching, Motyer details his approach to expository preaching. He shares wisdom from years of practice with plenty of examples of how to take a text and turn it into a sermon. This is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to preaching. Motyer writes, “For preaching is a very personal and individual exercise. We can learn from each other, but must not copy each other. It won’t work! Like criminals we must each discover our own modus operandi – find out what is our own brand of murder – and, hopefully, get away with it!” (Kindle Locations 306-308). Without heavy-handedly describing ‘the’ plan for preaching, Motyer shares his advice and insight on how to do it well. As a scholar, pastor, expositor, and preacher with decades of faithful service, he has a lot to say.
Motyer’s method is simple (as his subtitle suggests). He tells us to find a text: examine it, analyze it, orient ourselves to it, and harvest from it. The wisdom of his approach is that it forces the preacher to sit under a text rather than use a passage to illustrate their own agenda (or what they think the church ‘needs to hear’). Literary structure, inclusio, word studies and repetitions reveal meaning in the text. Often attention to the broad contours of the passage reveals an apt word for our context. This is what Motyer suggests: study and understand the text, prayerfully submit yourself to the text and pay attention to what God is saying there. When you have done that, you can craft a sermon (harvesting). And yes, he does offer advice on presentation and delivery: what to do and not do, and what to do but not too much. He does have some good words to say about how to draw out applications from a passage.
These are all important points and I agree a wholeheartedly with most of what Motyer commends. I have minor disagreements with him in places because as Motyer observes, preaching is a highly personal endeavor. But I have still failed to mention what I think are the most significant insights that Motyer imparts. I appreciated Motyer’s passion for the importance of preaching. Unfolding God’s Word and declaring it to the church gathered is sacred work. Beginning in his early chapters, but throughout this volume, Motyer describes this joyful and serious task and the demands it makes of the would-be-preacher. To preach and preach well is to give attention to the Word and to the church. While Motyer devotes much of this book describing attention to the Word (where we hear the voice of God), to preach well is also to fulfill our pastoral vocation: to pray for the congregation, and be involved in their lives. As Motyer observes, “Our position as ministers in a church gives us the right to preach, but it does not give us the right to be heard”(Kindle Locations 1503-1504). A pastor who is actively caring for the flock and prayerfully attending to their spiritual formation will preach with power.
I warmly commend this book to preachers, especially young preachers with little experience. Motyer illustrates his approach by giving several examples of how to exegete a passage and turn it into a sermon. By opening up his process to new preachers, Motyer gives them a gift. Those who follow his method will be brought into an encounter with the Spirit in the text. May all who declare God’s Word do so with such loving attention! I give this book 5 stars.
Thank you to Christian Focus Publications for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my review.
When the opportunity to review a new preaching book by Alec Motyer presented itself, I jumped at the chance. A competent biblical scholar, Motyer has written several commentaries that I have on my shelf (both in paper format and electronic). Notably, his commentaries on Isaiah is essential to anyone who wishes to gain a greater grasp on Isaiah’s prophecy. He is the general editor of the Old Testament for the Bible Speaks Today commentary series (published by IVP) and has contributed several volumes to the series. He is also former principal of Trinity College, Bristol.
In Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching, Motyer details his approach to expository preaching. He shares wisdom from years of practice with plenty of examples of how to take a text and turn it into a sermon. This is not a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to preaching. Motyer writes, “For preaching is a very personal and individual exercise. We can learn from each other, but must not copy each other. It won’t work! Like criminals we must each discover our own modus operandi – find out what is our own brand of murder – and, hopefully, get away with it!” (Kindle Locations 306-308). Without heavy-handedly describing ‘the’ plan for preaching, Motyer shares his advice and insight on how to do it well. As a scholar, pastor, expositor, and preacher with decades of faithful service, he has a lot to say.
Motyer’s method is simple (as his subtitle suggests). He tells us to find a text: examine it, analyze it, orient ourselves to it, and harvest from it. The wisdom of his approach is that it forces the preacher to sit under a text rather than use a passage to illustrate their own agenda (or what they think the church ‘needs to hear’). Literary structure, inclusio, word studies and repetitions reveal meaning in the text. Often attention to the broad contours of the passage reveals an apt word for our context. This is what Motyer suggests: study and understand the text, prayerfully submit yourself to the text and pay attention to what God is saying there. When you have done that, you can craft a sermon (harvesting). And yes, he does offer advice on presentation and delivery: what to do and not do, and what to do but not too much. He does have some good words to say about how to draw out applications from a passage.
These are all important points and I agree a wholeheartedly with most of what Motyer commends. I have minor disagreements with him in places because as Motyer observes, preaching is a highly personal endeavor. But I have still failed to mention what I think are the most significant insights that Motyer imparts. I appreciated Motyer’s passion for the importance of preaching. Unfolding God’s Word and declaring it to the church gathered is sacred work. Beginning in his early chapters, but throughout this volume, Motyer describes this joyful and serious task and the demands it makes of the would-be-preacher. To preach and preach well is to give attention to the Word and to the church. While Motyer devotes much of this book describing attention to the Word (where we hear the voice of God), to preach well is also to fulfill our pastoral vocation: to pray for the congregation, and be involved in their lives. As Motyer observes, “Our position as ministers in a church gives us the right to preach, but it does not give us the right to be heard”(Kindle Locations 1503-1504). A pastor who is actively caring for the flock and prayerfully attending to their spiritual formation will preach with power.
I warmly commend this book to preachers, especially young preachers with little experience. Motyer illustrates his approach by giving several examples of how to exegete a passage and turn it into a sermon. By opening up his process to new preachers, Motyer gives them a gift. Those who follow his method will be brought into an encounter with the Spirit in the text. May all who declare God’s Word do so with such loving attention! I give this book 5 stars.
Thank you to Christian Focus Publications for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my review.
July 3, 2015
A good practical guide to the work of constructing a sermon, with many illustrations. He makes the point well that in preparing a sermon, there are a number of things that must be done, but simultaneously, rather than step-by-step. This is the kind of book that repays re-reading.
June 22, 2017
Accessible, short, clear, and brimming with wisdom. Not necessarily the first or only book I would recommend on preaching, but if you are interested in preaching then this is an excellent resource that will deepen your knowledge, fan your passion, and sharpen your practical approach.
December 16, 2013
Somewhat disjointed, but there are a number of gems here.
November 18, 2013
Let's be honest, books on preaching are more numerous than I can count. They are everywhere, but most of them (in my experience at least) have not been very helpful at all. The authors of these books either try to make the job of preaching way more difficult than it needs to be, or they try to talk over the heads of their readers. Oftentimes readers are left feeling more frustrated after they finish these books than before they opened them up, which should never be the case. In steps Alec Motyer's, Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching, and it is a breath of fresh air as it pertains to books on preaching. One of the very first things that readers will notice is that Alec makes it his mission to not talk over his intended audience (which is by default preachers, but could/should extend to teachers as well). Even though Alec has had a very fruitful ministry and is well known in religious circles, he never makes the reader feel like he is trying to talk down to them, and that approach lends itself to readers letting their guards down a bit and reading what Alec has to say with a mind and heart open to instruction/correction.
Preaching, and the crafting of sermons, can and should be hard work. Young preachers sometimes enter the ministry with naive notions about the time and effort it takes to construct an expository sermon that is exegetically sound, and thus God-honoring in its content. Depending on what kind of church we grew up in, and the Pastors we sat under, we can almost take a legalistic approach to sermon construction and preaching. The notion that each sermon must contain at least 3 points, those points must start with the same letter, a funny illustration has to be told at the beginning of the sermon, and at least two more illustrations need to be provided during the sermon, are just a few of the many legalistic ideas that some preachers ascribe to as it pertains to sermon prep and preaching. Alec's book was written to clear up any misconceptions about what constitutes a truly expository sermon, and it provides tools for the reader to use to identify the main point(s) of the verse/paragraph/book/Bible, and how the preacher can convey that point, or points, to his listeners.
The first three chapters are more of an introduction to the idea that sermons are rarely spontaneous and require hard work to construct, why we should preach expository sermons, what makes a sermon "bad", and why we should desire to preach "good" sermons. Sermons are typically "bad" because they are so muddled. If you desire to preach "good" sermons, then you need the tools to examine the Scriptures, define the key terms, keep the text in its context, discern the main point(s), and clearly convey these truths to your listeners. Far to often, I have sat under the preaching of someone who has talked for well over an hour, told joke after joke, and provided an abundance of illustrations, only to leave shaking my head because the person completely missed the main point(s) of the verse/paragraph/book. If you fail to bring clarity to the text, then you have failed in your sermon no matter how many people walk the aisle or shake your hand and tell you how good of a job you did.
Chapter 4 is where Alec begins to go into detail about preaching, and what the Bible has to say about it, and carries that message through the rest of the book. The Pastor needs to be reminded that sermons are not meant to elevate him, nor are they meant to see how many illustrations or jokes that he can tell in one sermon, but they are to be grounded in the truth of God's Word. Alec exhorts his readers to make much of the Word of God, and to hold it in high esteem in both our sermon prep and preaching. Sermons that are to focused on jokes and illustrations will hinder our congregations, and will leave your members walking out the church doors thinking more about us and not enough about the Word of God. As a preacher, we are to teach the truths of God with clarity, passion, and power. In order to do this, each sermon must focus on the following: "there is a central truth to be conveyed; there is a planned method of setting that truth out; there is a determination to bring that truth home with clarity, understanding, application and acceptability to the hearers."
Clarity in teaching is one of the biggest issues in Alec's mind. Like he says in Chapter 4, "No teachers worth their salt leave their classes in any doubt of what a particular lesson is about; they come with a prepared presentation, each point designed to make some facet of the central truth shine clearly, and to build up, step by step, to a total presentation." The truth is that no one really cares how many points your sermon has and if they start with the same letter, and they could mostly care less about your illustrations. They want to know what "thus saith the Lord", and can you back up your teaching with contextual evidence to prove to them that you know what you are talking about. If you fail at clarity, then you have failed in your ministry as a Pastor.
After stressing the importance of clarity, Alec shows the reader how it goes hand-in-hand with expository sermons. By means of definition, exposition "is the restatement of a Scripture-whether a word, a verse, a chapter or a book-so that its messages emerges with clarity." The exposition of a text is almost meaningless if you can't convey the truths gleaned from Scripture with clarity. There is a "reasoning, explaining, and demonstrating" that accompanies good exposition, and it is based on a faithful reading of Acts 17:2-4. As Alec goes on to mention:
"The one word 'clarity' covers all three of these important verbs: clarity in addressing truth to the minds of the hearers; clarity in bringing out what the Bible says; clarity of presentation. The task is instruction; the source is the Scriptures; and the art is the presentation-the truth 'served up' in a way that is palatable and orderly-'set out' in a coherent order and shape. I can find no better description of 'exposition', no better definition of what an 'expository ministry' is all about. Whether the sermon deals with one word, one phrase, one verse, one chapter, one book or one character, the three facets of 'exposition' remain constant, and should be constantly and consciously in the preacher's mind in the study and in the pulpit. Have the hearers understood (cf. Matt. 13:51)? Has the Bible been properly and fully made plain (cf., 2 Tim. 4:17)? Has the material been set out in an orderly fashion (cf. Acts 11:4; 18:26)?"
There is no denying the importance of figuring out what the main point of the text is, and keeping the main point the main point in your sermon. However, if you find the main point, but fail in clearly conveying that to your congregation, what have you really accomplished? The answer has to be a resounding, "not much".
The rest of the book focuses on the details of how to put together a "good" sermon, how to glean from Scripture all that God would have you glean, and how to preach the sermon using terms such as, "examination, analysis, orientation, harvesting, presentation, and application". Alec touches on topics like commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, what version(s) of the Bible you should use, how to conserve your sermons for future analysis, how to study and preach on specific characters in the Bible, how to do an overview of an entire book of the Bible, etc. There is some really practical, and sound advice, located in these chapters.
Preaching?: A Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching is not a ground-breaking book on the subject of preaching by any stretch of the imagination, but that was not it's intention. It is, however, a book that defines the basics of what a "good" sermon is, how to construct one, and then how to present that sermon with clarity to your specific congregation. Alec does not pass off his ideas as the only way to construct and preach good sermons, but he does offer tried and true advice grounded in biblical truth that will be an asset to the preaching community for generations to come.
Disclaimer: I received Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching by Alec Motyer free of charge from the publisher, Christian Focus Publications, in exchange for an honest review.
Preaching, and the crafting of sermons, can and should be hard work. Young preachers sometimes enter the ministry with naive notions about the time and effort it takes to construct an expository sermon that is exegetically sound, and thus God-honoring in its content. Depending on what kind of church we grew up in, and the Pastors we sat under, we can almost take a legalistic approach to sermon construction and preaching. The notion that each sermon must contain at least 3 points, those points must start with the same letter, a funny illustration has to be told at the beginning of the sermon, and at least two more illustrations need to be provided during the sermon, are just a few of the many legalistic ideas that some preachers ascribe to as it pertains to sermon prep and preaching. Alec's book was written to clear up any misconceptions about what constitutes a truly expository sermon, and it provides tools for the reader to use to identify the main point(s) of the verse/paragraph/book/Bible, and how the preacher can convey that point, or points, to his listeners.
The first three chapters are more of an introduction to the idea that sermons are rarely spontaneous and require hard work to construct, why we should preach expository sermons, what makes a sermon "bad", and why we should desire to preach "good" sermons. Sermons are typically "bad" because they are so muddled. If you desire to preach "good" sermons, then you need the tools to examine the Scriptures, define the key terms, keep the text in its context, discern the main point(s), and clearly convey these truths to your listeners. Far to often, I have sat under the preaching of someone who has talked for well over an hour, told joke after joke, and provided an abundance of illustrations, only to leave shaking my head because the person completely missed the main point(s) of the verse/paragraph/book. If you fail to bring clarity to the text, then you have failed in your sermon no matter how many people walk the aisle or shake your hand and tell you how good of a job you did.
Chapter 4 is where Alec begins to go into detail about preaching, and what the Bible has to say about it, and carries that message through the rest of the book. The Pastor needs to be reminded that sermons are not meant to elevate him, nor are they meant to see how many illustrations or jokes that he can tell in one sermon, but they are to be grounded in the truth of God's Word. Alec exhorts his readers to make much of the Word of God, and to hold it in high esteem in both our sermon prep and preaching. Sermons that are to focused on jokes and illustrations will hinder our congregations, and will leave your members walking out the church doors thinking more about us and not enough about the Word of God. As a preacher, we are to teach the truths of God with clarity, passion, and power. In order to do this, each sermon must focus on the following: "there is a central truth to be conveyed; there is a planned method of setting that truth out; there is a determination to bring that truth home with clarity, understanding, application and acceptability to the hearers."
Clarity in teaching is one of the biggest issues in Alec's mind. Like he says in Chapter 4, "No teachers worth their salt leave their classes in any doubt of what a particular lesson is about; they come with a prepared presentation, each point designed to make some facet of the central truth shine clearly, and to build up, step by step, to a total presentation." The truth is that no one really cares how many points your sermon has and if they start with the same letter, and they could mostly care less about your illustrations. They want to know what "thus saith the Lord", and can you back up your teaching with contextual evidence to prove to them that you know what you are talking about. If you fail at clarity, then you have failed in your ministry as a Pastor.
After stressing the importance of clarity, Alec shows the reader how it goes hand-in-hand with expository sermons. By means of definition, exposition "is the restatement of a Scripture-whether a word, a verse, a chapter or a book-so that its messages emerges with clarity." The exposition of a text is almost meaningless if you can't convey the truths gleaned from Scripture with clarity. There is a "reasoning, explaining, and demonstrating" that accompanies good exposition, and it is based on a faithful reading of Acts 17:2-4. As Alec goes on to mention:
"The one word 'clarity' covers all three of these important verbs: clarity in addressing truth to the minds of the hearers; clarity in bringing out what the Bible says; clarity of presentation. The task is instruction; the source is the Scriptures; and the art is the presentation-the truth 'served up' in a way that is palatable and orderly-'set out' in a coherent order and shape. I can find no better description of 'exposition', no better definition of what an 'expository ministry' is all about. Whether the sermon deals with one word, one phrase, one verse, one chapter, one book or one character, the three facets of 'exposition' remain constant, and should be constantly and consciously in the preacher's mind in the study and in the pulpit. Have the hearers understood (cf. Matt. 13:51)? Has the Bible been properly and fully made plain (cf., 2 Tim. 4:17)? Has the material been set out in an orderly fashion (cf. Acts 11:4; 18:26)?"
There is no denying the importance of figuring out what the main point of the text is, and keeping the main point the main point in your sermon. However, if you find the main point, but fail in clearly conveying that to your congregation, what have you really accomplished? The answer has to be a resounding, "not much".
The rest of the book focuses on the details of how to put together a "good" sermon, how to glean from Scripture all that God would have you glean, and how to preach the sermon using terms such as, "examination, analysis, orientation, harvesting, presentation, and application". Alec touches on topics like commentaries, concordances, dictionaries, what version(s) of the Bible you should use, how to conserve your sermons for future analysis, how to study and preach on specific characters in the Bible, how to do an overview of an entire book of the Bible, etc. There is some really practical, and sound advice, located in these chapters.
Preaching?: A Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching is not a ground-breaking book on the subject of preaching by any stretch of the imagination, but that was not it's intention. It is, however, a book that defines the basics of what a "good" sermon is, how to construct one, and then how to present that sermon with clarity to your specific congregation. Alec does not pass off his ideas as the only way to construct and preach good sermons, but he does offer tried and true advice grounded in biblical truth that will be an asset to the preaching community for generations to come.
Disclaimer: I received Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching by Alec Motyer free of charge from the publisher, Christian Focus Publications, in exchange for an honest review.
December 19, 2018
There are some helpful observations in this book for the person who makes a living by preaching:
*”The church is not a body in pursuit of the truth, but already possessing it and called to share it.” (21).
*”The Scriptures do not yield up their secrets to the indolent.” (71).
*”The question we preachers should constantly ask ourselves is not ‘Am I getting a response?’ but ‘Am I being clear?’ “ (107).
*A preacher’s position gives him the right to preach, but on Monday through Saturday he purchases the right to be heard. (134).
*”Never pray to be delivered from nervousness. Apart from anything else, it keeps us from ungodly self-sufficiency.” (137).
One questionable point is Motyer’s claim that preachers should not use the “you approach” in their sermons, and should say “we” instead (95). It is true we should seek to heal and not to bruise, but it seems to me that the exclusive use of “we” can often lessen the impact of an application point. Nevertheless, it is important to avoid using “needlessly hurtful words.” We are FOR the people to whom we preach, not against them.
The book suffers from a loose, casual style that feels a little sloppy. Plus, if you’ve read preaching books before, there’s not much here you haven’t heard before. But reminders are always valuable.
*”The church is not a body in pursuit of the truth, but already possessing it and called to share it.” (21).
*”The Scriptures do not yield up their secrets to the indolent.” (71).
*”The question we preachers should constantly ask ourselves is not ‘Am I getting a response?’ but ‘Am I being clear?’ “ (107).
*A preacher’s position gives him the right to preach, but on Monday through Saturday he purchases the right to be heard. (134).
*”Never pray to be delivered from nervousness. Apart from anything else, it keeps us from ungodly self-sufficiency.” (137).
One questionable point is Motyer’s claim that preachers should not use the “you approach” in their sermons, and should say “we” instead (95). It is true we should seek to heal and not to bruise, but it seems to me that the exclusive use of “we” can often lessen the impact of an application point. Nevertheless, it is important to avoid using “needlessly hurtful words.” We are FOR the people to whom we preach, not against them.
The book suffers from a loose, casual style that feels a little sloppy. Plus, if you’ve read preaching books before, there’s not much here you haven’t heard before. But reminders are always valuable.
April 8, 2020
A helpful book on homiletics. One thing I appreciated most was Motyer's humility in appreciating the various approaches and methods of exposition. In a day where so many who write on preaching, find their method to be a hill to stand or die on, Motyer offers a refreshing perspective. I am also pleased with his succinct and accurate definition of expository preaching which shouldn't be conflated with the lectio continua. Finally, Motyer does a good job dealing with the incidentals and putting them in their place. The editing was poor and his writing style wasn't my favorite, but over all, a helpful book.
September 2, 2017
Alec Motyer has written a gem of a little book on preaching. He doesn't over amplify the technical aspects of preparation to focus on delivery or other aspects of the preaching moment, rather he focuses on the pastoral obligation to get it right. His target audience is the full-time pastor; his concern is to balance shepherding the flock with feeding the flock well. He writes in a very pastoral tone that is easy to read and encourages contemplation and application of what he says. Well written small book on preaching clearly.
July 21, 2018
This a quirky book on preaching with a number of gold nuggets of exegetical insight and homiletical wisdom. The outline of the preachers task, unpacked in chapters 6-12, is helpful. But the illustrations of the author are a bit tired, sometimes even odd and goofy. The writing style didn’t grab me, and sometimes hindered. Of books on preaching (and I’ve read many), this was not one of my favorites. (Interestingly enough, however, I’ve recently read a fair bit of Motyer’s commentary on James, and like it a lot!)
July 14, 2019
Good book on preaching. Some great insights, preaching is heralding and proclaiming, not just delivering a sermon. Had some minor disagreements on homiletical approaches but would still thoroughly recommend this book to others engaged in preaching and those starting out. The appendixes at the back are really useful for bible study groups and devotionals.
December 30, 2023
Great. It's a little muddled at times which is ironic considering his desire for preaching that "isn't muddled." But this along with Clowney's "Preaching and Biblical Theology," and Helm's "Expositional Preaching" are my 3 favourite books on preaching.
Read
December 28, 2024“The public minister of the Word has to be fashioned in the secret workshop of the Word. The minister must never cease to be an ‘ordinary believer’ humbly walking with God in the light of His Word.”, p. 123
May 28, 2017
Very helpful and simple guide to the preparation of sermons and the need for God's Word to speak to the preacher just as much as his audience.
May 26, 2020
A really, practical helpful book that complements 'Saving Eutychus' by Campbell and Millar.
June 14, 2020
Simple, but many gems.
June 16, 2020
Great encouragement and could be a good resource to use with those first getting into teaching/preaching. Simple but not simplistic and some insightful nuggets throughout.
June 1, 2021
A keeper, and one of my favourites. Read it twice already
December 7, 2021
Great little introduction to preaching.
October 5, 2022
Useful review of what other books said better. Helpful scriptural examples.
July 23, 2024
Lots of practical gems in this.
March 28, 2025
I've read quite a few books on preaching. This was a very unique and refreshing approach. Conversational in nature, lots of helpful examples, filled with biblical encouragement.
September 12, 2025
To me, one of the best little books on preaching out there.
November 5, 2025
Good book, a bit disjointed.
November 26, 2013
Preaching? Simply Teaching on Simply Preaching by Alec Motyer
When a very able and competent Old Testament scholar puts his hand at the plough of preaching, my attention stands up. Alec Motyer, former principal of Trinity College, Bristol, is known for his careful words on the book of Isaiah and also the Bible Speaks Today series, Old Testament portion. His new book, Preaching?, is a trove of wisdom on the art, development, and application of sermons. In the beginning of the book, Alec notes that preaching is much like the window dressings you see at a local store, with the items the storekeeper most wants to sell right out front for you eye. He writes,” Bible in hand, we have a stockroom full of the most amazing collection of goods to offer – real bargains too!...Everything must lead to that central truth” (12). Our goods are not up for discussion but the way we handle these goods is very important in the task of preaching. Throughout the book, Alec provides keen analysis on the process of analyzing a text, illustrating one, and applying God’s Word to people’s lives. One of the great gems of the book is Alec’s style of bringing larger tasks of the preaching process into understandable chunks.
Character sermons or lessons are great ways to see how the shape of a story fits into an overall truth. Alec writes, “Ever incident has its own truth to tell and every incident could be the subject of its own sermon,….The message of the private failure of the public man is more relevant to our times in which leading figures insist that what is private is strictly private and a man must be judged on how he does on the job. Not so, says the story of Davd: the private failure,…brought the whole fabric down – private, public, personal, domestic, individual, national” (55). This truth is powerful in that it relates the truth that there is no clear cut separation between public and private spheres because the attitudes of our heart are displayed in both. For the preacher, bringing out this point is as much a target at oneself as it is to the congregation. Do we separate our private life from our public life, do we have two personas?
One reminder that Alec sought to relay to his readers concerns the manuscript and the pulpit. He writes, “take into the pulpit with you whatever leaves you free to handle the material fluently, and to address your hears in a ‘face-to-face’ manner” (99). There are two points here worth commenting on: freedom in the pulpit and posture. Preaching that is carefully constructed and meditated upon will by nature be an exercise in delivering what you have so diligently prepared. Secondly, the sermon is not a lecture but an exercise in connecting with God’s people. The face to face manner goes by the wayside if we are tied to our manuscript in an overzealous manner. Alec is aware that preparation is so important to the delivery of a good sermon because without it we look like a person who cares not for God’s people. I would also add that without thorough preparation we make a statement to our people that God’s Word is not worth studying because our words are what counts. Alec is careful throughout the book to provide examples of word studies, sermon application, and serious points about analysis.
I encourage all who preach or who are in preparation to be preachers to take a look at this book. You will be refreshed and challenged as you examine its contents.
Thanks to Christian Focus Publications for the copy of this book in exchange for review.
When a very able and competent Old Testament scholar puts his hand at the plough of preaching, my attention stands up. Alec Motyer, former principal of Trinity College, Bristol, is known for his careful words on the book of Isaiah and also the Bible Speaks Today series, Old Testament portion. His new book, Preaching?, is a trove of wisdom on the art, development, and application of sermons. In the beginning of the book, Alec notes that preaching is much like the window dressings you see at a local store, with the items the storekeeper most wants to sell right out front for you eye. He writes,” Bible in hand, we have a stockroom full of the most amazing collection of goods to offer – real bargains too!...Everything must lead to that central truth” (12). Our goods are not up for discussion but the way we handle these goods is very important in the task of preaching. Throughout the book, Alec provides keen analysis on the process of analyzing a text, illustrating one, and applying God’s Word to people’s lives. One of the great gems of the book is Alec’s style of bringing larger tasks of the preaching process into understandable chunks.
Character sermons or lessons are great ways to see how the shape of a story fits into an overall truth. Alec writes, “Ever incident has its own truth to tell and every incident could be the subject of its own sermon,….The message of the private failure of the public man is more relevant to our times in which leading figures insist that what is private is strictly private and a man must be judged on how he does on the job. Not so, says the story of Davd: the private failure,…brought the whole fabric down – private, public, personal, domestic, individual, national” (55). This truth is powerful in that it relates the truth that there is no clear cut separation between public and private spheres because the attitudes of our heart are displayed in both. For the preacher, bringing out this point is as much a target at oneself as it is to the congregation. Do we separate our private life from our public life, do we have two personas?
One reminder that Alec sought to relay to his readers concerns the manuscript and the pulpit. He writes, “take into the pulpit with you whatever leaves you free to handle the material fluently, and to address your hears in a ‘face-to-face’ manner” (99). There are two points here worth commenting on: freedom in the pulpit and posture. Preaching that is carefully constructed and meditated upon will by nature be an exercise in delivering what you have so diligently prepared. Secondly, the sermon is not a lecture but an exercise in connecting with God’s people. The face to face manner goes by the wayside if we are tied to our manuscript in an overzealous manner. Alec is aware that preparation is so important to the delivery of a good sermon because without it we look like a person who cares not for God’s people. I would also add that without thorough preparation we make a statement to our people that God’s Word is not worth studying because our words are what counts. Alec is careful throughout the book to provide examples of word studies, sermon application, and serious points about analysis.
I encourage all who preach or who are in preparation to be preachers to take a look at this book. You will be refreshed and challenged as you examine its contents.
Thanks to Christian Focus Publications for the copy of this book in exchange for review.
November 21, 2013
“The Word of God is the constitutive reality at the heart of the Church.” (18)
There are as many ideas about how to grow a church as there are books on the subject. There are books that focus on meeting felt needs, worship strategies, small groups and a myriad of other ministries that can be maximized to grow your church. However, what many of these books fail to recognize or address is that the bedrock of growing a church is the ministry of the Word through preaching.
With a biblical focus on the Word of God at the heart of a church Alec Motyer has written Preaching?: Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching. As the Old Testament editor for The Bible Speaks Today series, Motyer has turned his pen to writing on preaching and has written a book that addresses both the biblical-theological aspects as well as some practical issues.
The first five chapters address the nature of preaching. These chapters are exegetically grounded in various passages of Scripture. Motyer defines good preaching as that which has a “sense of being plain and unmistakable.” (11) Preaching that is good is to be expositional, that is, “the restatement of a Scripture.” (30) Motyer wants to impress upon his readers that preaching is the ground upon which the whole church grows and functions. All ministry grows out of the Word and the preaching of the Word. His exegetical work deals with many NT passages that provide us with the nature and task of faithful biblical preachers. His observation, especially of the book of Acts, is that it is the ministry of the preaching of the Word that drove the growth of the early church. Surely there were other attending contributions, like the work of the Spirit through the Word, but it was always the Word that led the way and was responded to.
The second half of the book addresses several issues surrounding sermon prep along with some discussion on application and the spiritual life of the preacher. For sermon preparation, Motyer discusses five aspects: examination, analysis, orientation, harvesting and presentation. These deal with knowing and understanding the resources available for good exegesis, doing the task of exegesis itself and extracting the heart of a text for presentation. On the preachers spiritual life, Motyer turns to the lives of Paul, Ezekiel and Isaiah to draw practical encouragement and direction as the preacher does his divine task. In chapter thirteen, Motyer continues this focus on the life of the preacher as he highlights Paul’s words in Acts 20:28 to “take heed to yourselves.”
Preaching? is exactly as the subtitle states, a book that has simple teaching on simply preaching. Motyer does not break new ground on the nature and practice of preaching. What he does is give us a good reminder of the preachers responsibility as a minister of the Word of God. This is a great primer on preaching for preachers young and old.
There are as many ideas about how to grow a church as there are books on the subject. There are books that focus on meeting felt needs, worship strategies, small groups and a myriad of other ministries that can be maximized to grow your church. However, what many of these books fail to recognize or address is that the bedrock of growing a church is the ministry of the Word through preaching.
With a biblical focus on the Word of God at the heart of a church Alec Motyer has written Preaching?: Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching. As the Old Testament editor for The Bible Speaks Today series, Motyer has turned his pen to writing on preaching and has written a book that addresses both the biblical-theological aspects as well as some practical issues.
The first five chapters address the nature of preaching. These chapters are exegetically grounded in various passages of Scripture. Motyer defines good preaching as that which has a “sense of being plain and unmistakable.” (11) Preaching that is good is to be expositional, that is, “the restatement of a Scripture.” (30) Motyer wants to impress upon his readers that preaching is the ground upon which the whole church grows and functions. All ministry grows out of the Word and the preaching of the Word. His exegetical work deals with many NT passages that provide us with the nature and task of faithful biblical preachers. His observation, especially of the book of Acts, is that it is the ministry of the preaching of the Word that drove the growth of the early church. Surely there were other attending contributions, like the work of the Spirit through the Word, but it was always the Word that led the way and was responded to.
The second half of the book addresses several issues surrounding sermon prep along with some discussion on application and the spiritual life of the preacher. For sermon preparation, Motyer discusses five aspects: examination, analysis, orientation, harvesting and presentation. These deal with knowing and understanding the resources available for good exegesis, doing the task of exegesis itself and extracting the heart of a text for presentation. On the preachers spiritual life, Motyer turns to the lives of Paul, Ezekiel and Isaiah to draw practical encouragement and direction as the preacher does his divine task. In chapter thirteen, Motyer continues this focus on the life of the preacher as he highlights Paul’s words in Acts 20:28 to “take heed to yourselves.”
Preaching? is exactly as the subtitle states, a book that has simple teaching on simply preaching. Motyer does not break new ground on the nature and practice of preaching. What he does is give us a good reminder of the preachers responsibility as a minister of the Word of God. This is a great primer on preaching for preachers young and old.
June 2, 2014
Alec Motyer sets out in this very small but useful book to help preachers or would be preachers to have a good grasp of what preaching is like and should be. Don't expect to find anything fancy here, it’s the usual steps that you will find in most books on preaching.
However, this book does set the tone in the beginning that preaching is HARD work. And no preaching does not just “come out”. Good preaching comes when you work hard at trying to understand the text, finding/thinking of relevant application and presenting it in a clear and memorable way.
Motyer slowly guides the reader along as though we took at peek at him preparing his sermon in the study. Motyer first reminds us that our sermons must always be driven by the Bible (text) and nothing else. The preacher’s job is first and foremost to explain what the text mean.
He then reminds us that the focus of the bible is Christ, and that we ought to be christ-centered in our preaching also. He also shows us how should not moralise (especially) the Old Testament characters.
Motyer teaches us really simple steps while preparing the sermon. First read the text, then note down the important phrases or points within the passage, next using a concordance find the meaning of some of these words (especially those you’re struggling to understand). Following which you work on the structure of the text, the presentation and application.
What the could be improved in this book could be to add some exercises that a person could do at the end of every chapter. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a theoretical book, it does contain many useful and helpful outlines on various passages done by the author himself. But, I do think that doing the exercises at the end would really drive the point home. This however, is just a minor issue within the book. It’s still is very practical and helpful to any preacher.
This really is a small and easy book, it’ll be a good refresher course for preachers who have been preaching for some time. There is always a danger of slowly changing our sermons so that we can have a “better response”. This book would help remain them the main scope of preaching, and also to encourage them to remain the course. Second, this would be a good primer for anyone who is intending to preach, no technical terms are used, and chapters are small and easily digestible. Added inside is also some reading plans that churches could use to help the congregation mediate on relevant text before coming on a sunday to hear the word of God preached.
Rating: 3.75/5
However, this book does set the tone in the beginning that preaching is HARD work. And no preaching does not just “come out”. Good preaching comes when you work hard at trying to understand the text, finding/thinking of relevant application and presenting it in a clear and memorable way.
Motyer slowly guides the reader along as though we took at peek at him preparing his sermon in the study. Motyer first reminds us that our sermons must always be driven by the Bible (text) and nothing else. The preacher’s job is first and foremost to explain what the text mean.
He then reminds us that the focus of the bible is Christ, and that we ought to be christ-centered in our preaching also. He also shows us how should not moralise (especially) the Old Testament characters.
Motyer teaches us really simple steps while preparing the sermon. First read the text, then note down the important phrases or points within the passage, next using a concordance find the meaning of some of these words (especially those you’re struggling to understand). Following which you work on the structure of the text, the presentation and application.
What the could be improved in this book could be to add some exercises that a person could do at the end of every chapter. Don’t get me wrong, this is not a theoretical book, it does contain many useful and helpful outlines on various passages done by the author himself. But, I do think that doing the exercises at the end would really drive the point home. This however, is just a minor issue within the book. It’s still is very practical and helpful to any preacher.
This really is a small and easy book, it’ll be a good refresher course for preachers who have been preaching for some time. There is always a danger of slowly changing our sermons so that we can have a “better response”. This book would help remain them the main scope of preaching, and also to encourage them to remain the course. Second, this would be a good primer for anyone who is intending to preach, no technical terms are used, and chapters are small and easily digestible. Added inside is also some reading plans that churches could use to help the congregation mediate on relevant text before coming on a sunday to hear the word of God preached.
Rating: 3.75/5
November 11, 2013
About the Book:
Like many things in life, the skill of good preaching is 95% perspiration and 5% inspiration. Alec Motyer gives us a simple guide based on a multitude of sermons over many years of preaching, in many different situations. At its basic level he tells us that preparing a good sermon is like baking a cake. It requires the correct ingredients for each type of cake to be baked, likewise with preaching, know your subject and pull all the pieces together to make up the winning recipe. Preaching is a privilege accorded to few and the fruits thereof welcomed by many - let Alec help you reach out and make the best of the gifts God has given you.
About the Author:
Dr Alec Motyer is a well-known Bible expositor and from an early age has had a love for studying God’s Word. He was formerly principal of Trinity College, Bristol.
My Review:
I am really glad to have come across this book for review. My husband is in seminary and he is about to start practicing writing sermons and in a word he is....TERRIFIED. So I decide to read this book in the hopes that it would be a help to him. First of all, since this is the first time I had ever heard of of the author, I would like to say I'm impressed. He is very impressive to me because he takes a no nonsense type of approach to writing sermons. He attempts to show you the virtual breakdown of sermon writing from start to finish and he makes it look very easy and simple.
Alec Motyer does a fine job of first letting the fellow minister reading this book that gathering together a sermon is not an easy task and it should be something not taken lightly. He even points out some of his shortcomings along this path. He also put together some sermon starts in the back of the book to help those that are struggling in this area. This book is a great way to expand on what an aspiring minister has already learned in seminary. He states that we have a two fold responsibility, first to the truth and second to the congregation. This is an excellent example of sermon writing at its finest. If you would like to learn more about this book, please visit this link.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher.
Like many things in life, the skill of good preaching is 95% perspiration and 5% inspiration. Alec Motyer gives us a simple guide based on a multitude of sermons over many years of preaching, in many different situations. At its basic level he tells us that preparing a good sermon is like baking a cake. It requires the correct ingredients for each type of cake to be baked, likewise with preaching, know your subject and pull all the pieces together to make up the winning recipe. Preaching is a privilege accorded to few and the fruits thereof welcomed by many - let Alec help you reach out and make the best of the gifts God has given you.
About the Author:
Dr Alec Motyer is a well-known Bible expositor and from an early age has had a love for studying God’s Word. He was formerly principal of Trinity College, Bristol.
My Review:
I am really glad to have come across this book for review. My husband is in seminary and he is about to start practicing writing sermons and in a word he is....TERRIFIED. So I decide to read this book in the hopes that it would be a help to him. First of all, since this is the first time I had ever heard of of the author, I would like to say I'm impressed. He is very impressive to me because he takes a no nonsense type of approach to writing sermons. He attempts to show you the virtual breakdown of sermon writing from start to finish and he makes it look very easy and simple.
Alec Motyer does a fine job of first letting the fellow minister reading this book that gathering together a sermon is not an easy task and it should be something not taken lightly. He even points out some of his shortcomings along this path. He also put together some sermon starts in the back of the book to help those that are struggling in this area. This book is a great way to expand on what an aspiring minister has already learned in seminary. He states that we have a two fold responsibility, first to the truth and second to the congregation. This is an excellent example of sermon writing at its finest. If you would like to learn more about this book, please visit this link.
**Disclosure** This book was sent to me free of charge for my honest review from the publisher.
November 23, 2013
Would you like some real help on preaching? Then this volume is for you. It truly lives up to its subtitle, “simple teaching on simple preaching.”
Motyer, author of several helpful commentaries, has lived the life of an expositor. Every paragraph shows that to be true. You can almost feel him sitting in his study talking to you. What he says is worth hearing.
He says, “a sermon is like baking a cake.” You get your ingredients and go to the study as the oven. He is right. He gives proper perspective when he says, “The supreme kingship of The Lord Jesus Christ must ever be our most sensitive concern, and nothing must usurp His authority.” We let the Bible have its place in preaching to accomplish this key element.
He goes through the preaching process piece by piece. He explains how we study the key words and develop an exposition. Again, he highlights how we must stick to the Word. “The power of an expository ministry arises from bringing out what is there”, he rightfully proclaims.
From there he goes through examination, analysis, and finding your orientation. There is real practical help throughout. By that I mean, thoughtful pointers about how it is done. I especially enjoyed him expertly leading us through harvesting and presentation. His thoughts on making application and closing are balanced.
I have the privilege of owning and having read most of the well known volumes on preaching and this book is worthy of taking its place beside them to me. Five stars all the way!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
Motyer, author of several helpful commentaries, has lived the life of an expositor. Every paragraph shows that to be true. You can almost feel him sitting in his study talking to you. What he says is worth hearing.
He says, “a sermon is like baking a cake.” You get your ingredients and go to the study as the oven. He is right. He gives proper perspective when he says, “The supreme kingship of The Lord Jesus Christ must ever be our most sensitive concern, and nothing must usurp His authority.” We let the Bible have its place in preaching to accomplish this key element.
He goes through the preaching process piece by piece. He explains how we study the key words and develop an exposition. Again, he highlights how we must stick to the Word. “The power of an expository ministry arises from bringing out what is there”, he rightfully proclaims.
From there he goes through examination, analysis, and finding your orientation. There is real practical help throughout. By that I mean, thoughtful pointers about how it is done. I especially enjoyed him expertly leading us through harvesting and presentation. His thoughts on making application and closing are balanced.
I have the privilege of owning and having read most of the well known volumes on preaching and this book is worthy of taking its place beside them to me. Five stars all the way!
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255
September 26, 2015
This was a helpful book for me to de-clutter my mind about preaching. I've been accused more than once of preaching in a way that was too overwhelming and too cluttered to be helpful. Moyter relates this sort of thing to walking past a storefront with everything for sale in the store jammed in the window, "What exactly is the shopkeeper trying to sell?" I felt like this illustration was a real help to me to really focus my effort on "selling" the one thing I'm trying to move that day and letting all the other elements adorn that item. Along those same lines he talks about preparing a sermon as if baking a cake, and makes the point that although the baker is responsible for gathering all the ingredients (he's not shy or dishonest about the fact that a tremendous amount of precise work goes into the preparation process) nevertheless, the baker doesn't then turn around and serve the ingredients to the guests. He serves the finished cake.
These were just two illustrations among many other helpful ones in the book. These two stuck with me the most based on where I'm at in my development. I picked this book up after reading an endorsement from Tim Keller about being impacted by Moyter in his earlier years. It didn't disappoint.
These were just two illustrations among many other helpful ones in the book. These two stuck with me the most based on where I'm at in my development. I picked this book up after reading an endorsement from Tim Keller about being impacted by Moyter in his earlier years. It didn't disappoint.
October 28, 2013
Good solid book on preaching. It is almost like having your grandfather walk you through a preaching course on your back deck. It had a great conversational tone that gave it warmth. I really enjoyed his focus on variation and personality. He gives solid instructions without saying, "You must do it this way." The last chapters on the pastor's personal walk with Christ were excellent. He shows clearly how the private life of the minister is the source of his public life.
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