How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth

by Christopher J.H. Wright

Many preachers ignore preaching from the Old Testament because they feel it is outdated in light of the New Testament and difficult to expound. On the other hand, some preachers will preach from the Old Testament frequently but fail to handle it correctly, turning it into moralistic rules or symbolic lessons for our spiritual life. In How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth, Christopher J. H. Wright proclaims that preachers must not ignore the Old Testament. It is the Word of God! The Old Testament lays the foundation for our faith and it was the Bible that Jesus read and used.


Looking first at why we should preach from the Old Testament, the author moves on to show the reader how they can preach from it. Covering the History, Law, Prophets, Psalms, and Wisdom Literature, interspersed with practical checklists, exercises, and sermons, Wright provides an essential guide on how to handle the Old Testament responsibly.


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Genres: Theology, Christian, Old Testament, Christianity, Nonfiction, Leadership, Discipleship

288 pages, Paperback

First published February 16, 2016

About the author

Christopher J.H. Wright, (born 1947) is a Anglican clergyman and an Old Testament scholar. He is currently the director of Langham Partnership International. He was the principal of All Nations Christian College. He is an honorary member of the All Souls Church, Langham Place in London, UK.

Reviews

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this! Read this for school and ended up being a much better read than I though it was going to be. Wright does a great job at reminding the pastor to always keep the meta-narrative present as one preaches through the different genres in the Old Testament. I thought his section on law and the wisdom literature was quite good, detailing the goodness of Gods law, and how his law served as an example of what good and righteous nations ought to look like.

The psalms section had a wonderful introduction, presenting how covenantal the book is, and if one missed this, the main thrust of the psalms might be lost. The section on imprecatory or “cursing psalms”as he puts it, was not good. He postulates the very common evangelical thought concerning these psalms, as un-prayable and un-usable psalms due to what Christ has accomplished on the cross.

Overall, I commend this book.

[Rob O'Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this volume from the "accidental" How To...For All Its Worth "series," Christopher Wright discusses how one can effectively preach from the Old Testament. A former OT professor in England and now director of John Stott's international ministry, Wright has become the missional N. T. Wright, meaning he writes both practical and academic books on ministry. His writing is quite conversational and easy to follow, even if his British-isms keep into an American text. This book is certainly aimed at the week-to-week preacher or preaching student, although the academic homiletician will find it helpful given the general lack of quality textbooks on the subject of preaching from the Old Testament.

Positively, Wright has a high love of scripture and writes from a particular theological lens that is threaded throughout the book. This allows him to stay on point in his discussion on preaching from the Old Testament for "all its worth," even if it means that he must side-step secondary conversations or specific textual/rhetorical issues that other works address. Additionally, Wright fills his chapters with a number of exercises, checklists and sample sermons, all of which are designed to help the preacher in constructing their own messages from these sacred texts. There is definitely a heavy bent on covenant and law in this book, which is understandable given Wright's penchant for equating covenant with God's mission (missio Dei).

Negatively, Wright rests on his own laurels too much for such a significant work. Yes, he has a doctorate in Old Testament studies and is an experienced preacher. However, he is limited by his own experience and expertise (which is demonstrated in the Wisdom Literature sections). There are maybe five footnotes to other resources in the entire 300-page volume! While I appreciate his personal connection to the material, he should have been willing to pull ideas (or at least sample sermons) from other preachers and scholars in the areas that he is not as comfortable in. For example, as mentioned above, his section on the Wisdom Literature is quite weak. Whereas he takes two chapters each for Law, Prophets and Psalms (one for introduction and one for application), he crams all of this into one chapter for the remaining Wisdom texts.

Additionally, his theology becomes a bit of a crutch for him. While he frequently warns not "to rush to Jesus," he rushes to Jesus frequently. While this has become the standard mantra of evangelical Christianity, it does cause some theological problems, especially if we are to respect the heritage, context and theological message of the Old Testament. While it must be agreed by all Christians that Jesus is the ultimate fulfillment of God's mission in the world, Jesus and the Church is only the second half of the Story. There is a rich and vibrant tale of courage, failure and redemption that comes long before the cross. There is a lot here in Wright's book that, when handled correctly, will help us keep God's story in proper perspective.

[Vesselin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Авторът е изключително добър в предаването на посланието си. Използва силно достъпен език, много лек и приятен за четене. (Дори читателят не е нужно да има добро ниво на английски език, за да разбира написаното без проблем.) Увлекателен е. Умее да убеждава и мотивира читателите си. Към момента това е най-новата книга по темата (от 19 април 2016), но не преповтаря предишните. Стилът е изключително практичен, но едновременно с това е и на достатъчно добро ниво за обичащите теоретични концепции. Единствено любителите на академичния стил и сложната терминология биха останали разочаровани, но тази тема сякаш не предполага подобни неща. Важно е да се има предвид, че авторът си е поставил за цел да създаде практично, а не научно ръководство за проповедници. Любителите на научния език и стил може да не успеят да оценят високо книгата, ако не забележат, че тя им поднася един безценен урок - как да се изразяват пред църковна аудитория.

С един момент от книгата имах известен проблем. Цялата първа една трета от нея се занимава единствено с това да обясни, че целият Стар Завет трябва да се разглежда като пътуване към личността на Месията, но това не значи да се опитваме да търсим Христос във всеки старозаветен пасаж (предавам го накратко със свои думи). Считам това за наистина съществено! Сигурен съм, че то е важно уточнение за доста проповедници и отделеното място не е неоправдано. Но след като от самото начало схванах концепцията на автора, вече едва ми достигна търпението да изчета стоте страници по въпроса.

В следващите две трети от книгата, темите са по-разноообразни. Дадени са добри теоретични и практични насоки за проповядване според различните старозаветни жанрове. За разлика от други известни автори, писали по темата, Кристофър Райт изглежда е наистина добър проповедник и дава добри примерни проповеди. На онези проповедници, които с готовност вземат чужди проповеди, само защото са добри, книгата може да предложи качествен материал за много служби. Читателите на книгата ще получат добри познания по Стар Завет и ценни насоки как да се проповядва от него.

[Christian Barrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book that provides a brief over view of the Old Testament books and their categories, and then supplements these overviews with tips on how to preach these different literary categories. The sample sermon outlines and the checklists throughout the books are helpful reference tools that I will most likely return to at some point. It should also be noted that this book does read much more like a practical preaching book than others that I have reviewed.

[Spencer R · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Read the full review on my blog SpoiledMilks, 9/25/21)
Anglican clergyman and OT scholar Chris Wright loves teaching, preaching, and writing books about the OT. It makes up 3/4 of the Bible, yet many pastors rarely preach from it. Wright’s book was written with preachers (and even teachers) in mind.

Wright divides his book into two sections. Part One (5 chapters) asks Why should we preach from the Old Testament? and Part Two (10 chapters) asks How can we preach from the Old Testament? 

The Old Testament was also Jesus’ Bible. It’s where he saw himself as God’s Son, and where we learn about the background to Jesus as our Savior.The Old Testament gives us the long story and far-reaching promise of God. Wright condenses the Bible into a drama with six acts/stages: Creation -> Fall -> Promise -> Gospel -> Mission -> New creation.

Preachers always need to be looking forward and thinking about where the journey leads us. But when we arrive at the Gospels, we can’t simply forget about our journey. Wright notes, “For Jesus and his followers (including also the Apostle Paul), the Old Testament was essential in order to understand the identity and mission of Jesus—that is, who Jesus was and what he came to do” (39).

We need to know the Old Testament in order to understand Jesus, and pastors need to avoid fanciful preaching when pointing to Christ (chap 4). Since wherever you preach, your text lies along the journey to Christ, show your congregation the links to Jesus and the gospel (chap 5). He offers good examples how to look at the different horizons of the text.

I love the questions that Wright offers throughout his book, either questions you should ask yourself so that you can dig deeper into the text, or questions you want your congregation to ask as you direct them to Christ (read my review for the lists). Faithful biblical teaching produces a response in your congregants, and their response should reflect what the biblical text was seeking to produce (81). This kind of response should create a crisis where they ask, “How can I do this?,“ questions you seek to answer in your sermon by pointing to the gospel, God’s faithfulness, Jesus’ character, etc. 

Wright ends with two appendices and a bibliography.

If you are a preacher or a teacher, please pick up this book. It will surely help you to ask more questions of the text, to understand God better, and to preach the gospel more clearly. This is a fantastic resource by someone who really knows the Old Testament. Highly recommended.

[Радостин Марчев · Rating 3 out of 5]

Като цяло в книгата няма нищо, с което да не съм съгласен. Моите проблеми с нея са 2
1. Голяма част от нея представлява въведение в различните литературни форми на СЗ. Това е нормално и необходимо за проповядване върху тях. Въпреки това моето впечатление, че им е отделено повече от необходимото място.
2. Главите посветени на съвети за същинско проповядване лично на мен не ми дават особено голяма помощ. Може би това е лично впечатление, но за мен те далеч не са достатъчно практични.
Това е причината за мен книгата, макар и съвсем правила, да не е особено полезна в изпълнение на практическата задача на подготовка и изнасяне на пропвоедта. А това е нейната основна цел.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome! A bit slow in the beginning, but does exactly what it promises - and does it well.

[Hudson Tucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. This is a much needed resource to look back on for any preacher teaching from the Old Testament. Concise, and to the point.

[Patrick Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it took a while to read, every time I returned to this book I was very glad I did.
Wright begins with a well-reasoned approach to teaching and preaching the Old Testament and then illustrates this by considering the various categories of writing found in that part of the Bible. He even provides sermon outlines along with useful exercises.
Of particular value are the overviews found in part 1 and the charts at the end of the book.

[Chet Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth by Christopher J. H. Wright is practical, applicable and timely.

This is another of those books that I read as an assignment from one of my classes at Ambrose University while taking my Masters in Leadership. I will say that without a doubt any class taught by Beth Stovel will be worth the time and money spent but it will also require the most reading and writing. If I have had any success in the last year as an essay writer it is because of her class.

On with the review. I love the Old Testament. I love preaching from it, partially because I love stories and I love pointing to the new testament through the lens of the old. So, this book is right up my alley.

Wright begins his book with a section on Why we should preach and teach from the Old Testament. As Wright states, “Many churches go on from year to year with nothing but sermons from the New Testament and maybe sometimes a psalm.” His premise is that when we stick to preaching the New Testament we are missing out on so much of what God intended us to know. First of all, the Old Testament comes to us from God, the Old Testament lays the foundations of our faith and, the Old Testament was the bible of Jesus.

After 5 chapters on WHY, Wright finally begins to write about HOW we can preach and teach from the Old Testament. These next chapters are instructive, very practical and at times, cautionary. Wright is quick to add his thoughts to where using the Old Testament poorly in applications can be detrimental to the body of Christ. “We should not ask, What does this text mean for me now?” until we have worked hard to find out, “What did this text mean to them then?” Wright provides layers of insight and context throughout the book that will prove invaluable to any preacher who attempts to dispel the Old Testament for their congregation.

I highly recommend How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth by Christopher J. H. Wright to Pastors and teachers who want to include the Old Testament in their talks.

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a deep and full on insights that one reading of it can do it justice.
It is not a novel to travel briefly in that world of make believe. This is a study book to refer to time and time again. A reference for the prescher, teacher and follower of biblical understanding.
It takes each aspect of the the old testament and shows how to begin to understand the text in its own context and then explores how one can then apply it to the life of a christian and as a tool for sharing with others.
The book devotes chapters to each theme and passages of the old testament whether it be Law, Prophets or Wisdom and it could be taken as subject material for wider bible studies.
However, it is the sermon writers who preach and teach from the Old Testament that will benefit by reading this book. It will not allow you to plod on before relating favourite stories. Rather through its approach and sustained examples it will question everything you previously thought was correct. not to criticise and say my way is best but in that unless we are consistent in our approach we do a disservice to the roles of teacher and preacher.
I have learned so much reading this book, with the prospect of cementing that knowledge only through returning to it again and revisiting the many scriptural references that make the points in his arguements.
Nothing here to brainwash or mislead the inexperienced. Rather a platform on which to build Bible study and exegesis.
It is not a staid academic tome; it reads as a set of study notes aimed not at the brightest but those who want to learn and share that knowledge.

[Rocky Woolery · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very insightful on thinking about the Old Testament through a different lens, or lenses, and coming to an understanding of what it means for us in light of its historical context. Then it became very useful as Wright moves the reader into taking the understanding into the realm of preaching, and pointing out that we cannot preach all of the Old Testament passages the same since the are written for different purposes, at different times and in different genres.

Over all this is a great resource.

[Brenna Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to read this for school. It was a decent read that contained a lot of helpful information. I would recommend this as a resource to someone looking for methods of teaching and interpretation that are true to the original context. My only complaint is that it’s a relatively dry book. More engaging than a textbook, but still not one to read before bedtime, unless you’re looking for something to make you a bit drowsy.

[Ike Unger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great overview of a complicated topic. As a pastor, there are many OT passages that are difficult to navigate and Wright does an excellent job showing what to do and what not to do. I have read other books by him and I really appreciate his approach in his writings.
This book will be beneficial for both seasoned and new preachers.

[Dustin Bagby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent resource for preaching from the Old Testament. If I were to recommend two books on this subject it would be this one and The Art of Preaching Old Testament Narrative (which nicely fills what was somewhat of a gap in this book).

[Phillip Nash · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another excellent book from Chris Wright. His placement of his thesis in the big story of God brings so much clarity to OT writings. We definitely need to hear and see more of this from pastors and preachers. Helpful even for the non-preacher to understand how to read the OT well.

[Nicholas Abraham · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m told that The Mission of God is the key book by Wright to read. In this book, he is applying his hermeneutic in a fairly simple, yet helpful way to the OT. I would quibble with Wright on a few things regarding how he looks at preaching Christ from the OT, but overall this is a helpful book.

[Elliot McComas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be super helpful. Read it for seminary and it helped me to grow in thankfulness and awareness of the OT and how important it is to the church and Gospel. Good to read even if you’re not an elder or in vocational ministry, Wright is a fantastic writer!

[Allison Wise · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5! It was helpful in some ways but others I felt were lacking, however, I do think that it's a great intro book with common themes that are helpful have in front of you. I will be taking a few tid bits with me but this is not a life changing book. I am super grateful to have read it!

[Joshua Pearsall · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful work! Absolutely amazing warnings and tips on how not only to read but as the title suggest preach and teach from the OT. It's biggest core take away, teach and preach the OT for what it is. Tie it into Christ, but do not do so by changing what the text itself is saying.

[Bryan Neuschwander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful, practical advice on reading well.

[Jan Anne · Rating 2 out of 5]

13/15 // Almost there!

[Demetrius Rogers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction to the biblical genres of the Old Testament. Wright's sections on narrative and law were exceptional.

[Tippy Chee · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you'd like to encourage yourself to start reading the old testament again. Read this first !

[René P. Bosman · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my opinion at least 6 stars!!!

[Abigail Kopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Breaks down each of the genres in the Old Testament in a digestible, easy-to-read format, to take scripture from reading to interpretation to application.

[Caleb Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book with practical steps

[Michael Schmid · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good overview of various topics, themes and questions to consider when teaching and preaching from the Old Testament.

[George P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christopher J. H. Wright, How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016).

The Old Testament is the Bible Jesus Christ read and preached. It is also the Bible of His first followers. When Paul writes, for example, “the Holy Scriptures…are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15), he has the Old Testament in mind. It is foundational to Christianity.

In too many American churches today, however, the Old Testament goes unread and unpreached. Why read the Old Testament, many seem to reason, when we’ve got the New Testament? Even when read and preached, however, the Old Testament is too often wrenched out of context, reduced to moralistic and legalistic applications, or mined for questionable prophetic significance.

Christopher J. H. Wright sets out to rectify this situation in How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth. He organizes the book’s material into two sections. The first, comprised of chapters 1–5, asks the question, “Why should we preach and teach from the Old Testament?” The second, comprised of chapters 6–15, asks the question, “How can we preach and teach from the Old Testament?” Wright’s answers to these questions are practical, grounded in sound biblical exegesis and solid evangelical theology, and attuned to both the ancient culture of the biblical writers and the contemporary culture of its readers.

Let me highlight two things that I found helpful as I read Wright’s book:

First, as a Christian minister, I read the Old Testament with confidence that it will help me both to better understand the person and work of Jesus Christ and to better proclaim Him to others. With good reason, I might add! Christ himself says, “these are the very Scriptures that testify about me” (John 5:39). Similarly, Luke describes Christ’s conversations with two disciples on the road to Emmaus this way: “beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). We’re supposed to find Christ in the Old Testament because He found himself there.

And yet, I’ve heard sermons about Christ from the Old Testament in which the preacher’s intention is good but their biblical interpretation is not. Chapter 3–5 help us find Christ in the Old Testament using sound hermeneutical principles. Chapter 3, “Understanding Jesus through the Old Testament,” examines the Old Testament to explain who Jesus thought He was and what He came to do. Chapter 4, “Don’t Just Give Me Jesus,” outlines five “dangers” to avoid when preaching Christ from the Old Testament: (1) ignoring the text’s original meaning, (2) proposing fanciful interpretations, (3) overlooking other things that God teaches in the Old Testament, (4) flattening the biblical story and removing the uniqueness of the Incarnation and (5) preaching the same message regardless of the text. (To me, this chapter alone was worth the price of the book.) Chapter 5, “Connecting with Christ,” shows how we can preach Christ from the Old Testament in a way that honors its original meaning.

A second thing I found helpful was Wright’s attention to literary genres. He organizes the book’s second section according to the literary genre of the Old Testament: narrative (chapters 6–8), law (chapter 9–10), prophecy (chapters 11–12), psalms (chapters 13–14), and wisdom literature (chapter 15). There are overlaps in these genres, of course. Law (Hebrew torah) includes stories, for example, and prophecy, psalms and proverbs all make use of poetry. Still, Wright’s discussion shows what’s distinct about these genres, why Christians should pay attention to them, and how attention to them changes the way we interpret and then preach them. (For more on the proper interpretation of the Bible’s literary genres, see Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart’s How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, the first of a series of books of which Wright’s is the most recent.)

If you preach or teach the Bible at your local church, I encourage you to do two things: First, preach and teach regularly from the Old Testament. Second, read this book. It delivers on its promise of its title and is a helpful guide for seeing Christ in the Old Testament…and so much more!

_____
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.

[Robert Durough, Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have yet to read anything by Christopher J. H. Wright that I didn’t like and couldn’t recommend. His The Mission of God and The Mission of God’s People continue to be my most recommended texts. I now add How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth to that list for seminary students and those already in Bible preaching and teaching roles. Practical to its core, Wright guides the reader in approaching and handling the Old Testament with pastoral care, keeping his writing accessible to a broad range of readers while maintaining the same quality of method and depth for which he’s known.

The book is written in two parts. Wright begins by arguing for the importance of preaching and teaching the Old Testament and encourages the reader to do so, noting its increasingly limited exposure and the pitfalls that lie therein. He also corrects some commonly held misconceptions and sayings about the OT that are perpetuated by poor reading, exegesis, and sloppy books (e.g., the OT is not “all about Jesus,” as we often hear; it “points to Jesus”). We need to remember that the OT is comprised of different types of writing for different purposes, and that they each have their place and importance within the greater narrative. We should preach and teach them for what they are as they are and refrain from attempts at making them all fit into a simple “Jesus message,” which does not help others actually understand the OT—and thus rightly understand the New Testament—and is likely indicative of a preacher or teacher who does not properly understand the OT. The second part of the book—the bulk of the text—helps the reader to understand the different sections of the OT and then how to preach and teach from them. Wright offers many helpful checklists for sermon and lesson prep throughout the text, and he even includes easy-to-follow outlines and notes for several key Bible passages at the end of relevant chapters.

I highly recommend this for any and all preachers and teachers of the Bible. I imagine it will quickly find its way into Bible college and seminary syllabi everywhere.

*I received a temporary digital copy for review from Zondervan via NetGalley.