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Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism
Pastor, preacher, and New York Times bestselling author of The Prodigal Prophet Timothy Keller shares his wisdom on communicating the Christian faith from the pulpit as well as from the coffee shop.
Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.
Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.
320 pages, Paperback
First published February 19, 2015
876 people are currently reading
3377 people want to read
About the author
Timothy J. Keller
396 books5,728 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
Timothy Keller was the founding pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, which he started in 1989 with his wife, Kathy, and three young sons. For over twenty years he has led a diverse congregation of young professionals that has grown to a weekly attendance of over 5,000.
He was also Chairman of Redeemer City to City, which starts new churches in New York and other global cities, and publishes books and resources for faith in an urban culture. In over ten years they have helped to launch over 250 churches in 48 cities. More recently, Dr. Keller’s books, including the New York Times bestselling The Reason for God and The Prodigal God, have sold over 1 million copies and been translated into 15 languages.
Christianity Today has said, “Fifty years from now, if evangelical Christians are widely known for their love of cities, their commitment to mercy and justice, and their love of their neighbors, Tim Keller will be remembered as a pioneer of the new urban Christians.”
Dr. Keller was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and educated at Bucknell University, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He previously served as the pastor of West Hopewell Presbyterian Church in Hopewell, Virginia, Associate Professor of Practical Theology at Westminster Theological Seminary, and Director of Mercy Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 525 reviews
January 8, 2024
My favorite book on the art of communicating biblical truth in our cultural moment. Don’t miss the 234 (often substantive!) endnotes. A wealth of insight from start to finish.
May 20, 2023
This is an exceptional book written by an exceptional man. I think Christians in general would benefit a great deal from this book, regardless of whether they preach/teach a lot.
RIP Tim Keller, thanks for everything.
RIP Tim Keller, thanks for everything.
June 10, 2015
Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (New York: Viking, 2015). Hardcover | Kindle
All Christians have a spiritual responsibility to “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Col. 3:16). Some Christians have a further responsibility to teach the word of God more formally, whether in a Sunday School class or from the pulpit. While all Christians can read Tim Keller’s Preaching profitably, it is intended specifically for those with more formal responsibilities to communicate the faith. (Because most readers of this book will be pastors looking for sermon help, however, I’m going to refer throughout this review to preachers and preaching, instead of using broader terms like teaching or communication.)
Keller divides his material into three parts.
Part One, “Serving the Word,” argues that preachers should preach the Bible (Chapter 1), which means preaching the gospel (Chapter 2), which means preaching Jesus Christ (Chapter 3), about whom all Scripture is written (Luke 24:27). Keller recognizes that there are times when preachers should deliver topical sermons, but their bread-and-butter sermons should be expositional. Because Scripture tells the unified story of what God has done in Christ through the Spirit to accomplish our salvation, sermons should be gospel-centered. Two dangers need to be avoided: (1) “preaching a text, even about Jesus, without really preaching the gospel,” which is typical of moralistic preaching; and (2) “preaching ‘Christ’ without really preaching the text,” which is typical of proof-texting. To help avoid these dangers, Keller outlines six ways to preach Jesus from all of Scripture that are adequate to both the gospel and the context of a particular passage.
Part Two, “Reaching the People,” opens with the recognition that preachers must contextualize their messages to their audiences (Chapter 4). Such contextualization has biblical precedent. For example, compare and contrast how Paul preached to Jews meeting in a synagogue (Acts 13:14–47) with how he preached to Gentiles meeting on Mars Hill (17:22–31). Contextualized preaching consists of a two-fold movement whereby sermons “adapt to the culture” as well as “confront the culture.” Because God created the world and humanity in his image, he has left traces of himself in all cultures. This makes adaptation possible. But humanity has sinned against God and distorted the goodness of his creation at all levels—individual and social, intellectual and emotional, spiritual and material. This makes confrontation necessary.
Chapter 5, “Preaching and the (Late) Modern Mind,” is the best chapter in the book, in my opinion. It exposes the “baseline cultural narratives” that characterize the late-modern mind. (Keller prefers the term late-modern to postmodern because he thinks contemporary culture is “less a reversal of modernity than an intensification of its deepest patterns.”) These narratives include “the sovereign self,” “absolutely negative freedom,” “self-authorizing morality,” and “science as the secular hope.”
Chapter 6, “Preaching Christ to the Heart,” is the second best chapter, in my opinion. It recognizes that people are affective beings, not merely intellectual ones. “Preaching cannot simply be accurate and sound,” Keller argues. “It must capture the listeners’ interest and imaginations; it must be compelling and penetrate to their hearts.”
Part Three, “In Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power” consists of a single chapter about the character of preachers themselves. Keller writes, “your listeners will be convinced by your message only if they are convinced by you as a person.” Preaching, he goes on to say, thus deals with “text” (Bible-gospel-Christ), “context” (culture-heart), and “subtext” (what really motivates the preacher). Though Keller does not point this out himself, these three terms more or less correspond to the threefold division of classical rhetoric: logos (text), pathos (context), and ethos (subtext).
Keller concludes the book with a helpful appendix about “Writing an Expository Message” that focuses on the goal of the biblical text, the theme of the sermon, an outline that develops this theme, and arguments, illustrations, and applications that flesh out this theme. The book concludes with 60+ pages of notes, roughly 20 percent of the entire book. These notes not only identify the source of quotations and books for further reading, they also extend Keller’s analysis. Because they are placed at the end of the book, however, they don’t distract from the development of his main themes. (If you are a fan of Jonathan Edwards, I encourage you to read note 28 on pages 271–275; it shows how Edwards contextualized his preaching to Indians at the Stockbridge Mission.)
Though I found Preaching to be a helpful work, which was especially insightful on late modernity’s “baseline cultural narratives,” I nonetheless found myself asking a few questions.
First, and this is impressionistic, I felt that some of Keller’s examples of how to preach Christ from all of Scripture were not adequate to the text’s context. For example, discussing the horrifying story of the Levite and his concubine (Lev. 19), Keller suggests the following as one of many possible ways to preach Christ from the passage: “When we see a man who sacrifices his wife to save his own skin—a bad husband—how can we not think of a man who sacrificed himself to save his spouse—the true husband?” I see Keller’s point, but is that really a way to find Christ in the text?
Second, Keller defines the gospel in almost exclusively Pauline and Protestant Reformation terms: “we are saved through Christ alone, by faith alone, but not by a faith which remains alone. True salvation always results in good works and a changed life.” This is good and true, of course—see Ephesians 2:8–10, for example—but it fails to take into account other ways of summarizing the gospel, such as that of Jesus himself in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” I can’t help but wonder whether the outline of a kingdom-gospel message fits neatly within Keller’s “metaoutline” for preaching:
Here’s what we face.
Here’s what we must do.
Why we can’t do it.
How Jesus did it.
How through faith in Jesus you should live now.
Third, Keller’s conversation partners throughout the book are almost exclusively Calvinist. He does mention Protestant mainline preachers, but not evangelical Arminians, Methodists, or Wesleyan-Holiness preachers. (I’m an Arminian Pentecostal.) Given that these non-Calvinist evangelicals have produced quite a few well-known preachers, I can’t help but wonder whether they might have insights to share as well.
In spite of these questions, Preaching is a valuable work by a respected pastor whose judgment on such matters is always worth listening to. I get the feeling I’ll be returning to this book again (and again).
-----
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
All Christians have a spiritual responsibility to “teach and admonish one another with all wisdom” (Col. 3:16). Some Christians have a further responsibility to teach the word of God more formally, whether in a Sunday School class or from the pulpit. While all Christians can read Tim Keller’s Preaching profitably, it is intended specifically for those with more formal responsibilities to communicate the faith. (Because most readers of this book will be pastors looking for sermon help, however, I’m going to refer throughout this review to preachers and preaching, instead of using broader terms like teaching or communication.)
Keller divides his material into three parts.
Part One, “Serving the Word,” argues that preachers should preach the Bible (Chapter 1), which means preaching the gospel (Chapter 2), which means preaching Jesus Christ (Chapter 3), about whom all Scripture is written (Luke 24:27). Keller recognizes that there are times when preachers should deliver topical sermons, but their bread-and-butter sermons should be expositional. Because Scripture tells the unified story of what God has done in Christ through the Spirit to accomplish our salvation, sermons should be gospel-centered. Two dangers need to be avoided: (1) “preaching a text, even about Jesus, without really preaching the gospel,” which is typical of moralistic preaching; and (2) “preaching ‘Christ’ without really preaching the text,” which is typical of proof-texting. To help avoid these dangers, Keller outlines six ways to preach Jesus from all of Scripture that are adequate to both the gospel and the context of a particular passage.
Part Two, “Reaching the People,” opens with the recognition that preachers must contextualize their messages to their audiences (Chapter 4). Such contextualization has biblical precedent. For example, compare and contrast how Paul preached to Jews meeting in a synagogue (Acts 13:14–47) with how he preached to Gentiles meeting on Mars Hill (17:22–31). Contextualized preaching consists of a two-fold movement whereby sermons “adapt to the culture” as well as “confront the culture.” Because God created the world and humanity in his image, he has left traces of himself in all cultures. This makes adaptation possible. But humanity has sinned against God and distorted the goodness of his creation at all levels—individual and social, intellectual and emotional, spiritual and material. This makes confrontation necessary.
Chapter 5, “Preaching and the (Late) Modern Mind,” is the best chapter in the book, in my opinion. It exposes the “baseline cultural narratives” that characterize the late-modern mind. (Keller prefers the term late-modern to postmodern because he thinks contemporary culture is “less a reversal of modernity than an intensification of its deepest patterns.”) These narratives include “the sovereign self,” “absolutely negative freedom,” “self-authorizing morality,” and “science as the secular hope.”
Chapter 6, “Preaching Christ to the Heart,” is the second best chapter, in my opinion. It recognizes that people are affective beings, not merely intellectual ones. “Preaching cannot simply be accurate and sound,” Keller argues. “It must capture the listeners’ interest and imaginations; it must be compelling and penetrate to their hearts.”
Part Three, “In Demonstration of the Spirit and of Power” consists of a single chapter about the character of preachers themselves. Keller writes, “your listeners will be convinced by your message only if they are convinced by you as a person.” Preaching, he goes on to say, thus deals with “text” (Bible-gospel-Christ), “context” (culture-heart), and “subtext” (what really motivates the preacher). Though Keller does not point this out himself, these three terms more or less correspond to the threefold division of classical rhetoric: logos (text), pathos (context), and ethos (subtext).
Keller concludes the book with a helpful appendix about “Writing an Expository Message” that focuses on the goal of the biblical text, the theme of the sermon, an outline that develops this theme, and arguments, illustrations, and applications that flesh out this theme. The book concludes with 60+ pages of notes, roughly 20 percent of the entire book. These notes not only identify the source of quotations and books for further reading, they also extend Keller’s analysis. Because they are placed at the end of the book, however, they don’t distract from the development of his main themes. (If you are a fan of Jonathan Edwards, I encourage you to read note 28 on pages 271–275; it shows how Edwards contextualized his preaching to Indians at the Stockbridge Mission.)
Though I found Preaching to be a helpful work, which was especially insightful on late modernity’s “baseline cultural narratives,” I nonetheless found myself asking a few questions.
First, and this is impressionistic, I felt that some of Keller’s examples of how to preach Christ from all of Scripture were not adequate to the text’s context. For example, discussing the horrifying story of the Levite and his concubine (Lev. 19), Keller suggests the following as one of many possible ways to preach Christ from the passage: “When we see a man who sacrifices his wife to save his own skin—a bad husband—how can we not think of a man who sacrificed himself to save his spouse—the true husband?” I see Keller’s point, but is that really a way to find Christ in the text?
Second, Keller defines the gospel in almost exclusively Pauline and Protestant Reformation terms: “we are saved through Christ alone, by faith alone, but not by a faith which remains alone. True salvation always results in good works and a changed life.” This is good and true, of course—see Ephesians 2:8–10, for example—but it fails to take into account other ways of summarizing the gospel, such as that of Jesus himself in Mark 1:15: “The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel.” I can’t help but wonder whether the outline of a kingdom-gospel message fits neatly within Keller’s “metaoutline” for preaching:
Here’s what we face.
Here’s what we must do.
Why we can’t do it.
How Jesus did it.
How through faith in Jesus you should live now.
Third, Keller’s conversation partners throughout the book are almost exclusively Calvinist. He does mention Protestant mainline preachers, but not evangelical Arminians, Methodists, or Wesleyan-Holiness preachers. (I’m an Arminian Pentecostal.) Given that these non-Calvinist evangelicals have produced quite a few well-known preachers, I can’t help but wonder whether they might have insights to share as well.
In spite of these questions, Preaching is a valuable work by a respected pastor whose judgment on such matters is always worth listening to. I get the feeling I’ll be returning to this book again (and again).
-----
P.S. If you found my review helpful, please vote “Yes” on my Amazon.com review page.
November 19, 2025
Pocos son los libros de predicación buenos que he leído. De ellos, la gran mayoría hablan de la metodología para predicar efectivamente. Este libro pertenece a esa minoría que habla de la filosofía de la predicación.
Con gran autoridad y sabiduría, Keller presenta en este libro, los elementos esenciales de la predicación, cómo está debe ser culturalmente pertinente, debe hablar a la mente postmoderna y al corazón de las personas.
Este es una joya de libro. Altamente recomendado.
Con gran autoridad y sabiduría, Keller presenta en este libro, los elementos esenciales de la predicación, cómo está debe ser culturalmente pertinente, debe hablar a la mente postmoderna y al corazón de las personas.
Este es una joya de libro. Altamente recomendado.
May 1, 2025
I rarely say this because I think “must reads” are so contextual and personal, but for those who preach, this is a must read. Keller was a master craftsman when it comes to exegeting a text, exegeting culture, and exegeting the heart’s of his people. That all shines through in this work. I will return to the chapter on preaching to the heart for the rest of my days.
“One way to think about preaching is through the framework of three ‘texts’—the biblical text, the listeners’ context, and the subtext of your own heart.”
“In short, the temptation will be to let the pulpit drive you to the Word, but instead you must let the Word drive you to the pulpit. Prepare the preacher more than you prepare the sermon.”
“One way to think about preaching is through the framework of three ‘texts’—the biblical text, the listeners’ context, and the subtext of your own heart.”
“In short, the temptation will be to let the pulpit drive you to the Word, but instead you must let the Word drive you to the pulpit. Prepare the preacher more than you prepare the sermon.”
December 18, 2018
Tim Keller provides a great overview of the advantages of expository preaching. And, of course, as you might suspect - as a student of Edmund Clowney - Keller devotes a reasonably large section of his book toward the art of Christ-centered preaching. The next large focus was given to cultural narratives. This was a part of his application section, and I found it to be helpful - just very long. A preacher, no doubt, needs to be aware of the prevailing assumptions of his cultural context, but after awhile it felt more like an apologetics book, than a homiletics one. However, in his final section, he got back in stride, and took it to the house. Lots of great insights here. I really enjoy Tim Keller. To me, he represents the best of what the Reformed tradition has to offer.
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3 years later - I listened to an audio version of this in 2015. This year, however, I read the actual book and found it even more helpful. This kind of topic comes through best in print. Keller is definitely one of my favorites. He has his own style and emphasis, but who better to learn the art of expository preaching from. His content is substantial, yet never dry. And the thing that makes the print copy superior is Keller's endnotes! They are chock full of helpful leads and other types of discursive material. There's just so much here to delve into, so another return trip or two or three may be necessary. Such a great little book studded with all kinds of beautiful gems.
-------------------
3 years later - I listened to an audio version of this in 2015. This year, however, I read the actual book and found it even more helpful. This kind of topic comes through best in print. Keller is definitely one of my favorites. He has his own style and emphasis, but who better to learn the art of expository preaching from. His content is substantial, yet never dry. And the thing that makes the print copy superior is Keller's endnotes! They are chock full of helpful leads and other types of discursive material. There's just so much here to delve into, so another return trip or two or three may be necessary. Such a great little book studded with all kinds of beautiful gems.
January 1, 2021
Excelente libro. Para nada pesado (a pesar de no ser un libro tan corto). Keller logra profundizar en el tema, provocando en el lector un fuerte deseo por el estudio de las escrituras y por el Señor.
December 21, 2025
My pastor recommended I read this. Listening to him was probably the best choice I made in 2025! If anyone wants to be a Bible teacher this book is so thought provoking. I loved his thoughts in the intro about what preaching is and what it is not as well as practical advice on how to get to the gospel in every presentation.
This is one I’ll absolutely read again.
This is one I’ll absolutely read again.
September 13, 2025
Third time through & finding it even more helpful as in my 50s, I am trying to learn how to preach to a larger and more diverse congregation.
Original review:
Rates up there with Lloyd-Jones, Stott, and Chappell as one of the most helpful books on preaching written in the last century. Keller's book doesn't replace these older ones, but it does add important new insights on preaching that are especially helpful for preaching Christ-centered expository sermons to a contemporary audience.
Original review:
Rates up there with Lloyd-Jones, Stott, and Chappell as one of the most helpful books on preaching written in the last century. Keller's book doesn't replace these older ones, but it does add important new insights on preaching that are especially helpful for preaching Christ-centered expository sermons to a contemporary audience.
January 30, 2024
Das Buch lässt sich für mich nicht getrennt von seiner Wirkungsgeschichte bewerten: Ich habe kaum Predigten von Keller gehört, aber viele Predigten von Menschen, die Homiletik von Keller gelernt haben. Neben dem empfehlenswerten zweiten Teil zur Kontextualisierung, sehe ich drei Probleme im ersten Teil:
1. Ein pragmatisches Problem: Kapitel 2 trägt die Überschrift "Das Evangelium predigen - immer". Viele 3-Punkte-Predigten, die ich gehört habe, endeten damit mir die Grundlagen des Evangelium zu erklären. Es war letztlich egal, was der Text war, er diente am Ende nur als Sprungbrett, um mir die Grundlagen des Evangeliums zu erklären. Keller warnt zwar davor, Christus zu predigen, ohne über den Text zu predigen (64-66), doch habe ich das leider zu oft erlebt. Dadurch wurden die Predigten vorhersehbar und langweilig.
2. Ein systematisch-theologisches Problem: Das pragmatische Problem sehe ich verankert in einem systematisch-theologischen Problem. Ohne Frage ist Jesu Sühnetod und seine Auferstehung das Zentrum der Theologie. Es entsteht jedoch der Eindruck, dass Keller die Theologie darauf reduziert. Die Vielfalt und der Reichtum an theologischen Lehren würde damit verkannt werden. So überwiegt z.B. die Perspektive des "schon jetzt" durch Jesu Kreuzestod. Die Perspektive des "noch nicht", das die Erfahrungen von Leid und Ungerechtigkeit einschließt, verbunden mit einer eschatologischen Hoffnung auf endgültige Erlösung und Gericht, finden in diesem Buch keine Erwähnung.
3. Ein biblisch-theologisches Problem: Aufgrund einer Reduktion der Theologie auf Christus und seinen Sühnetod plädiert Keller daher auch dafür, jede Gattung, jedes Thema, jede Person, jedes Symbol und jedes Ereignis typologisch auf Christus hin zu predigen (Kapitel 3, 67-84). Gerade als Alttestamentler habe ich da große Anfragen.
1. Ein pragmatisches Problem: Kapitel 2 trägt die Überschrift "Das Evangelium predigen - immer". Viele 3-Punkte-Predigten, die ich gehört habe, endeten damit mir die Grundlagen des Evangelium zu erklären. Es war letztlich egal, was der Text war, er diente am Ende nur als Sprungbrett, um mir die Grundlagen des Evangeliums zu erklären. Keller warnt zwar davor, Christus zu predigen, ohne über den Text zu predigen (64-66), doch habe ich das leider zu oft erlebt. Dadurch wurden die Predigten vorhersehbar und langweilig.
2. Ein systematisch-theologisches Problem: Das pragmatische Problem sehe ich verankert in einem systematisch-theologischen Problem. Ohne Frage ist Jesu Sühnetod und seine Auferstehung das Zentrum der Theologie. Es entsteht jedoch der Eindruck, dass Keller die Theologie darauf reduziert. Die Vielfalt und der Reichtum an theologischen Lehren würde damit verkannt werden. So überwiegt z.B. die Perspektive des "schon jetzt" durch Jesu Kreuzestod. Die Perspektive des "noch nicht", das die Erfahrungen von Leid und Ungerechtigkeit einschließt, verbunden mit einer eschatologischen Hoffnung auf endgültige Erlösung und Gericht, finden in diesem Buch keine Erwähnung.
3. Ein biblisch-theologisches Problem: Aufgrund einer Reduktion der Theologie auf Christus und seinen Sühnetod plädiert Keller daher auch dafür, jede Gattung, jedes Thema, jede Person, jedes Symbol und jedes Ereignis typologisch auf Christus hin zu predigen (Kapitel 3, 67-84). Gerade als Alttestamentler habe ich da große Anfragen.
April 7, 2025
fantastic! One of the greatest preachers of our time, this book is so insightful into effectively preaching Christ to our culture.
July 6, 2023
A fantastic book for anyone looking to engage with the ‘modern mind’ in a constructive and effective way. He quotes Charles Taylor at length and has a substantive note section that is worth following along in. Most beautifully though, he maintains that all preaching must aim to say “isn’t Christ great” - in a day when preaching seems to focus on practice and moral living, this is refreshing to read. Great read.
March 17, 2023
I want to immediately reread this. Wish I could give more stars. I picked this up because someone on here said this is what a preaching book should be. It certainly was. Definitely one of the top three preaching books I’ve read. Incredibly accessible, practical, christocentric, and more. Well done! Read this book.
July 17, 2017
I would definitely recommend this book for any Christian because of the way Timothy Keller shows us that "preaching" (in some form) is for all Believers. He gives lots of great insights on how to interpret Scripture, primarily through showing Jesus as the key to all of it.
And, we must recognize our place like John the Baptist: "I am a voice. I am just a voice, pointing to the one who is to come.' He is saying: 'In myself I am nothing, but the one I serve is the greatest in the world.' He is confident because he is looking not to himself but at 'the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'"
And, we must recognize our place like John the Baptist: "I am a voice. I am just a voice, pointing to the one who is to come.' He is saying: 'In myself I am nothing, but the one I serve is the greatest in the world.' He is confident because he is looking not to himself but at 'the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.'"
March 20, 2023
Timmy K never misses. Every aspiring or practicing preacher should read this book! Not sure why we read Alcantara's Crossover Preaching instead of this in Preaching 1 with Dr. Smith. This book is much more helpful. Shame on the person that left this at McKay's bookstore in Nashville. But I got it there so. Hooray for me.
December 3, 2025
best preaching book so far at RTS
February 24, 2024
Every time I read this man, I am led to love Christ more. This book is a must-read for all who desire to preach.
September 7, 2016
This is a good distilling of Keller's approach to preaching, and dovetails nicely with his course on Preaching Christ which he taught with Edmund Clowney. This is not a nuts and bolts guide, but it's extremely practical. He demonstrates how to key in on important cultural narratives and reveal Christianity as answering the deepest of human problems. He also provides practical insight on how to move from prescriptive preaching that leaves the listener with a "try harder" approach to one that points towards Christ, from every text in the Bible. Tim Keller is my favorite preacher, because of how he answers the issues that are closest to my own heart and mind. I think this book will continue to be important in years to come. His ability to incorporate a vast number of preachers and theologians in his writing will make it an important resource. When you read Tim Keller you are also reading dozens of others.
November 27, 2019
Really helpful book on expository preaching and how to preach well in general. I loved a lot about it. It does the cultural engagement stuff well but doesn't OVER-do it. The emphasis is very much on the Word and Spirit of God, and the preacher's own need to be personally experiencing the truths he's preaching about in order for it to carry the kind of gravitas we're all really after in a Bible talk. Work more on the preacher than on the preached word, and the preached word will naturally be better for it. Love it. Highly recommended.
January 2, 2016
Every book by Tim Keller is an opportunity to be challenged and instructed. While my preaching during this season of life is mostly to octogenarians at nursing homes, I was still immensely helped by this book on preaching. Pro tip: never skip Keller's endnotes; they're not just bibliographic citations but a trove of insight.
August 31, 2015
If you find yourself tasked with the regular communication of biblical truth in any respect (teaching, traditional preaching, writing, blogging, counseling, mentoring), read this. Clear, direct, effective, moving. Really just so, so good.
September 5, 2020
I loved this book. I've noticed for maybe five or six years now the failure of well-meaning Christian communicators to present the faith compellingly and cogently in a context where the majority do not have a worldview that really resembles their own. Every chapter unpacks approaches to solving problems that I have observed and been frustrated by. Virtually every page contains content that I can remember having conversations with friends about. I was encouraged to see someone put their finger on the same things. In saying that, this is an incredibly challenging book. I seriously wonder if right now I'm even the kind of person that has the capability of taking up a lot of what he recommends. Doing this well does not come by accident. But I can do my best to inch closer and closer. This is a very important book. I'm excited to be able to point to a resource on homiletics that consolidates so many things in this area that I think are important.
February 14, 2025
Very good. Full of Biblical and practical advice for preachers. Preaching can be ineffectual for many reasons, some obvious and others not, but it can be effectual in the same way Christ’s death is for those who have been appointed to eternal life. Meaning, that Christ’s death (and anointed preaching) is sufficient for what it is intended to accomplish. At the same time, we have a responsibility in light of that sufficiency to work this all out with fear and trembling. This is why you never hope to see a preacher just “winging it” because it’s the spirit working after all and isn’t that sufficient?
Good preachers aren’t always good pastors - one doesn’t necessitate the other. At the same time, it’s really a blessing to find yourself under the teaching of someone who gets both right. Keller was really helpful in delineating just how important it is that a pastor not neglect his studies and a preacher to not neglect his flock. A good introduction to a very important gift given to the church.
Good preachers aren’t always good pastors - one doesn’t necessitate the other. At the same time, it’s really a blessing to find yourself under the teaching of someone who gets both right. Keller was really helpful in delineating just how important it is that a pastor not neglect his studies and a preacher to not neglect his flock. A good introduction to a very important gift given to the church.
December 18, 2019
I found this book applicable to not just pastors, teachers, and preachers of the word, but anyone who engages in any type of biblical discourse. My favorite chapter, “Preaching Christ to the Culture” was a practical and helpful read as Keller tells us how to address secular arguments and mindsets while reaching instead of dismissing secularists themselves. It was a necessary reminder to practice truth in love. Here’s another reason why I love this book, and really just Tim Keller in general: When you’re reading or listening to Tim Keller, you’re never just reading or listening to Tim Keller. He does a phenomenal job referencing others in his writing and preaching. He’s one of the few authors whose end notes I will actually read.
June 16, 2021
Once again, I am impressed by Keller. This book excels as an introduction to why you should preach a certain way by focusing directly upon the mission or point of preaching. You can tell Keller has done his research, and has read basically every book about preaching ever published. But what I was most impressed about was the depth of Keller's cultural insight, something I didn't even find as much in Trueman. Truly a splendid book, and makes me want to read more of Keller. Would recommend for anyone interested.
June 23, 2025
Outstanding. Quite possibly the most helpful book on preaching I've read.
Using the appendices now as I sermon prep and I definitely see myself coming back to this when exploring themes, types, etc.
Even if you're not in a formal preaching role this will guide you in entering any teaching moments about Jesus to groups or even friends whilst keeping the gospel at the centre. Great insights from Keller.
Using the appendices now as I sermon prep and I definitely see myself coming back to this when exploring themes, types, etc.
Even if you're not in a formal preaching role this will guide you in entering any teaching moments about Jesus to groups or even friends whilst keeping the gospel at the centre. Great insights from Keller.
April 15, 2017
Please read this book if you have any desire to preach, or if you simply want to better understand what constitutes a good, God-honoring sermon that is faithful to the text of God's Word and simultaneously cares for the particular audience to which it is delivered. Keller helps us understand the true purpose of preaching and the elements a sermon must contain in order to achieve that purpose. This is a very biblically-grounded book with all of Keller's skill in teaching, explaining, and pastoral care notably exemplified throughout.
May 18, 2021
I was wowed by this manifesto of sorts, and the amount of content/wisdom/experience that was conveyed in only about 200 pages.
One analogy I loved: that all roads in England lead to London. Likewise, there is always a road to Christ, and if you don't find one, make one! (ie there is always a way to preach Christ from every text with integrity)
One lined I loved (pg 170): "A sermon is a place to wake people up to realities they have assented to with the mind but have not grasped with the heart."
One analogy I loved: that all roads in England lead to London. Likewise, there is always a road to Christ, and if you don't find one, make one! (ie there is always a way to preach Christ from every text with integrity)
One lined I loved (pg 170): "A sermon is a place to wake people up to realities they have assented to with the mind but have not grasped with the heart."
December 30, 2017
An absolute must read for everyone, not merely preachers, in ministry.
July 9, 2020
An excellent, thoroughgoing help!
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