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The Christ-Centered Expositor: A Field Guide for Word-Driven Disciple Makers
The Christ-Centered Expositor by pastor and preaching professor Tony Merida provides a comprehensive overview of effective expository preaching that begins with the inner life of the expositor, and then moves to the essential elements of sermon preparation and delivery. Ideal for pastors, teachers, and students, The Christ-Centered Expositor will equip you for greater faithfulness to God, his Word, and his mission.
390 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2016
90 people are currently reading
169 people want to read
About the author
Tony Merida
57 books34 followersTony Merida is the founding pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, NC. Tony is the author of Faithful Preaching, co-author of Orphanology, and serves as a general editor and as contributor to the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series (B&H Publishing Group) along with David Platt and Danny Akin. He is married to Kimberly, with whom he has five adopted children.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 24, 2018
My step-mother used to refer to men who were “trying to make a preacher.” I also remember reading a book where young candidates for the ministry were said to be “tolerated” by the congregation. There are numerous gifts that pastors need to have or that the session of elders need to have. But whoever is standing behind the pulpit or lectern or is up front of the congregation with his mouth open needs to be well equipped.
Lots of good men are not good preachers. Lots of men who are capable of getting through a sermon and edifying a congregation once are not apt to be at that task every week or very often. Bad preaching comes in lots of varieties. Church life and Christian living depend upon more than just preaching, but preaching is a vital ingredient for both the church as a body of Christ and the individual living for Christ.
Preaching depends upon certain God-given gifts. Absent these gifts, a man is not likely to ever “make a preacher.” But most men who have been “tolerated” by a congregation or homeletics class will have some skills that need to be honed for regular preaching and teaching. A Charles Haddon Spurgeon breaks all the rules. He skips Bible college and formal training; he enters the ministry at a very young age; he preaches from particular verses or even parts of verses; and he is incredible.
Message to all of us: Look in the mirror; listen to a tape or podcast of your sermons; ask a few objective members of the congregation; and embrace this truth: You ain’t Spurgeon. Most of us ain’t Tim Keller, Mark Dever, John Stott, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Alistair Begg, or Sinclair Ferguson. Feel free to fill in the name of any other great preacher. But you probably ain’t him either.
But God never calls men to greatness. The Apostles, as they stumble through the Gospel accounts, appear more often as buffoons, immature and jealous boys, and intellectual lightweights. The most academic and scholarly of the New Testament writers, Paul, was not a powerful orator, by his account. He could put people to sleep by his sermons!
God calls fallible, but transformable men to ministry. But they have to learn. They need mentors. Some of their best mentors will be long-since dead men of old. Some of them will be their teachers or previous pastors. Some will be current authors.
Men going into ministry need to read good books on everything and every aspect of Christian life and thought. This includes books on preaching. The Christ-Centered Expositor by Tony Merida is at the top of my list for books for pastors at all levels to read. This book is published by B & H Academic, which has become one of my favorite publishers. They are currently publishing the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon series and Stewart Kelly’s book Truth Considered and Applied which I have reviewed and praised in previous posts.
One of the main thrusts of this book is that preaching need to be expository. By that, we mean that the preacher should explain the meaning of the text he uses for the sermon. The sermon should illuminate the text and the text should determine the content of the sermon. Want to preach on a topic? Don’t go and find a Bible verse that includes a slight reference to the topic and then go merrily along your way. Don’t “use” the Scriptures, but teach them.
Quite often expository preaching will entail teaching and preaching through entire books or lengthy passages. So be it. That is what is needed to teach the people the Bible. The Bible is not a set of aphorisms. Even Proverbs is not just a random list of neat sayings.
The first half of the book, however, is not devoted to teaching the preacher how to preach or construct sermons. The first seven chapters are in a unit titled “The Expositor’s Heart.” There is no sermon worse than a sermon delivered by an unfaithful man. Part of what makes ministry so hard is that the preacher has to spend all week preaching to himself before he can preach for a half-hour to hour to others. As preachers know, if your upcoming sermon is on joy, you will experience the most joyless week ever as your prepare for it. Same for patience. Same for just about anything. God’s training camp is not for sissies. It’s not for tough men either. Only a Christ-centered Spirit led life can enable any man to survive his own soul and preach to others.
The second half of the book is titled “The Expositor’s Message.” If the first half needs to be read on one’s knees, the second half needs to be read with a pencil, paper, and open Bible. God just doesn’t give messages. Yes, I believe that I could stand up right now and preach a message. But if the message turned out to be any good (and I know God can and does use really bad messages as well), it is because of years of study, reading, listening, and practicing.
Merida emphasizes two key parts of the sermon preparation. The first is called the MPT. That stands for the Main Point of the Text. It is not the main point I want to make in my sermon, nor is it some main point my congregation needs to hear. It is the Main Point of the Text.
Second, there is the MPS, which is the main point of the sermon. Having three points, many subpoints, alliterative lists, and the like may or may not be useful. But a sermon should have a main point, a main take-away. It needs to be clear and needs to be repeated in the sermon. I have heard many tolerable to decent sermons that seem not to have had a main point or a memorable main point. I have probably preached too many sermons where the main point either didn’t exist or was obscured along the way, or was not made perfectly clear.
Pastor Merida is well grounded in the best writing on pastoral ministry and preaching around. He highlighted many books I read and loved along the way. Some of these include John Stott’s Between Two Worlds and Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students and Lloyd-Jones Preaching and Preachers. He also quotes and recommends quite a few other books I would be lunging after if preacher were still on my job description.
Most books like this one appeal only to actual preachers or preachers-in-training. Well grounded people in the congregation need to occasionally read a book like this. Those (of us) who are sermon listeners, rather than sermon makers, could benefit from being better equipped to know what we are looking for.
As Helmut Thielicke said, “Sell your shoes and buy Spurgeon.” I would add this: “Sell another pair and buy The Christ-Centered Expositor.
Lots of good men are not good preachers. Lots of men who are capable of getting through a sermon and edifying a congregation once are not apt to be at that task every week or very often. Bad preaching comes in lots of varieties. Church life and Christian living depend upon more than just preaching, but preaching is a vital ingredient for both the church as a body of Christ and the individual living for Christ.
Preaching depends upon certain God-given gifts. Absent these gifts, a man is not likely to ever “make a preacher.” But most men who have been “tolerated” by a congregation or homeletics class will have some skills that need to be honed for regular preaching and teaching. A Charles Haddon Spurgeon breaks all the rules. He skips Bible college and formal training; he enters the ministry at a very young age; he preaches from particular verses or even parts of verses; and he is incredible.
Message to all of us: Look in the mirror; listen to a tape or podcast of your sermons; ask a few objective members of the congregation; and embrace this truth: You ain’t Spurgeon. Most of us ain’t Tim Keller, Mark Dever, John Stott, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Alistair Begg, or Sinclair Ferguson. Feel free to fill in the name of any other great preacher. But you probably ain’t him either.
But God never calls men to greatness. The Apostles, as they stumble through the Gospel accounts, appear more often as buffoons, immature and jealous boys, and intellectual lightweights. The most academic and scholarly of the New Testament writers, Paul, was not a powerful orator, by his account. He could put people to sleep by his sermons!
God calls fallible, but transformable men to ministry. But they have to learn. They need mentors. Some of their best mentors will be long-since dead men of old. Some of them will be their teachers or previous pastors. Some will be current authors.
Men going into ministry need to read good books on everything and every aspect of Christian life and thought. This includes books on preaching. The Christ-Centered Expositor by Tony Merida is at the top of my list for books for pastors at all levels to read. This book is published by B & H Academic, which has become one of my favorite publishers. They are currently publishing the Lost Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon series and Stewart Kelly’s book Truth Considered and Applied which I have reviewed and praised in previous posts.
One of the main thrusts of this book is that preaching need to be expository. By that, we mean that the preacher should explain the meaning of the text he uses for the sermon. The sermon should illuminate the text and the text should determine the content of the sermon. Want to preach on a topic? Don’t go and find a Bible verse that includes a slight reference to the topic and then go merrily along your way. Don’t “use” the Scriptures, but teach them.
Quite often expository preaching will entail teaching and preaching through entire books or lengthy passages. So be it. That is what is needed to teach the people the Bible. The Bible is not a set of aphorisms. Even Proverbs is not just a random list of neat sayings.
The first half of the book, however, is not devoted to teaching the preacher how to preach or construct sermons. The first seven chapters are in a unit titled “The Expositor’s Heart.” There is no sermon worse than a sermon delivered by an unfaithful man. Part of what makes ministry so hard is that the preacher has to spend all week preaching to himself before he can preach for a half-hour to hour to others. As preachers know, if your upcoming sermon is on joy, you will experience the most joyless week ever as your prepare for it. Same for patience. Same for just about anything. God’s training camp is not for sissies. It’s not for tough men either. Only a Christ-centered Spirit led life can enable any man to survive his own soul and preach to others.
The second half of the book is titled “The Expositor’s Message.” If the first half needs to be read on one’s knees, the second half needs to be read with a pencil, paper, and open Bible. God just doesn’t give messages. Yes, I believe that I could stand up right now and preach a message. But if the message turned out to be any good (and I know God can and does use really bad messages as well), it is because of years of study, reading, listening, and practicing.
Merida emphasizes two key parts of the sermon preparation. The first is called the MPT. That stands for the Main Point of the Text. It is not the main point I want to make in my sermon, nor is it some main point my congregation needs to hear. It is the Main Point of the Text.
Second, there is the MPS, which is the main point of the sermon. Having three points, many subpoints, alliterative lists, and the like may or may not be useful. But a sermon should have a main point, a main take-away. It needs to be clear and needs to be repeated in the sermon. I have heard many tolerable to decent sermons that seem not to have had a main point or a memorable main point. I have probably preached too many sermons where the main point either didn’t exist or was obscured along the way, or was not made perfectly clear.
Pastor Merida is well grounded in the best writing on pastoral ministry and preaching around. He highlighted many books I read and loved along the way. Some of these include John Stott’s Between Two Worlds and Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students and Lloyd-Jones Preaching and Preachers. He also quotes and recommends quite a few other books I would be lunging after if preacher were still on my job description.
Most books like this one appeal only to actual preachers or preachers-in-training. Well grounded people in the congregation need to occasionally read a book like this. Those (of us) who are sermon listeners, rather than sermon makers, could benefit from being better equipped to know what we are looking for.
As Helmut Thielicke said, “Sell your shoes and buy Spurgeon.” I would add this: “Sell another pair and buy The Christ-Centered Expositor.
January 3, 2018
If I were to put a book in the hands of a young disciple who is curious about expository preaching, I think this would be the book. It covers the preparation of the preacher, and the preparation of the sermon in a very systematic manner. Merida has a nice clear, down to earth style. There wasn't necessarily new ground covered here; much of what the author shares is found in other works. But, I think he restates much of the material for a new generation of younger preachers. This is definitely a book I'd like to resource or reread on a occasion.
August 4, 2022
This is and will continue to be a book I reccomend to anyone who wants to teach the Word of God. This has been one of the most influential books I have read
September 17, 2018
Excellent read for those who have the responsibility of preaching the Word of God. The first half deals with the heart of the preacher, and the second half dives into the nuts and bolts of preparing and presenting an expository sermon. If you're still only preaching topical sermons you must read this book.
December 30, 2017
Merida argues that the Christ-Centered Expositor must be someone who loves the Word of God and prayer. Thus, the first part of Tony Merida’s volume on expository preaching is primarily concerned with the communicator rather than the content. His tone throughout this first part of the book is very encouraging and inspiring as he gives warm exhortations to fall in love with the Bible rather than stern warnings. With regard to approach, Merida is very detailed and practical as every chapter seems to be structured into lists of practices and areas of importance. For almost every argument that he makes, he supports them with Scripture and quotes from both contemporary and historical preachers. He also gives plenty of illustrations and examples to support his claims and make them understandable to the reader. The second half of the book is a practical guideline on homiletics, much like Bryan Chapell's "Christ-Centered Preaching."
January 22, 2019
Although at times this book felt more like a collection of "greatest hits" of preaching instruction (Lloyd-Jones, Perkins, Stott, Spurgeon), Merida still comes through with some unique contributions. In particular, his chapter on "Proclaim Christ from the Scriptures" was strong and invigorated with doxology as well as exegetical insight.
This book is strong for what it ought to be: a student's introduction to homiletics. Hopefully, it just proves a gateway (which I think Merida would agree with) to some of the seasoned meditations of older and deader preachers.
This book is strong for what it ought to be: a student's introduction to homiletics. Hopefully, it just proves a gateway (which I think Merida would agree with) to some of the seasoned meditations of older and deader preachers.
January 17, 2022
An easy read about preachers and preaching. The first half is mainly about the pastor and his theology, life, and holiness. The second half is the nuts and bolts of preaching, such as basic exegesis, application, introductions/conclusions, how to speak, etc.
I'm very new to preaching weekly, and this books was an encouragement. As Robert Murray M'Cheyne once said, "My people's greatest need is my personal holiness." This books handles that well, and even gives helpful insight on sermon preparation.
I'm very new to preaching weekly, and this books was an encouragement. As Robert Murray M'Cheyne once said, "My people's greatest need is my personal holiness." This books handles that well, and even gives helpful insight on sermon preparation.
April 29, 2022
This book started a fire in my heart to preach God's Word with clarity and boldness. It also showed me my need to depend on God for this God-fearing task by spending time studying and praying. I grew in my respect for pastors who preach Christ every Sunday and also helped me realize that it is a tiring, but rewarding calling.
This book is a guide to those who want to know how to preach well, what to preach and how to prepare to preach. I see myself coming back to this book many times in the future.
This book is a guide to those who want to know how to preach well, what to preach and how to prepare to preach. I see myself coming back to this book many times in the future.
June 3, 2025
Amazing Comprehensive Book On Preaching and Exegesis
Dr. Tony Merida does an amazing job, emphasizing the gospel, exegesis, hermeneutics, and the centrality of God‘s redeeming work on the cross, and how that all culminates in sermons that highlight the finish work of the atonement while contextualizing the message so that people can prayerfully understand, respond, and Live under the leadership of Christ!
I highly recommend this book.
Dr. Tony Merida does an amazing job, emphasizing the gospel, exegesis, hermeneutics, and the centrality of God‘s redeeming work on the cross, and how that all culminates in sermons that highlight the finish work of the atonement while contextualizing the message so that people can prayerfully understand, respond, and Live under the leadership of Christ!
I highly recommend this book.
May 18, 2024
I greatly enjoyed this book. There were some very practical and helpful things in here that I plan to use in the future as I prepare sermons. I also appreciate that Merida took time to address the heart of the expositor, and not just his work. For anyone looking to be stirred up and encouraged to preach God’s word, I would recommend this book!
November 15, 2024
This book was very very good and well written. It is so full of wisdom I feel I have forgotten more than I learned, in a good way that makes this book one to read over and over again.
“Christ centered teachers and preachers are not those who have mastered certain techniques; they are those that have been mastered by certain convictions”
“Christ centered teachers and preachers are not those who have mastered certain techniques; they are those that have been mastered by certain convictions”
March 4, 2019
This is a very good introductory book to preaching. The information is clear, and supported with great argumentation. I would recommend anyone who is interested in becoming a preacher to read this book.
February 6, 2019
Exalt Christ in your preaching!!
The author does a tremendous job in challenging the reader to exalt Jesus in every message. Gleaning from scripture, preachers of old, and preachers of the day, the author shows the importance and impact on Christ exalting preaching!
The author does a tremendous job in challenging the reader to exalt Jesus in every message. Gleaning from scripture, preachers of old, and preachers of the day, the author shows the importance and impact on Christ exalting preaching!
October 4, 2021
I love that more than half of this book was about the approach to preaching and the life of the preacher. Also, that it wasn’t just a book about exposition, but still took exposition seriously as part of the process.
Amazing summaries at the end of each chapter. GREAT recommendable resource
Amazing summaries at the end of each chapter. GREAT recommendable resource
April 21, 2022
Merida focuses on both the expositors heart and his/her message. Throughout, Merida shows how one can relate all of Scripture to Christ. More, he gives helpful insights into how one can best structure a sermon and genuinely stand as a “herald of the King.”
November 25, 2024
Great book for practical advice on sermon writing and preparation. Several parts were extremely convicting, while others were challenging. Merida's usage of biblical interpretation, logical progression, and practical tips were excellent. Very enjoyable work!
August 4, 2021
Excellent book on preaching from one of the best modern-day expositors. I also love his sermons at Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, NC and his work at Grimke Seminary.
April 30, 2023
Super helpful book and gave me lots of confidence in knowing that most people are not born good-preachers. All new preachers should read it.
November 26, 2025
Very good
October 17, 2021
This is a great introduction to the art of expository preaching. His first section is a great heart-check for anybody that teaches the Bible regularly, and he provides plenty of examples and tips when he moves into the section on actually crafting a sermon.
November 23, 2016
I have read preaching books by some of the "big dogs" (Chappell, Dever, Keller), but this is my new favorite. Not only does it give a lot of great practical and simple tips for the preacher, it also deals with the heart of the preacher. It is a little lengthy, but worth the read and I would recommend it to both the experienced and inexperienced preacher.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews