Preaching to Be Heard: Delivering Sermons That Command Attention

by Lucas O'Neill

"If a sermon is preached in a church and no one is listening, does it make a difference?"

There are many expository preachers who forego dynamic delivery and many dynamic preachers who lose sight of faithfully communicating the biblical text. Too often preachers feel they have to choose one or the other. But dynamic delivery and faithful exposition are not mutually exclusive.

In Preaching to Be Heard, Lucas O'Neill shows pastors that presenting engaging sermons that are biblically focused is not an impossibility. In fact, the key to commanding attention lies in the text itself. Rather than relying on tricks or gimmicks, his approach to sermon writing focuses on maintaining tension throughout while sticking close to the biblical text. Using practical examples and a step-by-step method, O'Neill shows pastors how relying on the inherent anticipation within Scripture can lead to sermons that are powerful--and heard.

152 pages, Paperback

Published February 13, 2019

Reviews

[Kevin Halloran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas O'Neill is a proponent of Big Idea preaching, and this helpful book helps preachers structure their sermons around making that big idea as clear and attention-grabbing as possible. As I read, I felt like I was in a workshop led by a professor and practitioner on making expositional preaching as compelling as it should be, and I'm a better preacher because of it. I will consult the chapter on sermon structure as I prepare my next sermon. Highly recommended.

[Ian Crosby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful book on preaching. He encourages big idea preaching and lays out why he thinks building, sustaining, and answering tension is the most effective way to engage your audience. Recommend this to anyone who preaches. As a bonus, really helpful and practical exercises and outlines in the back.

[Ben Moser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful and practical for anyone who wants to get better at preaching

[Isa Askarbek · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing guide on understanding the texts of the Bible (or any other text) and effectively communicating it!

[Norman Falk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more like 3.5

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read a lot of books on preaching, I find this to be a great companion workbook, or rather sequel, to Haddon Robinson's work and his Big Idea ethos. The author does a wonderful job teaching about the importance of finding the tension inherent in every passage and keeping it alive in every sermon. He also furthers Robinson's ideas about sermon types and when each is most appropriate as well as when it's not. Many examples. There is a chapter defending Christ-centered preaching from various misunderstandings, and one fo the best chapters I've ever read on creating introductions.

[Kyle Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really boring book but was really helpful in thinking about the structure of a sermon and how to keep a sermon engaging. One of the biggest points is that you don't need to grab attention with gimmicks but you need to find the solution of the text and then create the tension that the text resolves. This is the first book about preaching that I have read but would recommend it to someone else for sure. Excited to read more books on the topic.

[Christopher Gow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly great/helpful! Would recommend to anyone who is new to preaching/teaching the Bible and/or daunted by the task of preaching sermons that are "engaging" or "relevant." O'neill shows that scripture is full of tension and questions that engage us without any added props.

[Eric Wendt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly boring for a book about preaching to be heard. But it does contain valuable information that will help all speakers. Because of the valuable information, I have to give this book a 4/5. It would be dishonest of me to give a book a low rating because of the dryness of the writing.

[Randy Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Scripture needs to be heard, therefore we must preach in a way that is worthy of being heard, by being faithful to the text, commanding and keeping attention through tension, focusing on a problem and solution, and showing them the ultimate solution in Christ.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The big idea of the book is utilizing tension in a sermon.

[Eli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great defense and practical explanation of Big Idea preaching.

[Josh Loomis · Rating 5 out of 5]

O’Neill doesn’t disappoint in laying forth a practice and well thought out book on preaching. The idea of allowing the tension of Scripture guide your sermon prep is helpful.