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Invitation to Theological Studies
Invitation to Biblical Preaching: Proclaiming Truth with Clarity and Relevance
Written in a conversational style with profuse examples to illustrate all concepts, Invitation to Biblical Preaching takes the reader step-by-step through the entire process of preparing a biblical message, from studying a passage with skill and integrity to delivering a message with persuasion, accuracy, passion, and relevance. An experienced pastor and homiletics professor, Donald Sunukjian provides budding pastors with wise counsel that is sure to stay with them throughout their ministries.
376 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2007
73 people are currently reading
130 people want to read
About the author
Donald R. Sunukjian
8 books2 followersDonald R. Sunukjian (Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles; Th.D., Dallas Theological Seminary) is professor of homiletics and chair of the Christian Ministry and Leadership Department at Talbot School of Theology. He is a frequent contributor to various preaching books, magazines, and Web sites.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
July 6, 2024
Every modern day sermon must follow the original author’s thoughts in order to be accurate. Sunukjian does a masterful job of getting into the flow of the original author’s thoughts and designing the entire structure of the sermon along this route. He provides several case study examples that build throughout the book, and his method is accurate and explained well. It can get technical, at times, but is a very good read.
October 11, 2018
If you only read one book on preaching, read this one! Sunukjian makes expository preaching simple through his definition and explanation of biblical preaching. Sunukjian starts with this definition of a biblical preacher: one who says “Look at what God is saying to us.” Where this book especially shines is in the process of sermon development, particularly outlining. Sunukjian’s explanation that the flow of the text facilitates the flow of the sermon outline was particularly helpful to me.
February 23, 2011
Sunukjian has some insights into outlining and preparing to speak with clarity. He is very much in the tradition of Haddon Robinson.
For 385 pages, there are is a lot here that is boring, repetitive, and theologically empty. There are much better preaching books than this. Stott's 'Between Two Worlds' is vastly preferable.
For 385 pages, there are is a lot here that is boring, repetitive, and theologically empty. There are much better preaching books than this. Stott's 'Between Two Worlds' is vastly preferable.
August 11, 2017
The best book on outlining a sermon message! The author does a great job in take you through the steps of sermon preparation including the actually preaching. There are numerous examples to solidify his arguments.
November 3, 2020
I read this book because it came highly recommended to me from many friends, and I intend to implement much of its content in my preaching. But...
...Having said that, I have one major frustration. The Gospel - the good news that John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles preached; the Gospel that characterized and guided everything Paul ever wrote about; the Gospel that Jesus preached from Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms - Somehow, the Gospel never found its way into Sunukjian's book!
Let me expand on my frustration: I don't (necessarily) expect Sunukjian to define the Gospel for us, or to ruminate on it, to explain the difference between the false and the true, or to get into any arguments about what you have to include when you tell the Gospel. That's not what the cover advertises. But because of the complete omission of the subject of the Gospel and how it relates to preaching, Sunukjian seems to tell us (at least subjectively) that the Gospel is not necessarily related to "Biblical Preaching". I fear that there are many sermons preached that somehow strive to find and convey the author's intent, boil it down to a timeless truth, and then make it relevant to the congregation, all while never preaching the Gospel... week, after week, after week.
So that's my beef. And, because of the Gospel's essential relationship to preaching, I almost felt I had to rate this a "1". However, Sunukjian's immensely helpful strategy of study and structure has been a great help to me, and for that, I would recommend it; Only, however, if you study your Bible with the Gospel of the Bible in mind.
...Having said that, I have one major frustration. The Gospel - the good news that John the Baptist, Christ, and the apostles preached; the Gospel that characterized and guided everything Paul ever wrote about; the Gospel that Jesus preached from Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms - Somehow, the Gospel never found its way into Sunukjian's book!
Let me expand on my frustration: I don't (necessarily) expect Sunukjian to define the Gospel for us, or to ruminate on it, to explain the difference between the false and the true, or to get into any arguments about what you have to include when you tell the Gospel. That's not what the cover advertises. But because of the complete omission of the subject of the Gospel and how it relates to preaching, Sunukjian seems to tell us (at least subjectively) that the Gospel is not necessarily related to "Biblical Preaching". I fear that there are many sermons preached that somehow strive to find and convey the author's intent, boil it down to a timeless truth, and then make it relevant to the congregation, all while never preaching the Gospel... week, after week, after week.
So that's my beef. And, because of the Gospel's essential relationship to preaching, I almost felt I had to rate this a "1". However, Sunukjian's immensely helpful strategy of study and structure has been a great help to me, and for that, I would recommend it; Only, however, if you study your Bible with the Gospel of the Bible in mind.
July 7, 2025
Sunukjian's approach to preaching in this book starts with the assumption that biblically grounded sermons must communicate the idea of the author's original intent of any given passage. Compared to something like Haddon Robinson's Biblical Preaching, Sunukjian dedicates comparatively less time to extracting and fine-tuning the biblical idea itself, and more time to elaborating and structuring the sermon around that biblical idea. He addresses many common problems in flowing logically towards and/or away from the biblical idea in the sermon, focusing the bulk of his work on how to communicate the biblical idea effectively. Rather than being an instructional volume for beginners to learn how to produce a sermon, Sunukjian's book confronts unclear preparation and execution to help any preacher become clearer and a more effective communicator.
August 28, 2019
Fairly basic information - I’m looking for something that will assist in developing sermon series.
The three-step outlining process is a great idea for mining content, which is the only reason I gave it three stars. Biblical Preaching by Robinson is a better investment, especially when wanting to do exegetical sermons.
The three-step outlining process is a great idea for mining content, which is the only reason I gave it three stars. Biblical Preaching by Robinson is a better investment, especially when wanting to do exegetical sermons.
June 8, 2019
This is the best book about preaching I have read. I know many people like Robinson and Chappel and those preachers are giants (and I have read them), but the language and concepts are not as easily accessible as in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 2, 2024
Wow, what a masterful work on preaching. Seriously, this will improve all preaching, and even speaking in general, that I ever do for the rest of my life. I am indebted to Sunukjian.
January 3, 2023
Perhaps the best single book on preaching I have read so far. Sunukjian's work with oral clarity and relevancy is fantastic! While it might be a bit of a homiletical firehose to give to someone as an introduction to preaching, Sunukjian's suggestions can refine the organization, application, and clarity of even seasoned preachers' sermons. This is an easy recommendation.
November 1, 2023
Excellent. I don't always agree with his scripture application, but the methodology of sermon prep is incredibly helpful. This man has been a joy to have as a professor and I'm honored to study under him.
July 27, 2014
Donald Sunukjian studied under Haddon Robinson at Dallas Seminary, then also taught there. He now teaches at Talbot Seminary in LA. Sunukjian has an ability to think through elements of preaching in minute detail, yet has a communication style that is clear and accessible – both in person and in his writing. These qualities have combined to make this a great book.
This is definitely another book in the Haddon Robinson school of thought. The process is similar, the emphasis on the main idea and the purpose are evident, delivery without notes is encouraged, etc. Incidentally, the reader should not be intimidated by the “zigzag” big idea – if Sunukjian came up with such effective preaching ideas regularly, surely more would be included in the book! He admits that you go with what you have, and only sometimes is the preaching idea a real humdinger.
He defines biblical preaching simply as “Look at what God is saying to us!” Throughout this 370 page book, numerous biblical examples are given to make clear the point being taught. Sunukjian has a large bank of example sermons that show up throughout the book so that the variety is not random and overwhelming, but reinforcing and familiar.
His ability to think through the details comes out in areas such as whether to use inductive or deductive approaches according to the material being covered, or how to preach a chiastic passage so contemporary listeners will understand it.
Sunukjian’s speciality is the subject of oral clarity – preaching so listeners can follow. His six elements of oral clarity are detailed in a chapter, but exemplified throughout the book. Sunukjian demonstrates a real awareness of what works for the listener, a concern sometimes missing in other “how to” preaching texts.
After the process is detailed, there are two sample sermons presented in the appendix. These are repeated with helpful explanatory notes to guide the reader through the process.
In a book of 370 pages, it seems strange to point to a section being too short, but the delivery chapter is very short. However, it is fair to say that if a preacher follows the teaching throughout the book, then delivery will be improved. If there were any other negatives, it would be a slight discomfort with one or two of the biblical examples. Again, this is a small point since most are handled very effectively.
Overall this is a very strong book, perhaps even a great book. As I read preaching books, I mark helpful points with post-its. Many books have only a handful sticking out, this one has a forest of post-its! As an introductory text for a preaching class, this would work well. As a supplemental book for those of us who’ve read other textbooks, this is definitely worth having. It has many definite strengths, is clearly organized and engagingly written. This definitely makes my list of top preaching books.
Originally offered on www.biblicalpreaching.net
This is definitely another book in the Haddon Robinson school of thought. The process is similar, the emphasis on the main idea and the purpose are evident, delivery without notes is encouraged, etc. Incidentally, the reader should not be intimidated by the “zigzag” big idea – if Sunukjian came up with such effective preaching ideas regularly, surely more would be included in the book! He admits that you go with what you have, and only sometimes is the preaching idea a real humdinger.
He defines biblical preaching simply as “Look at what God is saying to us!” Throughout this 370 page book, numerous biblical examples are given to make clear the point being taught. Sunukjian has a large bank of example sermons that show up throughout the book so that the variety is not random and overwhelming, but reinforcing and familiar.
His ability to think through the details comes out in areas such as whether to use inductive or deductive approaches according to the material being covered, or how to preach a chiastic passage so contemporary listeners will understand it.
Sunukjian’s speciality is the subject of oral clarity – preaching so listeners can follow. His six elements of oral clarity are detailed in a chapter, but exemplified throughout the book. Sunukjian demonstrates a real awareness of what works for the listener, a concern sometimes missing in other “how to” preaching texts.
After the process is detailed, there are two sample sermons presented in the appendix. These are repeated with helpful explanatory notes to guide the reader through the process.
In a book of 370 pages, it seems strange to point to a section being too short, but the delivery chapter is very short. However, it is fair to say that if a preacher follows the teaching throughout the book, then delivery will be improved. If there were any other negatives, it would be a slight discomfort with one or two of the biblical examples. Again, this is a small point since most are handled very effectively.
Overall this is a very strong book, perhaps even a great book. As I read preaching books, I mark helpful points with post-its. Many books have only a handful sticking out, this one has a forest of post-its! As an introductory text for a preaching class, this would work well. As a supplemental book for those of us who’ve read other textbooks, this is definitely worth having. It has many definite strengths, is clearly organized and engagingly written. This definitely makes my list of top preaching books.
Originally offered on www.biblicalpreaching.net
May 9, 2012
Sunukjian sees preachers as standing amongst their congregation, saying ‘look at what God’s word is saying to us.” His positioning of preaching amongst and not over the congregation is key and informs the rest of his book. The technical definition of the preachers position is this: 1. the preacher must present the exact meaning of the text, 2 in a contemporary manner. It is based on this definition that the entire book is then ordered. The first four chapters are primarily concerned with exegetical work, finding the flow of the text and the big idea of the passage. The next 12 chapters then deal with how to fashion the sermon into a relevant call to action for the 21st century hearer.
This books succeeds in its dual goal of teaching a pastor how to preach with clarity and relevance. ‘Biblical Preaching’ stands head and shoulders above others in its detailed, step by step examples of expository sermons. It is perhaps the best book I have read on preaching and one that I will reference again in the future.
November 5, 2022
There are many helpful insights on preaching to be found in Sunukjian’s book. And he certainly has no shortage of sermonic examples!
September 27, 2014
Highly readable and practical. Highly recommended for all who are currently or will be preaching the Christian Gospel.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews