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Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon
This complete guide to expository preaching teaches the basics of preparation, organization, and delivery--the trademarks of great preaching. With the help of charts and creative learning exercises, Chapell shows how expository preaching can reveal the redemptive aims of Scripture and offers a comprehensive approach to the theory and practice of preaching. He also provides help for special preaching situations.
The second edition contains updates and clarifications, allowing this classic to continue to serve the needs of budding preachers. Numerous appendixes address many practical issues.
The second edition contains updates and clarifications, allowing this classic to continue to serve the needs of budding preachers. Numerous appendixes address many practical issues.
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 1994
523 people are currently reading
2181 people want to read
About the author
Bryan Chapell
64 books85 followersBryan Chapell is the president of Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America. He began teaching at Covenant in 1984 after ten years in pastoral ministry. Chapell has a BSJ from Northwestern University, an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary, and a PhD in speech communication from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.
Before becoming president in 1994, he served for six years as vice president for academics and dean of faculty. He is a speaker in churches and conferences around the country, preaching and lecturing on topics including grace, marriage, and journalism. Chapell's online broadcast ministry, Living Christ 360, contains additional resources in his areas of expertise.
Before becoming president in 1994, he served for six years as vice president for academics and dean of faculty. He is a speaker in churches and conferences around the country, preaching and lecturing on topics including grace, marriage, and journalism. Chapell's online broadcast ministry, Living Christ 360, contains additional resources in his areas of expertise.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 217 reviews
January 16, 2022
I spent the summer holidays soaking in this.
I thought I’d read something a bit more dense while I wasn’t studying, and I got so much out of this. It’s really a textbook that covers so many aspects of preaching that I’m totally going to have to return to. A tonne of gems and things to think through for the rest of my life.
The theology of preaching, the character of the preacher, and the models for redemptive sermons were particular highlights. The biggest thing I learnt though - “you must know grace to preach it”, and therefore preach grace upon grace.
“Passion comes naturally to sermons when preachers speak as though they are addressing a real concern with a loved one. If a friend or neighbour were to come to our door one evening and confess that his teenage son is destroying his family, we would invite the friend to sit at our kitchen table, and we would talk plainly. The hurt in our friend’s eyes would dissuade us from pompous idealisms, the need to offer real help would make us turn to the Bible for practical aid, and our friendship would keep us from speaking without love even if we had to say hard things. The best preaching offers no less. Application presented as though we are speaking to a friend or family member across a kitchen table has more spiritual potential than a dozen sermons designed for delivery from Mount Sinai. When Jesus spoke, the Bible records, the common people delighted to hear him because he spoke so plainly about their concerns. Preaching that represents him should still speak as he did.”
I thought I’d read something a bit more dense while I wasn’t studying, and I got so much out of this. It’s really a textbook that covers so many aspects of preaching that I’m totally going to have to return to. A tonne of gems and things to think through for the rest of my life.
The theology of preaching, the character of the preacher, and the models for redemptive sermons were particular highlights. The biggest thing I learnt though - “you must know grace to preach it”, and therefore preach grace upon grace.
“Passion comes naturally to sermons when preachers speak as though they are addressing a real concern with a loved one. If a friend or neighbour were to come to our door one evening and confess that his teenage son is destroying his family, we would invite the friend to sit at our kitchen table, and we would talk plainly. The hurt in our friend’s eyes would dissuade us from pompous idealisms, the need to offer real help would make us turn to the Bible for practical aid, and our friendship would keep us from speaking without love even if we had to say hard things. The best preaching offers no less. Application presented as though we are speaking to a friend or family member across a kitchen table has more spiritual potential than a dozen sermons designed for delivery from Mount Sinai. When Jesus spoke, the Bible records, the common people delighted to hear him because he spoke so plainly about their concerns. Preaching that represents him should still speak as he did.”
June 5, 2013
Christ-Centered Preaching is perhaps a modern classic and certainly one of the greatest preaching texts of the last 30 years or more. It is broken up into three sections (principles, preparation, and theology) and has a wealth of additional information in the appendixes (everything from how to dress and speak to how to prepare a funeral message).
Despite its great reputation, I was afraid it would read like a text book - helpful at points, certainly informative, but dry as a bone. The first section of the book surprised me as it was easy and even enjoyable to read and was full of insight. The second section, which gets into the nuts and bolts of how to prepare a sermon, was wonderfully helpful, but oh so long! I was really helped by the chapter on outlining, but thought it would never end (it runs about 45 pages). I don't think I ever would have finished the book (or even section two) if I hadn't been reading it with a friend.
Perhaps the most helpful thing about part 3 is that it counters false and superficial approaches to preaching Christ with a more biblically faithful, truly expository approach to preaching Christ.
Though 'Christ-Centered Preaching' is a legitimate title for the book, I think it might have been more faithfully titled 'Grace-Centered Preaching.'Chapell is not so concerned that Christ himself be expounded or even mentioned in every sermon. His main concern is that those who hear walk away looking not to their own works but to the grace of God.
Overall a great text that covers the gamut on preaching with a clear and thorough gospel focus.
Despite its great reputation, I was afraid it would read like a text book - helpful at points, certainly informative, but dry as a bone. The first section of the book surprised me as it was easy and even enjoyable to read and was full of insight. The second section, which gets into the nuts and bolts of how to prepare a sermon, was wonderfully helpful, but oh so long! I was really helped by the chapter on outlining, but thought it would never end (it runs about 45 pages). I don't think I ever would have finished the book (or even section two) if I hadn't been reading it with a friend.
Perhaps the most helpful thing about part 3 is that it counters false and superficial approaches to preaching Christ with a more biblically faithful, truly expository approach to preaching Christ.
Though 'Christ-Centered Preaching' is a legitimate title for the book, I think it might have been more faithfully titled 'Grace-Centered Preaching.'Chapell is not so concerned that Christ himself be expounded or even mentioned in every sermon. His main concern is that those who hear walk away looking not to their own works but to the grace of God.
Overall a great text that covers the gamut on preaching with a clear and thorough gospel focus.
August 20, 2018
Chappell’s whole premise of finding a fallen-condition focus for a text and preaching Christ from that would save pastors and their congregations much heartache and bad messages aka fewer Christian TED Talks and more Christ-centered sermons. An incredibly practical, compelling book on preaching Christ.
January 11, 2012
How can you preach a Christ-centred sermon when Jesus isn't mentioned in the section of the Bible you're preaching from? How can you avoid implying acceptence by works and promoting moralism when the passage you're preaching from contains nothing but commands? Bryan Chapel is the go-to guy for answers. He had a big influence on me when I heard him speak at a conference just as I was beginning to preach (by the way, you can get the core of his position by listening to a few talks on the net). So I read this to explore his model further. It's a longer, denser book than I was expecting -- it's a preaching textbook. It addresses theology and practice of Christ-centred or redemptive expository preaching, as well as general preaching theory, and it is a bit repetitive at times. A helful, encouraging, comprehensive and very practical book. I wouldn't necessarily plan to read it cover to cover -- doing so took me 2 years! The first and third sections contain the material on Christ centred preaching and the middle section could be dipped into for guidance on preaching nuts and bolts. Excellent: an enthusiastic recommendation from me.
February 12, 2019
This book is one of the top 3 books I've read while in seminary. It might even be the best. It was certainly the most helpful. I plan to look to it again and again for practical and frequent help in future ministry.
January 5, 2012
Today, especially in America, Evangelicals suffer from a profound inability to read any literary text well. T. David Gordon has made this point very strongly in his little book "Why Johnny Can't Preach." Much of the problem, indeed, is the product of a modern, post-enlightenment, hermeneutics which privileges the autonomous self (the scientific reader) over the ancient text. As C.S. Lewis has aptly pointed out, “A work of (whatever) art can be either ‘received’ or ‘used’. When we ‘receive’ it we exert our senses and imagination and various other power according to a pattern invented by the artist. When we ‘use’ it we treat it as assistance for our own activities" (An Experiment in Criticism. Cambridge, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1961, 28). For example, Lewis explained:
"We sit down before a picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work of art makes upon us is surrender. Look. Listen. Receive. Get yourself out of the way. (There is no good asking first whether the work before you deserves such a surrender, for until you have surrendered you cannot possibly find out.)"(p. 88)
The problem is only exacerbated when it comes to the Holy Scriptures. Indeed, as modern readers, we are much more comfortable being in the ‘driver’s seat’, often approaching Scripture like a science book or searching for universal principles we can directly apply to our lives. Yet these are both ways of ‘using’ the Bible. An example of this can be seen in Bryan Chapell’s "Christ-Centered Preaching" where he instructs preachers to “[a]void the trap of merely describing a text.” In constructing sermons, he advises that main points “should be stated so as to reveal universal truth principles that a preacher can exhort believers to apply to their lives" (p. 153). Underlying this approach, however, seems to be the assumption that the text (the myth, the narrative) doesn’t work on us itself. Rather it must be appropriated, deconstructed, and made more relevant. Rather than receiving a story for its own sake, on its own terms, Chapell encourages preachers to search for universal principles instead.
Does this mean that the Scriptures are never practical? Absolutely not. The Bible certainly has application value; but it is often not the kind we expect. In Acts 8 we have the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. After worshipping in Jerusalem, his is returning to his own land while holding in his hand a foreign text (27-28). But as he reads he is confused. When asked, “Do you understand what you reading?” (30), his reply is telling. “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (31). But after reading Isaiah’s prophesy about the lamb who was to be slain, the Eunuch doesn’t next ask about some universal principle behind the text. He didn’t attempt to demythologize the text. Nether did he ask Philip, “can you make this ancient and foreign text relevant to my life in Ethiopia?” Rather he asks, “About whom... does the prophet say this? (34). Unlike Simon the sorcerer who a few verses earlier wanted to manipulate and “use” Christianity to further his own interest, the Eunuch opened himself to receive the text. The next thing we read, he is baptized into a whole new world (38). Michael Horton writes:
"The biblical story does not simply illumine our existence: it throws our whole existence into turmoil. It does not merely answer our questions: it reveals the banality of our questions and gives us new questions that set us on a path to profound discovery. It is not supplemental, but subversive. Thus, the goal is not to relate the Bible to our experience (which is really to say, judge the Bible by our experience), but vice versa. We must set out to make our lives relevant to the biblical story, not the biblical story to our lives" (Michael Horton, Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama (Louisville, KY: WJK, 2002), 165).
This means, as Horton points out, we must avoid using the Bible as “a ‘handbook’ for various human ends, whether therapeutic, ethical, doctrinal or speculative” (p. 167). As Horton explains, what really has “priority” is “the speaker and the intentions of that speaker that are expressed, confirmed, and fulfilled in history, and not merely propositions about what is and has always been...” (p. 142). This is something lacking in Chapell's hermeneutical theory.
Following the lead of literary scholars like Robert Alter and Eric Auerbach, Paul Ricoeur stressed the incomparable power of biblical narrative to affect the reader or hearer. Summarizing Alter’s conclusions, Ricoeur wrote:
“[I]t is precisely the narrative composition, the organizing of the events in the narrative, that is the vehicle for, or, better, that foments, the theological interpretation. He adds that it is the fullest grasping of this literary art that proceeds to the sharpest perception of the theological intention" (Figuring the Sacred, 182).
So then, narrative has unique ability to heighten our perception and reception of meaning. But that is not all. Narrative can also “create” a world for us to confront--a world we cannot construct by ourselves--a world which comes from outside of us. This is what Ricoeur called an “unfolding of the world of the text.”
"[T]he first task of hermeneutics is not to give rise to a decision on the part of the reader but to allow the world of being that is the “issue” of the biblical text to unfold. Thus, above and beyond emotions, disposition, belief, or nonbelief, is the proposition of a world that in the biblical language is called a new world, a new covenant, the kingdom of God, a new birth. These are the realities unfolded before the text, which are certainly for us, but which begin from the text" (p. 44).
Thus, narrative not only heightens our emotions and engages our minds, but it also presents us with a whole new world. But this new world is not just any world. It must possess a certain depth and explanatory power. It must offer something more historical than mere fiction, but also more real than the newspaper. This is what “myth” offers -- something that explains our world.
Unfortunately the term “myth” connotes various, sometimes unhelpful, pre-conceptions. As Morton T. Kelsey explains:
"Many people, in both religious and secular circles, have accepted a popular usage of the word which suggests that myths are simply stories that are not true. According to this view, the myth is either an outright falsehood or a product of fanciful imagination with no relation at all to real life. It may be produced consciously or it may arise spontaneously from the depth of the unconscious, but either way it has nothing to do with the hard, material realities of the world around us. One can hold to this view of myth, however, only by forgetting the depths and capacities of the human psyche and insisting that man is strictly matter, or physical being, and nothing more" (Myth, History and Faith, 3-4).
Similarly, Historian Mercia Eliade relates how by the second century A.D., classical mythology began to suffer strong criticism at the hands of the “Alexandrian rhetoricians.” Since the stories could not be “taken literally,” eventually, methods of allegorization (or “demythicization”) led people to search for the “hidden meanings” instead (Myths, Rites, Symbols, pp. 13-15). Thus, we must see how philosophy and modern science has skewed any notion that “myth” might have bearing on reality.
The modern approach to hermeneutics (followed here by Chapell and many other Evangelicals), with its emphasis on science and historicity, has nevertheless aversely shaped Christians' appreciation of the rich literary abilities of the text we call our Bible. If we want to read and understand the Scriptures rightly, we must learn again how to receive them as mythopoetic literature.
"We sit down before a picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work of art makes upon us is surrender. Look. Listen. Receive. Get yourself out of the way. (There is no good asking first whether the work before you deserves such a surrender, for until you have surrendered you cannot possibly find out.)"(p. 88)
The problem is only exacerbated when it comes to the Holy Scriptures. Indeed, as modern readers, we are much more comfortable being in the ‘driver’s seat’, often approaching Scripture like a science book or searching for universal principles we can directly apply to our lives. Yet these are both ways of ‘using’ the Bible. An example of this can be seen in Bryan Chapell’s "Christ-Centered Preaching" where he instructs preachers to “[a]void the trap of merely describing a text.” In constructing sermons, he advises that main points “should be stated so as to reveal universal truth principles that a preacher can exhort believers to apply to their lives" (p. 153). Underlying this approach, however, seems to be the assumption that the text (the myth, the narrative) doesn’t work on us itself. Rather it must be appropriated, deconstructed, and made more relevant. Rather than receiving a story for its own sake, on its own terms, Chapell encourages preachers to search for universal principles instead.
Does this mean that the Scriptures are never practical? Absolutely not. The Bible certainly has application value; but it is often not the kind we expect. In Acts 8 we have the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. After worshipping in Jerusalem, his is returning to his own land while holding in his hand a foreign text (27-28). But as he reads he is confused. When asked, “Do you understand what you reading?” (30), his reply is telling. “How can I, unless someone guides me?” (31). But after reading Isaiah’s prophesy about the lamb who was to be slain, the Eunuch doesn’t next ask about some universal principle behind the text. He didn’t attempt to demythologize the text. Nether did he ask Philip, “can you make this ancient and foreign text relevant to my life in Ethiopia?” Rather he asks, “About whom... does the prophet say this? (34). Unlike Simon the sorcerer who a few verses earlier wanted to manipulate and “use” Christianity to further his own interest, the Eunuch opened himself to receive the text. The next thing we read, he is baptized into a whole new world (38). Michael Horton writes:
"The biblical story does not simply illumine our existence: it throws our whole existence into turmoil. It does not merely answer our questions: it reveals the banality of our questions and gives us new questions that set us on a path to profound discovery. It is not supplemental, but subversive. Thus, the goal is not to relate the Bible to our experience (which is really to say, judge the Bible by our experience), but vice versa. We must set out to make our lives relevant to the biblical story, not the biblical story to our lives" (Michael Horton, Covenant and Eschatology: The Divine Drama (Louisville, KY: WJK, 2002), 165).
This means, as Horton points out, we must avoid using the Bible as “a ‘handbook’ for various human ends, whether therapeutic, ethical, doctrinal or speculative” (p. 167). As Horton explains, what really has “priority” is “the speaker and the intentions of that speaker that are expressed, confirmed, and fulfilled in history, and not merely propositions about what is and has always been...” (p. 142). This is something lacking in Chapell's hermeneutical theory.
Following the lead of literary scholars like Robert Alter and Eric Auerbach, Paul Ricoeur stressed the incomparable power of biblical narrative to affect the reader or hearer. Summarizing Alter’s conclusions, Ricoeur wrote:
“[I]t is precisely the narrative composition, the organizing of the events in the narrative, that is the vehicle for, or, better, that foments, the theological interpretation. He adds that it is the fullest grasping of this literary art that proceeds to the sharpest perception of the theological intention" (Figuring the Sacred, 182).
So then, narrative has unique ability to heighten our perception and reception of meaning. But that is not all. Narrative can also “create” a world for us to confront--a world we cannot construct by ourselves--a world which comes from outside of us. This is what Ricoeur called an “unfolding of the world of the text.”
"[T]he first task of hermeneutics is not to give rise to a decision on the part of the reader but to allow the world of being that is the “issue” of the biblical text to unfold. Thus, above and beyond emotions, disposition, belief, or nonbelief, is the proposition of a world that in the biblical language is called a new world, a new covenant, the kingdom of God, a new birth. These are the realities unfolded before the text, which are certainly for us, but which begin from the text" (p. 44).
Thus, narrative not only heightens our emotions and engages our minds, but it also presents us with a whole new world. But this new world is not just any world. It must possess a certain depth and explanatory power. It must offer something more historical than mere fiction, but also more real than the newspaper. This is what “myth” offers -- something that explains our world.
Unfortunately the term “myth” connotes various, sometimes unhelpful, pre-conceptions. As Morton T. Kelsey explains:
"Many people, in both religious and secular circles, have accepted a popular usage of the word which suggests that myths are simply stories that are not true. According to this view, the myth is either an outright falsehood or a product of fanciful imagination with no relation at all to real life. It may be produced consciously or it may arise spontaneously from the depth of the unconscious, but either way it has nothing to do with the hard, material realities of the world around us. One can hold to this view of myth, however, only by forgetting the depths and capacities of the human psyche and insisting that man is strictly matter, or physical being, and nothing more" (Myth, History and Faith, 3-4).
Similarly, Historian Mercia Eliade relates how by the second century A.D., classical mythology began to suffer strong criticism at the hands of the “Alexandrian rhetoricians.” Since the stories could not be “taken literally,” eventually, methods of allegorization (or “demythicization”) led people to search for the “hidden meanings” instead (Myths, Rites, Symbols, pp. 13-15). Thus, we must see how philosophy and modern science has skewed any notion that “myth” might have bearing on reality.
The modern approach to hermeneutics (followed here by Chapell and many other Evangelicals), with its emphasis on science and historicity, has nevertheless aversely shaped Christians' appreciation of the rich literary abilities of the text we call our Bible. If we want to read and understand the Scriptures rightly, we must learn again how to receive them as mythopoetic literature.
December 8, 2024
One of the best practical books I’ve ever read. Chapell is an amazing teacher, even through the medium of a book. I think if all you ever had was this and Eswine “Preaching to a Post Everything World” you’d be set.
July 12, 2024
A must read for anyone pursuing a call to declare God's Word to His people. Would recommend it for any Christian as a gauge of the preaching they encounter.
May 14, 2020
Great, fairly exhaustive book on the expository method of preaching. He makes a bigger deal out of what he calls the FCF (Fallen Condition Focus) than I think should be made; however, it is a helpful concept. I read this years ago for a class that I never finished. I am now taking the class again to finish it this time. Lots of good footnotes for further reading.
May 24, 2023
Cualquiera que tenga acceso y el dinero para comprar este libro y no lo haga, por qué crea que no es necesario, no debería predicar. Por supuesto estoy siendo drástico y no soy ninguna autoridad para que me tomen en serio.
Lo digo más que todo para marcar un enfasis en lo impresionante que está este libro. Es una joya completa.
Con humildad y muy seriamente recomiendo este libro a los que quieran empezar a predicar y también a los que llevan años haciéndolo. No solo está muy completo su contenido, si no también deja muy claro el evangelio y su vital importancia.
Gracias a Dios por estos recursos.
Lo digo más que todo para marcar un enfasis en lo impresionante que está este libro. Es una joya completa.
Con humildad y muy seriamente recomiendo este libro a los que quieran empezar a predicar y también a los que llevan años haciéndolo. No solo está muy completo su contenido, si no también deja muy claro el evangelio y su vital importancia.
Gracias a Dios por estos recursos.
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October 6, 2021Sea cual sea la realidad de la congregación y su interés por la Biblia, quienes se encargan del ministerio de la Palabra deben prepararse correctamente para mejorar su enseñanza a través de la predicación. En el libro «La predicación Cristocéntrica», el Dr. Bryan Chapell propone una metodología y un enfoque centrados en la Escritura para responder a esta necesidad.
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
May 24, 2023
I cheated a little on this one. I didn’t actually read this book. I took the Logos course of the same name (CM151), and figured they were essentially the same content. Goodreads doesn’t allow adding new books - so I couldn’t add the course - guess this is the next best.
Very good intro to gospel centered preaching. I learned a ton! Not a preacher myself - but it does fascinate me to learn about.
Very good intro to gospel centered preaching. I learned a ton! Not a preacher myself - but it does fascinate me to learn about.
November 14, 2018
One of the best books on preaching I've ever read. Maybe the only weakness is that some of the steps of sermon construction were over-scripted, which made a few sections longer than necessary. But, my goodness, what a helpful field guide for those engaged in this practice. Loved this book!
August 31, 2011
This is the first book that really thoroughly introduced me to the concept of redemptive-historical interpretation.
March 4, 2024
Before you teach a single word, read this book.
This is the best book on preaching I've ever read—well, I've only read one, but still! As a lay-teacher with only a few Bible studies under my belt, this book laid out the simple steps to effective preparation and delivery. I'm not sure where else you'd learn such foundational principles in such a concise and straightforward way. Many anxious hours of my lesson prep time (and subpar messages) would have been saved if I had just known the basic path to a clear and concise message that this book so clearly explains.
Brian Chappell lays out the supremacy of grace that is required for every sermon, yet he puts legs on that theology: preachers are obligated not only to exegete the text but also their listeners. In other words, what makes great preachers is not only their ability to say what a given text means but also to communicate in such a way that demands their hearers' attention.
All in all, excellent, and I'd make this a must-read for any student seeking to learn the foundations of faithful exposition.
This is the best book on preaching I've ever read—well, I've only read one, but still! As a lay-teacher with only a few Bible studies under my belt, this book laid out the simple steps to effective preparation and delivery. I'm not sure where else you'd learn such foundational principles in such a concise and straightforward way. Many anxious hours of my lesson prep time (and subpar messages) would have been saved if I had just known the basic path to a clear and concise message that this book so clearly explains.
Brian Chappell lays out the supremacy of grace that is required for every sermon, yet he puts legs on that theology: preachers are obligated not only to exegete the text but also their listeners. In other words, what makes great preachers is not only their ability to say what a given text means but also to communicate in such a way that demands their hearers' attention.
All in all, excellent, and I'd make this a must-read for any student seeking to learn the foundations of faithful exposition.
June 18, 2024
"Christ-Centered Preaching" is a staple read for any preacher or aspiring preacher. The focus of the book is not JUST "Christ-Centered Preaching". That should be a no-brainer as all preaching should be Christ-centric. The author emphasized the importance of expository preaching.
Chapell breaks down each phase of sermon preparation and outlines in detail how to relate each to Christ and FCF "Fallen Condition Focus." Redemption and application are stressed throughout without with less on or even discouraging, and legalistic style sermons. He discusses the indicatives versus imperatives and why both should be seen throughout sermon prep and delivery.
He goes over the difference between application, illustration, and explanation. These are certainly areas I want to improve in my preaching.
It was a well-written and well-documented book that I would recommend to anyone called to pastoral ministry or even those who preach on occasion.
Chapell breaks down each phase of sermon preparation and outlines in detail how to relate each to Christ and FCF "Fallen Condition Focus." Redemption and application are stressed throughout without with less on or even discouraging, and legalistic style sermons. He discusses the indicatives versus imperatives and why both should be seen throughout sermon prep and delivery.
He goes over the difference between application, illustration, and explanation. These are certainly areas I want to improve in my preaching.
It was a well-written and well-documented book that I would recommend to anyone called to pastoral ministry or even those who preach on occasion.
December 23, 2020
This is perhaps the best book I have yet read on preaching. It challenged me on a number of points but it also encouraged me that much of what I'm already doing is exactly the way it should be done! I was especially thankful that Chapell's book offered so many practical suggestions and instructions, something that many other preaching books don't include. Of all the books I've read on preaching, this is the one I am most likely to pick up for a second time.
June 26, 2024
This is more of a “how-to” practical manual than I expected (compared to a “philosophy of preaching” approach), but it’s still excellent nonetheless. The final two chapters alone that cover a theology of redemptive, Christ-centered preaching make the book worth it in my opinion.
February 18, 2018
La longueur, la couverture et le titre de ce livre (en français) ne donnent pas très envie de le lire. Mais le contenu en vaut largement la peine ! Un manuel d'homilétique complet
June 1, 2021
2021 reads: 13/52
Rating: 4 stars
Rating: 4 stars
September 19, 2022
If you've never thought about writing a sermon, it's a pretty thorough & useful introduction, from a generally Protestant/lightly Reformed perspective.
If you've thought a lot about writing, and sermons, and writing sermons, it's a slog.
If you've thought a lot about writing, and sermons, and writing sermons, it's a slog.
January 2, 2025
In this work, Brian Chappell provides a technical handbook for expository Christ-centered preaching. The book reads like a textbook and therefore isn’t always the most captivating material. This said, it is worth its weight in gold for the craft of preaching. Chappell covers the macro and micro of the subject and helps his readers it be faithful to Christ, clear in their teaching, and helpful to their listeners.
October 8, 2025
rated on a curve since it’s a preaching book
October 25, 2016
A very good resource on preaching, though sometimes a bit dry and technical. The most helpful aspects of this book are the Fallen Condition Focus (especially in the first two chapters) and the emphasis on redemptive theology (the last two chapters). The book is certainly worth reading for these two topics alone! The rest of the book is basically a general preaching textbook: good, but not groundbreaking. For an introduction to preaching techniques, start with Sunukjian or Haddon Robinson, but if you're interested in deepening your understanding of preaching, by all means read this book!
February 14, 2019
Decent textbook on preaching. The best part of the book is when he talks about preaching the gospel. With a textbook you need to hit on all the major points which he does, but I disagree with his hermenutical methods at times. Also it's a pretty rigid structure he gives with not much room for individual preachers to develop their own structure and voice.
April 11, 2018
10/10 (exceptional): An excellent textbook for any serious preacher. It's occasionally a little wooden, but page after page is filled with helpful, sage advice with just the right balance of freedom and direction. I will return to this again and again.
March 10, 2024
There is a lot to take in here. Definitely will need to read again later on. If new preachers (like myself) follow what Chapell tells them to do, I think they will be incredibly faithful and serviceable for the church. Great appendices, too.
August 20, 2016
Not much particularly new, but still good.
November 22, 2024
Overall a generally helpful introduction, but could be shorter. Some of the sources frequently cited are problematic such as Timothy Keller and Richard Baxter, very eclectic and mostly modern. Would have been better if he had used more older authors and sources rather than mostly contemporary preachers apart from mentioning Spurgeon. I would recommend William Perkin's classic work, The Art of Prophesying, as a better and more concise treatment on preaching and law/gospel distinction.
Another criticism is on Chapell's overemphasis on secular sources to determine homiletics for illustrations. Based on these sources from natural revelation, Chapel argues that sermons must have illustrations or their listeners will not be attentive to their preaching (pg. 161). This is Chapell's preference, but he makes it sound like a law to his homiletical method. Similar comments by Chapell in this section make him sound more like a pragmatist in his homiletics. Related to this in his discussions of application. Chapell regularly emphasizes private spiritual disciplines throughout his book, but he rarely mentions the corporate means of grace. This reflects a broader evangelical tone that can appear more pietistic than confessional and reformed.
The last two chapters on typology have some hermeneutical problems. According to Chapell (pg. 262, 287-288), the only types that should be preached are types explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. He also argues against allegory without defining it, rather than showing a more nuanced approach acknowledging that allegory is affirmed by the Apostle Paul (Galatians 4:21-31) and was used by pre-enlightenment interpreters throughout church history e.g. patristics, medieval, and reformation era commentators. Chapell's position on typology is more broadly evangelical and biblicist than reformed.
Another criticism is on Chapell's overemphasis on secular sources to determine homiletics for illustrations. Based on these sources from natural revelation, Chapel argues that sermons must have illustrations or their listeners will not be attentive to their preaching (pg. 161). This is Chapell's preference, but he makes it sound like a law to his homiletical method. Similar comments by Chapell in this section make him sound more like a pragmatist in his homiletics. Related to this in his discussions of application. Chapell regularly emphasizes private spiritual disciplines throughout his book, but he rarely mentions the corporate means of grace. This reflects a broader evangelical tone that can appear more pietistic than confessional and reformed.
The last two chapters on typology have some hermeneutical problems. According to Chapell (pg. 262, 287-288), the only types that should be preached are types explicitly mentioned in the New Testament. He also argues against allegory without defining it, rather than showing a more nuanced approach acknowledging that allegory is affirmed by the Apostle Paul (Galatians 4:21-31) and was used by pre-enlightenment interpreters throughout church history e.g. patristics, medieval, and reformation era commentators. Chapell's position on typology is more broadly evangelical and biblicist than reformed.
September 13, 2024
For 386 pages, Chapell delivers. Could the book be shorter? Sure, but he does not waste his words. Page after page, he writes one sentence zingers compact with summative meaning about his big concepts. He also provides clear examples of what to avoid. You can tell he speaks from years of experience both preaching and teaching on preaching. I understand why this is a standard preaching textbook.
Good quote:
"Our minds need explanations of what the Bible says so that we know we have grasped the thoughts and standard of our God. Our hearts need illustrations that so often touch our emotions or fire our imaginations to convince us that God is not a cold collection of abstract ideas. We need application so that we have either the confidence that we are acting in accord with the will of God or the conviction that we must adjust our ways. Even though the relationships are not exclusive of one another, it is often helpful to think that explanations prepare the mind, illustrations prepare the heart, and application prepare the will to obey God" (92).
Good quote:
"Our minds need explanations of what the Bible says so that we know we have grasped the thoughts and standard of our God. Our hearts need illustrations that so often touch our emotions or fire our imaginations to convince us that God is not a cold collection of abstract ideas. We need application so that we have either the confidence that we are acting in accord with the will of God or the conviction that we must adjust our ways. Even though the relationships are not exclusive of one another, it is often helpful to think that explanations prepare the mind, illustrations prepare the heart, and application prepare the will to obey God" (92).
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