Essential Reading for Preachers
I try to read at least one book on preaching a year. I want to continue learning how to stay faithful to the text and continually rethink how best to stay connected to the culture. Here are some of the best books I have read over the years.
1. How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth- Douglas Stuart and Gordon Fee
If you have never read a book on understanding the different biblical genres then this is a must-read. Fee and Stuart do a masterful job in helping us to ask the right questions of the right parts of the Bible. This book should be on every Bible students shelf. (there is a follow up volume to this book… but if you can only buy one this is the one to get)
2. Expository Preaching- Principles and Practice, Haddon Robinson, IVP (2001)
My favourite preacher’s favourite book as I was growing up: this book walks you through a method for preparing sermons. Some may find it slightly mechanistic but I challenge you to try it out as it may help you hone skills or add a new perspective to your preparation. You’ll need to supplement this book with others on engaging with culture. Nevertheless its a great book to start with.
3. Communicating for a Change, Andy Stanley, Multnomah (2006)
You may wonder where it’s going in the beginning but stick with it. Andy Stanley hammers home a powerful message through a creative parable and then some practical wisdom. A quick read but one that will help you to focus your preaching and inspire you to think of ways to make your message stick in people’s minds and hearts. Andy is a great communicator so it’s a great chance to get the inside track on why he does what he does.
4. Gospel and Kingdom, Graham Goldsworthy, Paternoster
This is a gem of a book. It’s only a 100 or so pages but provides a helpful perspective on the key theme of the kingdom of God throughout the sweep of the Bible. Goldsworthy gives some useful handles on a gospel theme that makes both teaching a christian audience and evangelistic preaching from the Old Testament more faithful to the grand sweep of scripture. (It’s been a while since I have read the book and it was very helpful to me then but I am planning to have a re-read to see to what extent Goldsworthy is able to connect a social justice perspective to his kingdom theology). You can’t buy this book on its own anymore so the trilogy is a good place to try.
5. The IVP Essential Reference CDROM
If there’s only one thing you buy from this list - this is it! This CDROM packs a shelf full of great reference works onto your hard drive which means not only can you save the rainforest you can also save yourself a fortune. Most books you will want to read in print format - but to have some classic reference works available at the click of a mouse is brilliant.
The following works are a fantastic resource in their own right and well worth buying in print if you are not a fan of computer based resources:
New Bible Dictionary (3rd edition)
New Bible Commentary (3rd edition)
Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels
Dictionary of Paul and his Epistles
Old and New Testament background Commentary
What you get is top quality evangelical scholarship in the most user friendly format possible. It costs £100 which is amazing value as most of the books are £35 each in print. Thank you IVP!
For more essential reading for preachers, visit Krish Kandiah's blog.
