Table of Contents

Foreword Michael Green viii

Preface x

Abbreviations and Versions of the Bible xiv

1 The Glory of Preaching: A Historical Sketch 1

Jesus, the Apostles, and the Fathers 2

The Friars and the Reformers 6

The Puritans and the Evangelicals 12

The Nineteenth Century 16

The Twentieth Century 20

2 Contemporary Objections to Preaching 29

The Antiauthority Mood 30

A Christian Response 34

Dialogical Preaching 37

The Cybernetics Revolution 41

The Influence of Television 45

The Learning Process 51

The Church's Loss of Confidence in the Gospel 57

The Recovery of Christian Morale 59

3 Theological Foundations for Preaching 63

A Conviction about God 64

A Conviction about Scripture 67

A Conviction about the Church 78

A Conviction about the Pastorate 84

A Conviction about Preaching 91

4 Preaching as Bridge Building 99

Crossing the Cultural Gulf 101

Biblical and Historical Precedents 107

Christ Our Contemporary 112

Ethics for Christians 115

Social and Political Issues 119

Handling Controversial Questions 127

The Christian Way to Maturity 131

5 The Call to Study 136

Bible Study 137

The Modern World 145

Reading and Resource Groups 148

Habits of Study 153

Hindrances to Study 157

6 Preparing Sermons 162

(1) Choose Your Text 164

(2) Meditate on It 170

(3) Isolate the Dominant Thought 173

(4) Arrange Your Material to Serve the Dominant Thought 176

(5) Add the Introduction and Conclusion 190

(6) Write Down and Pray over Your Message 199

Postscript 202

7 Sincerity and Earnestness 203

Sincerity 203

The Preacher as a Person 205

Arguments for Sincerity 207

Earnestness 213

Mind and Heart 218

Humor in the Pulpit 224

The Length of Sermons 229

8 Courage and Humility 233

Courage 233

The Tradition of Courageous Preaching 234

To Comfort and Disturb 238

The Value of Systematic Exposition 247

Humility 251

The Word of God 252

The Glory of Christ 255

The Power of the Holy Spirit 258

Epilogue 265

Notes 269

Select Bibliography 288

Scripture Index 300