Tim Keller’s Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism (Penguin Books, links go to Amazon) is one of the best-reviewed books on preaching in recent years.
Many know Tim Keller from his preaching ministry in New York City, his teaching at conferences such as The Gospel Coalition, and books.
He is the former pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City.
Redeemer Presbyterian Church grew from 50 people in 1989 to a total attendance of over 5,000 people each Sunday as of 2008, which continues today. Keller stepped down in 2017.
His books include Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, The Meaning of Marriage, The Prodigal God, Jesus the King, and The Reason for God.
In his book Preaching, Keller recommends resources for preparing and delivering sermons. He writes, “Good books on expository preaching include the following.” They are listed below beginning with the most recent.
Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God’s Word Today
by David Helm | Crossway | 2014
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “In this accessible volume―written for preachers and preachers in training―pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God’s Word. In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it.”
Preaching? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching
by Alec Motyer | Christian Focus | 2013
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “Like many things in life, the skill of good preaching is 95% perspiration and 5% inspiration. Alec Motyer’s guide is based on a multitude of sermons over many years of preaching in many different situations, a recipe to help you know your subject and to pull the pieces together into a winning sermon. Preaching is a privilege: let Alec help you reach out and make the best of the gifts God has given you.”
Saving Eutychus: How to Preach God’s Word and Keep People Awake
by Gary Miller and Phil Campbell | Matthias Media | 2013
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “Poor Eutychus might have tumbled off his perch in Acts 20, but it’s humbling to notice that what took Paul many hours of preaching to achieve – near-fatal napping in one of his listeners – takes most preachers only a few minutes on a Sunday. Saving Eutychus will help you save your listeners from such a fate. Written by an Aussie and an Irishman with very different styles who share a passion for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, Saving Eutychus delivers fresh, honest, faithful and practical insights into preaching the whole word of God, Sunday by Sunday, without being dull.”
Preach: Theology Meets Practice
by Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert | B & H | 2012
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “Mark Dever, senior pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, DC, and president of 9Marks, is widely respected for his efforts to build biblically faithful churches in America that will impact the nations. In this book about one of the practical distinctives of that work, Dever and his former student Greg Gilbert offer a theological and practical guide emphasizing the centrality of expositional preaching — sermons intentionally rooted in a specific Bible text.”
How Sermons Work
by David Murray | Evangelical Press | 2011
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “How do sermons work? How does a preacher get from the basic nuts and bolts of a few Bible verses to the delivery of a full sermon? That s the question David Murray answers in this instructive and immensely practical book. He demonstrates that behind the thirty to forty-five minutes we see and hear on a Sunday morning are many hours of mental, spiritual and practical labour. Like all pastoral labour, it involves head, heart and hand.Murray breaks up the sermon preparation process into a clear and simple stepby-step method, covering topics such as how to choose a text, how to introduce a sermon, how to explain a text, and how to apply it. It will provide an excellent refresher for experienced preachers and a reliable guide for those just starting out. It will also be extremely helpful to Bible class teachers, Bible Study leaders, or anyone who has to prepare a Bible message.Above all, however, it is the author s desire that this book will also be read by those who do not preach. He wants to give non-preachers an insider s look at sermon preparation. By taking readers behind the scenes and asking, How do they do that? Murray wants to supply answers that will increase respect for pastors and their preaching.”
The Practical Preacher: Practical Wisdom for the Pastor-Teacher
by William Philip, ed. | Christian Focus | 2002
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “This book gives practical help in these areas for those seeking to develop authentic biblical expository ministry. Each contributor is totally committed to this priority, and each writes from the perspective of biblical reflection and real experience in local church ministry. Only the already-perfect pastor has nothing to learn from its pages!”
The Unashamed Workman: Instructions on Biblical Preaching
by William Philip and Dick Lucas | video series | 2001
This is a video series (http://www.unashamedworkman.org/).
This link goes to the leadership manual on Amazon.
Speaking God’s Word: A Practical Theology of Preaching
by Peter Adams | Regent College Publishing | 1998
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “There are many books on preaching, but few, if any, on the theology of preaching. Yet, whether it is recognized or not, theology underlies any preaching that claims to be biblical. In Speaking God’s Words Peter Adam builds confidence in preaching by laying a firm theological foundation for it. Preaching rests upon three great pillars: God has spoken, his words are now recorded in Scripture and he commissions people “to explain, preach and teach his written words to their contemporaries.” Throughout the book, using well-chosen illustrations, Dr Adam encourages preachers to give themselves to the demanding yet thrilling task of “preaching God’s words” today.”
Christ-Centered Preaching
by Bryan Chapell | Baker Books
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “In this complete guide to expository preaching, Bryan Chapell teaches the basics of preparation, organization, and delivery–the trademarks of great preaching. This new edition of a bestselling resource, now updated and revised throughout, shows how Chapell’s case for expository preaching reaches twenty-first-century readers.”
The Preacher and Preaching
by Samuel Logan, ed. | P & R Publishing
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “How can today’s preaching recover the vitality of its great Reformation heritage? What are the main weaknesses of the contemporary pulpit, and how can they be met biblically? Eighteen leading pastors and homiletical scholars have joined in this volume to address these questions as they offer sharp analysis, biblical insight, and practical directives.”
Between Two Worlds
by John Stott | Eerdmans
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “Preaching is indispensable to Christianity.” World-renowned preacher John Stott opens this book with those five bold words. He maintains, further, that “nothing is better calculated to restore health and vitality to the church than a recovery of true, biblical, contemporary preaching.” Stott was aiming to foster such a recovery when he wrote Between Two Worlds, which has become a modern evangelical classic.
Biblical Preaching
by Haddon Robinson | Baker | 1980
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “This bestselling text by Haddon Robinson, considered by many to be the “teacher of preachers,” has sold over 300,000 copies and is a contemporary classic in the field. It offers students, pastors, and Bible teachers expert guidance in the development and delivery of expository sermons. This new edition has been updated throughout and includes helpful exercises.”
Preaching and Preachers
by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones | Zondervan
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “For over 30 years, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones ministered at Westminster Chapel in London. Today, he is widely considered one of the greatest preachers of the 20th century. Based on a series of lectures originally given by Lloyd-Jones to the students of Westminster Theological Seminary in the spring of 1969, this collection of essays on the essence of powerful preaching has become a modern classic. Lloyd-Jones defends the primacy of preaching, showing that there is no substitute, and he challenges preachers to take their calling seriously: “The most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching.” He also provides practical direction on the task of preparing a sermon, sharing insights on the shape and form of a message as well as covering such topics as the use of humor, giving invitations in a message and the preacher’s relationship to the congregation. If you can own only one book on preaching, make this the one you read.This 40th anniversary edition includes the original text of Preaching and Preachers along with essays by Bryan Chapell, Mark Dever, Kevin DeYoung, Ligon Duncan, Timothy Keller and John Piper reflecting on the impact this book and the ministry of Lloyd-Jones had on their preaching. This is a book that will continue to speak to a new generation of preachers and teachers for years to come.”
Understanding God’s Word; Obeying God’s Word; Expounding God’s Word
by Alan M. Stibbs | Keller: “these three short volumes together constitute a course on expository preaching”
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “Three books in one! Methods and advice to help you study and apply the Bible in this Alan Stibbs Trilogy, that includes three of his books: Understanding God’s Word, Expounding God’s Word and Obeying God’s Word. Understanding God’s Word: A clear and thoughtful book giving guidance and practical suggestions to help to discover firstly what Scripture actually says – and secondly what it means. Expounding God’s Word: This draws out the central principles and methods of biblical exposition, with plenty of practical illustrations and examples. It will help all those leading Bible studies, teaching or preaching to get God’s message across in a relevant and easily understandable way. Obeying God’s Word: ‘The Word of God has a practical authority, which determines what we believe, what we teach, and how we act.’ If you believe God meant His Word to be read with all your mind, but also all your heart and your soul, this is the book for you.”
The Art of Prophesying
by William Perkins | IVP | 1950
Cover links to Amazon
From the publisher: “William Perkins was a clergyman and Cambridge theologian who was one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England.”
Link:
Get Tim Keller’s book Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism on Amazon.
Also see:
Best Old Testament Bible Commentaries – any style
Best New Testament Bible Commentaries – any style
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