Preaching matters. It is a God-ordained means of encountering Christ. This is happening all around the world. The author knows this only too well. He recalls: the student who, on hearing a sermon about new life in Christ, found faith which changed his life and future forever the couple facing the trauma of the wife's terminal illness who discovered that Christ was all they needed, following a sermon on Habakkuk When the Bible is faithfully and relevantly explained, it transforms hearts, understandings and attitudes, and, most of all, draws us into a living relationship with God through Christ. This is a book to ignite our passion for preaching, whether we preach every week or have no idea how to put a sermon together. It will encourage every listener to participate in the dynamic event of God's Word speaking to his people through his Holy Spirit. God's Word is dynamite; little wonder that its effects are often dynamic.

Jonathan Lamb

Introduction

The Bible and preaching

Preaching and spiritual growth

Preaching and the congregation

Nehemiah 8:1–12 (NIV)

Section A: The Word of God and the heart of preaching

Warm-up

The centrality of the Word

The authority of the Word

1 Biblical preaching must be centred on God’s Word

Submitting to the Word of the Lord

Meeting the Lord of the Word

2 Biblical preaching must pray God’s Word

Home groups and congregations

Life-giving disciplines

3 Biblical preaching must understand God’s Word

Growing in understanding

Section B: The teacher and the work of preaching

Making the Word accessible

Making the Word clear

Involving others

4 Biblical preaching must be focused

Selecting a passage

The journey from text to sermon

Discovering the heartbeat

A word for today

The beginning and the end

5 Biblical preaching must be clear

Three things about an outline

Putting flesh on the bones

Clear communication

6 Biblical preaching must be relevant

The Word that works

Truth that transforms

Preaching that connects

Preachers who identify

Preaching with faithfulness and relevance

Entrusting the outcome to God

7 Biblical preaching must be embodied

Three important principles

Section C: The congregation and the purpose of preaching

They were expectant

They were obedient

8 Biblical preaching must involve the congregation

God's presence with his people

God's gifts for his people

God's people at work

9 Biblical preaching must be applied

The purpose of preaching

The congregation at work

Pressing it home

10 Biblical preaching must depend on God’s Spirit

The Spirit and the Word

The Spirit and the preacher

The Spirit and the listener

11 Biblical preaching must proclaim God’s grace in Christ

The central story

Integrity in the preacher and the preaching

Preaching for change

Appendix 1 Suggestions for further study and discussion

Appendix 2 Appendix 3 How to work as a group on a manuscript Bible study

Appendix 4 From text to sermon

Appendix 5 Working on the sermon’s content

Appendix 6 Running a preachers’ fellowship group

Appendix 7 Evaluating a sermon

Faithfulness

Relevance

Clarity

Notes

Preface

1. Biblical preaching must be centred on God's Word

2. Biblical preaching must pray God's Word

3. Biblical preaching must understand God's Word

Section B: Warm-up

4. Biblical preaching must be focused

5. Biblical preaching must be clear

6. Biblical preaching must be relevant

7. Biblical preaching must be embodied

Section C: Warm-up

8. Biblical preaching must involve the congregation

9. Biblical preaching must be applied

10. Biblical preaching must depend on God's Spirit

11. Biblical preaching must proclaim God's grace in Christ

KESWICK MINISTRIES

Encourage yourself and congregations with a healthy understanding of preaching as a dynamic way of encountering Christ

\["Preachers and those looking to start out in preaching","If you've lost your passion for preaching or looking for inspiration to kick start your communciations","You'll be encouraged, inspired and equipped to preach dynamically &amp; with passion"\]

Preface  
Introduction  
Nehemiah 8:1-12  
  
A. The Word of God and the Heart of Preaching  
B. The Teacher and the Work of Preaching  
C. The Congregation and the Purpose of Preaching  
  
Appendix 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

"This is a refreshing, clear, helpful, and accessible book which is the fruit of many years of faithful preaching and patient training of preachers." - Christopher Ash, Director of the Proclamation Trust's Cornhill Training Course.

"At last, a book on preaching for both preachers and listeners. If you're a preacher, Preaching Matters will show you how to preach without resorting to gimmicks and instead rely on the power of God's word and Spirit. If you're a listener (and all of us are), it will show you how to listen to God's glory and to your benefit. Here is a fitting manifesto not just for the Keswick Convention, but for every local church." - Tim Chester, The Porterbrook Network.

"This biblical and practical book is very timely because preaching really does matter! New preachers will find it an essential guide to laying good foundations for a lifetime of preaching. 'Old hands' will benefit enormously from this refreshing exploration of the preaching ministry." - Stephen Gaukroger, author and bible teacher, Founder &amp; Director of Clarion Trust International.

The Good Book Stall

Preaching Matters provides the reader with an excellent all-in-one guide to biblical preaching that results in the recipients encountering the living God. This is an excellent starting point for new preachers, and a warm and robust revision for seasoned leaders. Jonathan Lamb uses the text of Nehemiah 8 to guide us through what preachers should be grappling with, practicing and aiming for in order to continue to grow and become masters at their art.

Lamb splits the book into three sections. The first focuses rightly on the heart of preaching and the preacher—getting the preachers relationship with the living God right as a matter of utmost importance in biblical preaching. The second focuses on the ‘art’ of preaching. What we might normally find in homiletics textbooks in summarized in a readable and accessible manner. In the third section, Lamb focuses on the purpose of preaching, elucidating the subtitle of his book: Encountering the living God.

The additional seven appendices make this excellent introduction to biblical preaching even more useful in providing the tools for the training of new preachers. This book is warm, encouraging, and full of wisdom – a must for every preacher, new and experienced.

Preaching Matters

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