The following are authors and commentary recommendations. These notes are in conjunction with a recent Preaching Coach podcast episode How To Choose and Use Commentaries. This is not an exhaustive list. These are highlights of people you ought to read.
The following are Dr. David Allen’s library categories. These notes are in conjunction with a recent Preaching Coach podcast episode How To Build Your Preaching Library.
A few years back, Abe Kuruvilla, Professor of Preaching at Dallas Theological Seminary, was kind enough to include me in his interview series “How I Preach” which appears on his website www.homiletix.com. Abe is a consummate homiletician and author of many books, including Privilege the Text: a Theological Hermeneutics for Preaching. I encourage all preachers to get this book and read it carefully.
Here is an outline of essential elements for good preaching from my perspective. Much more could be said about each of these elements. This is only a summary.
One of the most important things a church ever does is to call a senior pastor. The decision has far-reaching consequences for all involved . . . and for the kingdom of God.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was one of America’s most beloved poets. His poetry brought him world-wide acclaim with such masterpieces as “Evangeline,” “The Song of Hiawatha,” and “The Courtship of Miles Standish.” Many a child in school was pulled to the edge of his seat while listening to Longfellow’s famous poem “Paul Revere’s Ride.”
The New Testament documents indicate exegesis was the primary method of doing theology in the early church. This is no more clearly evidenced than with the author of Hebrews.
Pragmatic analysis of texts asks the questions “What is the author’s purpose of a text?” and “What does an author desire to accomplish with his text.” The text-driven preacher is always attempting to accomplish something with every sermon. All verbal or written communication has at least one of three purposes:
The text-driven preacher must recognize that there are four basic types of meaning conveyed in every text and context: referential, situational, structural and semantic. Referential meaning is that which is being talked about; the subject matter of a text. Situational meaning is information pertaining to the participants in a communication act; matters of environment, social status, etc. Structural meaning has to do with the arrangement of the information in the text itself; the grammar and syntax of a text. Semantics has to do with the structure of meaning and is in some sense the confluence of referential, situational and structural meaning. [1]
The painstaking work of exegesis is the foundation for text-driven preaching.[1] Exegesis precedes theology, and theology is derived from careful exegesis. To preach well, it is vital to understand certain basics about the nature of language and meaning.
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