Book Review- Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit

October 2025

Bruce Bickel, Light and Heat: The Puritan View of the Pulpit (Reformation Heritage, 1999)

David L. Allen      

This book is one of the most helpful resources on Puritan preaching. It is divided into two major sections: The Puritan View of the Pulpit and The Focus of the Gospel in Puritan Preaching. Section one explains exactly why the Puritans held that the pulpit was the central part of worship—they believed that all worship, doctrine, ethics, etc., must conform to Scripture and thus Scripture must be proclaimed every Sunday. The final two sections of the first division of the book, The Demands of Preaching and The Duties of the Pastor, focus on the life of the preacher.  For the Puritans, there was not a separation between preaching and living; the two were inextricably intertwined.

The second section entitled “The Direction of Preaching,” is divided into three parts: The Conviction of Preaching, The Character of Preaching, and The Content of Preaching. Puritan preaching is God-centered. Here the theological nature of Puritan preaching is outlined. Puritan plain style preaching included three parts: Text, Doctrine, and Uses (application). The central item, doctrine, was often the longest part of the sermon. God is the beginning of all preaching and all doctrine.

Another benefit to the preacher who reads this book is it is chock full of Puritan quotations. These make great sermon quotations or illustrations in your preaching.

If you want to explore the Puritan mindset when it comes to preaching, look no further than Bickel’s Light and Heat.