When I first got the book I thought this one is going to be a breeze to read through as it was small but when I started I was proven wrong big time, this little book has a big bang. I'm not a preacher but I would recommend it to anyone who is and is called by God.
Excellent on what kind of preaching God blesses. And as a Christian, you can see if your Preacher is this kind or not. ( )

Much of modern preaching is awful.

This assessment of the contemporary pulpit is sad, but I stand by it. Sound theological preaching has been replaced with gimmicky sermonettes. Sturdy, expository preaching has been deemed culturally irrelevant. We are left with preachers who move from one topical, man-centered sermon series to the next. Is it any wonder that the American church is so anemic?

Steven Lawson's short book, The Kind of Preaching God Blesses, gets right at the heart of the issue. An adaptation of one of his sermons from 1 Corinthians 2:1-9, this book is an easy read you can devour in one sitting. He calls pastors to abandon the hoopla that drives so many ministries and to return to committed expository preaching. Lawson makes the case that not only is the message we are to proclaim ensured by Scripture, but the method we use is also addressed. Such a thought flies in the face of the oft-cited ministry mantra, "Message is singular. Methods are many." Lawson does a masterful job of basing his opinions on exegesis of the text. If one disagrees with his conclusions, they are forces to find a different understanding of the text addressed.

Undoubtedly, the most controversial point of Lawson's book comes in chapter six, "A Sovereign Wisdom." In this chapter, he argues from a decidedly Reformed theological perspective. With Calvinism being such a hot-button issue for many, this will be more than many Arminian-leaning readers can stomach. However, they must deal with the fact that Lawson builds his conclusions from Scripture.

All in all, this book is needed today. Much of what masquerades as preaching is nothing more than spiritualized platitudes driven by the needs of man. We need men who will boldly stand in the pulpits of America and proclaim cross-centered messages driven by the text of Scripture. This is the only hope the church has.

GREAT QUOTES:

"As the pulpit goes, so goes the church. Never has this been more true than it is in this present hour. The fact remains, no church can rise any higher than its pulpit. The spiritual life of any congregation and its growth in grace will never exceed the high-water mark set by its pulpit" (16).

"The most diabolical ploy of Satan would be for churches to be bulging at their seams, but no proclamation of Christ and Him crucified. With this deadly silence, people would never learn of Christ. Thus, they could never know or follow Him" (21).

"Pulpits must be myopically focused upon declaring the sinless humanity, sovereign deity, and saving purposes of the Lord Jesus Christ. Otherwise, what comes from pulpits is not preaching, but simply tame religious talk" (24).

"To an alarming degree, an increasing amount of preaching these days can only be described as 'slick schtick.' By this I mean that form of communication in which the preacher has little to say, but tragically, says it very well" (35).

"The entree Bible is focused on the Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world to save sinners" (57).

"Being a herald is entirely different than being an orator. A herald is judged solely on the basis of faithfully delivering the message exactly as it has been entrusted to him. He is not responsible for the listener. Rather, his job is to faithfully dispatch his message" (65).

"No man is too weak for God to use, only too strong. The more one recognizes his own weakness, the more he will rely upon God for strength" (76).

"There is a foundational truth in preaching that must undergird every message - namely, that God is sovereign over all things" (91).

"The preaching that God blesses must faithfully represent a proper understanding of any passage of Scripture. God will bless only that which rightly interprets the true meaning of the text" (115). ( )