Given to Matthew Hayes - 05/10/2023

The book addresses the process of the development and delivery of expository messages.

Haddon W. Robinson is the Professor of Preaching and senior director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has authored several books, including another I have on my bookshelf, It’s All in How You Tell It: Preaching First-Person Expository Messages, which was published in 2003. Robinson also compiled and edited a book about how twelve pastors apply the principles of Biblical preaching, Biblical Sermons, which was published in 1997. With plenty of training, practice, teaching, and expertise in the field of expositional preaching, Dr. Robinson offers guidance for preachers in developing and delivering expositional sermons in Biblical Preaching, which came well-recommended by my mentor of over fifteen years when I started preaching.

Book Synopsis
Biblical Preaching is a clear book made up of ten chapters, along with some examples of sermons, some exercises for preachers, and with a helpful index of Scriptures and subjects used throughout the short book. Robinson begins by laying out his case for the necessity of expository preaching. And in an age where virtually any preaching is not seen as a need, Dr. Robinson makes a case for its importance and need for it to not be centered on politics, economics, philosophy, psychology, but in the Bible, and even more specifically, through the preaching of expository sermons. Yet it is one thing to share the need of it, Dr. Robinson continues to define and articulate what it is not and what it should be.

As you move into the subsequent chapters you find helpful teaching such as the three stages in preparing expository sermons (choosing your passage, studying your passage, and finally to relate all the “parts to each other,” determining the main idea (39). Doing so begins to pave the road from the text to your sermon, as chapter four continues by asking what the text means, how is it proved, and what difference does it make to guide the shaping of the sermon. Once you come to know the purpose of your sermon (chapter five), you are offered ways to shape or outline your sermon to accomplish the purpose in chapters six through eight.

His final two chapters offer corrective words on how we use our words, and we really either use them well or poorly, along with tips on delivering the sermon in a way that is living and ultimately heard by our congregants. If we do not heed them, our words are likely to arrive “stillborn,” as he states on page 149, and if our goal is for the people to hear and respond to the Word of God, we must be careful to do our best to not get in the way of that goal by preaching ineffectively.

Personal Interaction
As I mentioned in my introduction, this book came recommended to me years ago when I started preaching. I had mentioned to my pastor my utter disdain for topical preaching but felt ill-equipped to preach expositionally. He recommended this book then and it has been a go-to on my bookshelf since. I primarily appreciate the way the book is laid out, making it easy to find something I need or by which I need to be refreshed.

I especially appreciate Robinson’s reminder we are not called to be lecturers, but preachers of the Word of God. However, as much as I enjoyed this book, especially for its occasional humor, I do not find a lot of emphasis on the centrality of Jesus to expositional preaching, even if he poses the question on page 13! Instead of highlighting the importance himself, he offers several books to do so. While helpful, Biblical preaching devoid of Christ or not centered in the person and work of Jesus, will be hard-pressed to be “Biblical Preaching.”

Yet a true strength of this book is how it moves from the importance of expositional preaching into teaching how to do it, step by step, as Dr. Robinson takes you through the process from the study to the pulpit. I believe this book is an example of what he tells us to be, a bullet of truth, and not buckshot, as he vividly describes on page 17. He is clear, concise, and straight to the point through each page as he develops his own “big idea,” by teaching us how to take our big idea and follow the steps he lays out for us from the first outline to the pulpit.

Finally, the most helpful aid is probably his final chapter on preaching so people will listen, as it should be. We need to be honest with ourselves and consider the importance of dress and grooming, along with how we speak. Perhaps what we speak is just as important as how we speak it, especially as we seek to do so in an engaging way for our hearers. Nothing goes unnoticed by Dr. Robinson; whether it is the pitch or even the correct use of pauses, but he reminds us, we “need all the help we can get” (165).

Conclusion
To summarize, I always hesitate to say a book is a must to be on a bookshelf, but for any preacher desiring to one day preach the gospel, Biblical Preaching absolutely belongs on their bookshelf. Is it perfect? No. Is it helpful? Absolutely. Is it clear and easy to read? Yes, in fact, at times it is downright humorous. Dr. Robinson has written an invaluable tool for pastors seeking to preach the Word faithfully, especially those desiring to preach expository sermons, and may not know where to start. He defines his terms clearly and walks you through the process, step-by-step until you reach the pulpit and deliver God’s Word to God’s people. ( )

Very good basic guide to preaching. Would be great for the beginner, and did have a number of helpful points and ideas, but didn't add a huge amount to improve my practice after twenty years of preaching. Nonetheless, it was a good refresher and reminder of some of the things that I do that are unhelpful! ( )

An analysis of the work of lesson formation and preaching.

This is a newly revised edition of a standard text on preaching. The author is a fan of what he deems "expository preaching," and yet his definition seems expansive enough for both true exposition and for thematic preaching. He is concerned about the preacher imposing his ideas on the text as opposed to the preacher's ideas being informed by the text, and the concern is right and good. Nevertheless not a few "expository" lessons can suffer from the same problem; the challenge is in disposition, not inherently in structure.

The author proceeds to detail the process for sermon preparation (selecting a text, getting the big idea of the text, establishing the interpretation of the text, determining the form of the sermon, giving life to the sermon with illustrations, etc., how to introduce and conclude, how to proceed with thoughts and transitions) with a final chapter on delivery. The author also provides a sample sermon and evaluation along with student exercises for those interested.

In general the author's advice is sound. Those who have just begun preaching or are intermediate preachers will gain much from it; more experienced preachers may find it useful as a refersher.

I was a bit surprised when the author discounted the value of Biblical illustrations which the audience may not really understand in favor of more up-to-date, modern illustrations which would be more comprehensible. In a world where Biblical literacy is already terrible such is not good advice; furthermore, with such a generational gap in cultural understanding between the oldest and youngest audience members, how many modern illustrations can be found that would be equally applicable/comprehensible to all? Far better, in my estimation, to use Biblical examples, even if they must be explained; they come with more authority anyway. Perhaps the speaker might also use modern illustrations as well, and even then may have to select more than one so as to be comprehensible to elder and younger alike.

In general a good resource on the mechanics of sermon authorship and proclamation.

**--book received as part of early review program ( )