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Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon

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Bryan Chapell, president of Covenant Seminary, is to be congratulated for this excellent book. It is a book that has had a positive impact on evangelical preaching in general, and Reformed preaching in particular. It is warm, exhaustive, practical, and predominately Biblical. It is an important achievement within the arena of practical theology and homiletics, which tends to be a field dominated by books that either argue that preaching is a relic that should be abandoned, or are mainly emotional/hysterical exhortations to revitalize preaching with little practical application.

In my view, no seminary student preparing for a preaching ministry should be without this book - nor should even seasoned pastors who are open to good homiletical teaching. It is a book that is truly exhaustive, making it a wonderful resource that can be referred to over and over again. To some readers, the exhaustive nature of the book might be intimidating and might scare someone who does not yet have an appreciation for how much of an art and skill good preaching really is. But in this book are a myriad of tools that have the potential to make otherwise good preachers much better, and to have their messages be truly life transforming.

Chapell spends time focusing on the character of the preacher and the necessity of the preacher to rely on the Holy Spirit and not himself - a statement that is obvious but often ignored to the detriment of the preacher and his flock. Chapell also spends a good bit of time discussing the mechanics of preaching, from preparing a sermon, to things as down to earth as preacher posture and sanctuary acoustics. It is here that Chapell drives home a number of his chief points - exegetical sermons are great and shouldn't be discarded, and that exegetical sermons are at their best when a good portion, maybe a third, of the sermon is devoted to application. Chapell also gives the reader an inside look at the weekly routine of a preacher in terms of sermon preparation - what he does, how he does it, what references or sources does he use, how does he organize his thoughts, etc. Extremely informative, and again, something that can be referred to repeatedly for years.

Chapell, consistent with his 'Christ-Centered Preaching' book title, strongly advances the view that preaching should be redemptive in character, with Jesus Christ as the climactic focus of the entire Bible. It is here that Chapell gets into some trouble, but not severely. His assertion that Jesus Christ can and should be legitimately brought into any sermon preached from any passage of Scripture is a bit suspect, because contrary to the wishes of the Biblical Theology people, this approach puts the Bible into a systemic grid and flattens it every bit as much as a systematic approach to theology or homiletics - it's just a different kind of system. So while the redemptive historical approach to preaching is good and helpful on balance, the discerning reader will recognize that this approach is every bit as man-made as any systematic approach to Biblical preaching, and is therefore certainly improveable.

But this somewhat minor beef aside, this book will equip evangelical preachers, and particularly Reformed preachers, with a wealth of knowledge and information that can transform sermons into life changing events where the Spirit takes our fishes and loaves and multiplies them greatly to feed the flock on a regular basis. There needs to be a revival in preaching, away from the mile-wide inch deep approach that often epitomizes proof-text preaching, and toward substantive and exegetically enriching sermons, and this book lays a great foundation.

While Martyn Lloyd-Jones' Preaching and Preachers is more comprehensive and is unsurpassed in addressing the life of the preacher, this is the best book on the actual preparation and delivery of sermons that I've read yet. Chapell takes preachers step by step through the process of preparing expository sermons which are faithful to the text, redemptive in focus, and application-oriented in style. His emphasis and teaching on finding their fallen redemptive focus of every text will help preachers keep the sermons redemptive and Christ-centered, rather than moralistic, legalistic, and discouraging. The balance Chapell suggests between explanation, illustration, and application is something more expositors need to heed. The book is well-written, well-documented (interacting well with most of the other material out there on preaching), and easy-to-apply. I cannot overstate how helpful this book has been for me. I recommend it very, very highly.

This is the most comprehensive book on preaching I have ever read and without a doubt one of the very best. Chapell presents the reader with a thorough analysis of the preparation, development and delivery of expository sermons. Chapell not only tells the reader what to do, he shows him. For instance, the author will not only tell how to write a sermon introduction, he gives several excellent example of good and bad introductions and then explains the strength and weaknesses of both.
Chapell persuasively makes the case that a sermon is much more than imparting biblical information. He succinctly states, "no application, no sermon." I also appreciate that he addresses the issue of pastoral authority. All the sermon preparation in the world will do little good if the pastor does not speak with the authority that God has given him. The author does not try so squeeze the reader into a particular method of sermon preparation, he outlines the necessary steps and then allows the reader to develop his own particular style
So much information was packed into so few pages that I found it very difficult to read this book fast. It took me longer to read it than it id Duduit's Contemporary Preaching that is nearly twice its length. There were two faults I found this book. I was a little confused with the terms. The FCF (Fallen Condition Focus) was a new concept for me. I had trouble separating it my mind from the sermon proposition. Second, his advice on preaching one's doubts needs to be addressed with more clarity. He wants preachers to have a genuine style, but he fails to caution us as H.W. Robinson does on the dangers of preaching your unresolved doubts and conflicts.
This book gave me confidence to develop my sermons first and then look in the commentaries after the message is outlined. It also helped me with the most elementary, but needed advice- that I need to read, read, and reread the text. Nothing will help one develop a sermon more than knowing what the text says. I appreciate his 3:00 a.m. test, that is, if someone woke you up at 3:00 a.m. and asked you what your sermon was about could you respond with a single sentence? How sad it is that for many years I preached sermons with no real focus. Speaking of focus, Chapell explained the difference between biblical preaching and Christ-centered preaching. Sometimes people would complain that I wasn't peach Christ even though I was preaching "biblical sermons." Now I know why. Every sermon on marriage, family, etc. must end at the cross.
Yes, yes, yes. This is truly a great book, one of the few books I feel compelled to read again. It is a treasure chest of practical information for the preparation and delivery of sermons.

This is a fine book that will really help you to become a more effective pastor or small group leader. you learn that you message is not only what you say, but also how you say it, and how you act within your daily life that will effect how your listeners accept your message. This book came to me as highly recommended, and I think that my Homiletics professor was correct in his choice for the course reading.

This is the most comprehensive book on preaching I have ever read and without a doubt one of the very best. Chapell presents the reader with a thorough analysis of the preparation, development and delivery of expository sermons. Chapell not only tells the reader what to do, he shows him. For instance, the author will not only tell how to write a sermon introduction, he gives several excellent example of good and bad introductions and then explains the strength and weaknesses of both.

Chapell persuasively makes the case that a sermon is much more than imparting biblical information. He succinctly states, "no application, no sermon." I also appreciate that he addresses the issue of pastoral authority. All the sermon preparation in the world will do little good if the pastor does not speak with the authority that God has given him. The author does not try so squeeze the reader into a particular method of sermon preparation, he outlines the necessary steps and then allows the reader to develop his own particular style

So much information was packed into so few pages that I found it very difficult to read this book fast. "Contemporary Preaching" that is nearly twice its length. There were two faults I found this book. I was a little confused with the terms. The FCF (Fallen Condition Focus) was a new concept for me. I had trouble separating it my mind from the sermon proposition. Second, his advice on preaching one's doubts needs to be addressed with more clarity. He wants preachers to have a genuine style, but he fails to caution us as H.W. Robinson does on the dangers of preaching your unresolved doubts and conflicts.

This book gave me confidence to develop my sermons first and then look in the commentaries after the message is outlined. It also helped me with the most elementary, but needed advice- that I need to read, read, and reread the text. Nothing will help one develop a sermon more than knowing what the text says. I appreciate his 3:00 a.m. test, that is, if someone woke you up at 3:00 a.m. and asked you what your sermon was about could you respond with a single sentence? How sad it is that for many years I preached sermons with no real focus. Speaking of focus, Chapell explained the difference between biblical preaching and Christ-centered preaching. Sometimes people would complain that I wasn't preach Christ even though I was preaching "biblical sermons." Now I know why. Every sermon on marriage, family, etc. must end at the cross.

Yes, yes, yes. This is truly a great book, one of the few books I feel compelled to read again. It is a treasure chest of practical information for the preparation and delivery of sermons.

This is the first book that shows a great number of findings evidently based on research into the makeup of effective expository sermons and describes the numerous methods and techniques that comprise eloquent ones. It will teach you how to craft effective sermons that are genuinely worth listening and responding to. It's Christ-centered focus is best-reflected in Chapell's statement, "Discover...the redemptive context of every text." (He shows you just how to do it.) Chapell evidently is a skillful teacher of preachers and of preaching. The book delivers in a manner anyone could understand. Some of the book's value derives from its guidelines and detailed advice concerning sermon flow, building, progression, transitions, culmination and climaxes, the use of repetition, parallelisms, constructing main points and subpoints and how to deliver them,personalizing statements in applications, natural delivery, brevity, word-choice and phrasing, and how to "become conduits for God's strength.". He shows how to be all of this and more without minimizing prayer or the Bible itself as a guide. Once more, he is anything but stuffy. Everything Chapell writes in this book originates from a spelled-out, Biblical basis. He just wants every preacher to be able to learn how to preach life-changing sermons that always point hearers to Christ! He reaches this mark, I believe. The book has certainly changed my preaching for the better.

The book shows well how to prepare a sermon from preparing to delivering. It also tells why and how a sermon should be Christ-centered. Very excellent book.

What a wonderful book! I just finished seminary, and read tons of books...this one is in the top five. Chappell is the president of Covenant Seminary in St. Louis and a former pastor. He preaches all over the country, and is known for his gifts in this area. After reading his book, I can see why. He takes the reader through every step and clearly lays out the "why" of preaching. The thing that sets this book apart is that Chappell forces the preparer of the sermon to find the "Fallen Condition Focus" of the passage to be preached (the FCF). That means, the one preparing to preach must ask, "In every way, the world is broken and God's people are fallen. So why did God choose to put this passage in His Holy Scripture? Since the Word of God makes us complete, to what "incompletion" does this particular text speak? Why does the church need this passage?" And then he takes you from there to construct a sermon that will allow God's Word to minister to the hearts and souls of His people. What a great approach! (at least I think so.)

When it comes to books on preaching, it's pretty much all been said before. If you're looking for something new and novel, this is not the book for you. But, if you want a book that will strengthen your preaching in three areas, this book is a valuable resource. First, this book will help you build a bridge from the world of the Bible to today's world by giving you a helpful tool known as the "Fallen Condition Focus" (FCF) of the text. Second, this book contains an excellent chapter offering great insights on illustrating the sermon. Third, this book has probably the best treatment of application in preaching I've ever read. As long as contemporizing the biblical text, helping people see abstract truth in a way that is concrete, pictoral, sensible, and expreiential and driving home the practical significance of the Bible remain significant priorities for you as a preacher, this book will stand the test of time as a significant resource.