Preaching has fallen on hard times with many questioning its relevance and even its validity as a New Testament practice. This symposium of specially commissioned essays draws together an international team of thirteen scholars and pastors to address the importance of textual preaching in the history and life of the early church, the historic church, and the contemporary church. Contributions include essays on Old Testament preaching; preaching in Eastern Orthodoxy; gender-sensitive preaching; and preaching in the theology of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It also includes essays on a range of homiletical challenges that textual preaching raises for the contemporary preacher, including genre, preaching without notes, inhabiting the text, and preaching without platitudes. A final reflection by Dave Hansen on the state of textual preaching rounds out the collection. The preaching of the gospel stands at the heart of Christian praxis. These essays make a vital contribution to the recovery of the importance of preaching, focused on the text of Scripture. Written with an eye to the pastor and practitioner as well as those in the pews and in the classroom, this is a book that is appealing to a wide range of readers.

About the Author
Ian Stackhouse is Senior Pastor of Guildford Baptist Church, Surrey, and the author of several books and articles, including The Day Is Yours and Primitive Piety. Oliver D. Crisp is Professor of Systematic Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California. He is the author or editor of fourteen books, including Revisioning Christology and Jonathan Edwards on God and Creation.

Reviews
'[T]his collection of essays is unique and valuable.... [Text Message] will prove to be at least thought-provoking, if not also practice-altering. Its style is accessible and many of its suggestions are immediately practical. It is recommended, then, to all preachers who share this conviction. Scholars of preaching will also find much to respond to within it. Further, the volume as a whole, or selected essays within it, could be used in a course on expository preaching.' -William J. Brennan III, Reviews in Religion and Theology, Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2018



Book Information
ISBN 9780718893514
Author Oliver D. Crisp
Format Paperback
Page Count 262
Imprint Lutterworth Press
Publisher James Clarke & Co Ltd
Weight(grams) 392g