Christ-Centered Preaching, 3rd Edition

"Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching was a pathbreaking book in 1994. While some writers had been urging preachers to treat every text within the redemptive flow of biblical history--always culminating in Jesus Christ--this book was the first one to tell us how to do it. Though one of many classic manuals on expository preaching, it has always been the most detailed, analytic, practical, and comprehensive of them all. This third edition has been updated to address current issues and challenges preachers face and includes many new resources, only making this volume more invaluable."

"One of my favorite books on preaching just got even better! In this classic text on the foundations for Christ-centered expository preaching, Dr. Chapell serves us in a number of ways. He articulates the essential theological convictions for Christ-centered exposition, and he also walks the reader through the practical process of sermon preparation. As you follow this seasoned pastor and scholar, you will learn to read the Bible with a sensitivity to the character of God who provides redemption and the nature of humanity who needs redemption; to study the text with both a magnifying glass and a wide-angle lens; and to give people real and lasting hope in every sermon. Not only will these insights improve your preaching, but you will also find yourself in moments of worship as you consider the unsearchable riches of Christ's grace."

"'Good, better, best!' That is how I describe editions one, two, and three of Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching. The insights, wisdom, prescriptions, and balance that have for decades made this our foundational preaching textbook at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School have been updated, clarified, reinforced, nuanced, and thoroughly documented. Dr. Chapell expertly and seamlessly includes more material throughout. I especially value his reinforcements to those parts of expository preaching that need extra attention just now, namely studying the biblical text itself and preaching Christ without distorting or neglecting how God designed the chosen preaching portion to function. I am eager for my students--and every serious preacher--to read this new edition and let its rich and comprehensive contribution bear lasting fruit in faithful preaching."

"To a world in need of preachers who proclaim the life-giving message of God's amazing grace found only in Jesus Christ, Bryan Chapell's book Christ-Centered Preaching is a welcome gift. Whether you're just starting out in Bible college or have been in the pulpit for many years, this seminal book must be within arm's reach so that it can help you grow in your preaching ministry. I know that my teaching and preaching ministry would not exist without the help of Bryan Chapell and Christ-Centered Preaching. May we all heed his wise words to honor God's word and preach His grace as we center all of our sermons on Jesus Christ."

"When Bryan Chapell first gave us Christ-Centered Preaching back in 1994, he forged a pathway for us to think rightly about the subject and to practice it faithfully. In the latest installment of a preaching classic, this creative and masterful writer and preacher seasons his expertise with even more of his rich pastoral insight and experience. He reminds us that preaching the text of Scripture naturally implies the responsibility to preach Christ, and he demonstrates how to engage contemporary audiences in such preaching. Even if you've read a previous edition of this critical work, don't fail to get this fresh edition and glean from its present-day application. This book is a necessary resource for all who feel the weight of and embrace the privilege of exalting Jesus through biblical preaching."

"Christ-Centered Preaching is a huge, all-important book. I never teach my way through it without realizing how much it has to say. . . . Chapell's book is too vast to master, but to miss considering it is like willfully ignoring the Pacific while claiming to be an oceanographer."

Praise for Previous Editions

"This is an outstanding book that will be of interest to anyone committed to biblical preaching. Chapell has provided a solid yet contemporary approach to expository preaching, something that is much needed in today's congregations. I share with him the belief that contemporary congregations are open to expository preaching models provided they are done well and with an emphasis on practical application. Chapell offers exactly such a model, and I recommend it with enthusiasm. In fact, I plan to use this material when I teach expository preaching."

"I am favorably impressed: The layout is logical, the outlines are clear, and the understanding of communication is shrewd. I especially like the theology and applicatory concern that shine through it all. Preaching that conforms to the pattern set here will certainly be edifying, and the techniques proposed could sustain over many years an expository ministry that would not at any stage be found wearisome. I would expect this book to establish itself as a reliable guide noted for good Christian sense."

"Christ-Centered Preaching is a thoughtful, balanced, and helpful guide to what expository preaching in the Reformed tradition has been, can be, and needs to be again. Any seminarian or preacher, however long in the ministry, can profit from what is found in these pages."

"This is a great book. Christ-Centered Preaching will make a difference to generations of seminary students and to generations of Christians who will hear them preach. Christ is the message of preachers, and this book will enable preachers to lift him up in ways that will change lives. Clear, concise, and relevant, this is a book that will revitalize what happens in the pulpit. Use it. It will make a difference."

"This is an outstanding tool for students of homiletics. It is the best I have seen on this subject. The book crystallizes the essence of expository preaching and presents clear, transferable principles for preaching effectively. The book itself is structured in a lucid, readable format."

"I am sure this book is destined to be a classic. The nature of the content included, the form and structure in which it is presented, the clear and concise illustrative material, the practical application of the principles delineated, and the consistent focus on the subject without digression (namely, Christ-centered preaching) all combine to make this a most helpful work. Rather than frustrating, the 'precept upon precept, line upon line' approach motivates, challenges, and creates a high level of anticipation. That is the stuff of which good textbooks are made. I believe this book will prove its worth by cutting across theological and denominational lines. Whatever their ecclesiastical leaning or spiritual persuasion, preachers will better communicate it having implemented the suggestions of this book."

"This book has a clarity of purpose and pertinent illustrations and applications. The author is obviously well acquainted with the substantial literature on the subject of preaching and effectively uses that knowledge to support ministry centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. May the book be used for the Lord's glory and the edification of his people."

"This book offers an interesting new approach, placing emphasis on one's fallen condition and Christ's redemptive answer as the basis for preaching. There is much that is not only suggestive but also helpful. I believe this book will do much good. The author writes clearly and well."

"I am thankful for a book that at last combines both the basic structure of preaching with a sound biblical reason for preaching. I have taught homiletics for ten years in two different institutions. It has always been a problem for me that available preaching texts were either strong on theology or strong on technique. I have been unable to find one that brings both together as this textbook does. My own philosophy of preaching is that when the congregants leave the sanctuary, they should be focused on Christ and not on themselves. Christ-Centered Preaching is going to make a great difference in that direction."

"I must say I am very pleased. I am strongly supportive of Chapell's main thesis."

"Christ-Centered Preaching will be of real use to the church and its preachers. This book is obviously the fruit of wisdom gained from preaching, from thinking about preaching, and from thinking about teaching others to preach. It combines practical and realistic guidance on the basics with a theological depth and sensitivity to the ways in which Christ the Redeemer has met the needs of our fallen condition."

"I am deeply moved by the devotional spirit of this book on preaching. I picked it up expecting to hone my preaching techniques and found myself learning to read my entire Bible as a testimony to Christ's redeeming work. I went looking for preaching suggestions and found in the expert advice refreshment for my heart. Praise God for a preaching textbook so full of grace."

"Chapell is aware not only of current studies in each of the subjects discussed but also of the history of preaching, communications, and theology. He has organized his material well, beginning with principles of preaching--on the basis of which he shows how to prepare a sermon---and concluding with a heavy emphasis on making sermons Christ-centered. By including chapters on biblical theology, Chapell has enriched the study of homiletics so that Christ-centered thinking becomes an integral part of sermon preparation. The questions and exercises at the end of each chapter are very useful in clarifying the material that precedes them. In addition, they powerfully illustrate the method Chapell prescribes for sermonizing by requiring a thoughtful rethinking of the matter and by making the content of each chapter concrete."

"This is a very good book, in fact, one I wish I had written myself. I trust it will find wide use in evangelical seminaries and Bible colleges."

"The strong technical and philosophical underpinnings behind Christ-Centered Preaching are wonderfully illumined by its high degree of readability. There is a great need for this book. A tremendous number of books on preaching deal only with technique, and what is seriously lacking is one that deals with preaching as it pertains to exposition. I plan to use this book in my exegetical models course."

"This is one of the most helpful books I have ever read. It is a great contribution to preachers, and I feel as if I received a seminary education in reading it."

"The entire book is outstanding, but at the risk of seeming to downplay the first part of the book, I want to tell you that the last two chapters are more than worth the price. Those chapters ought to be required reading for every pastor, not to mention every Navigator and Campus Crusade staff worker in America."

"Chapell's book is so good that it has caused an immediate effect. My congregation will thank him. This week's sermon is already altered, and I have been reminded of some things I had long forgotten. I will commend it to others every chance I get."

"Without question, this book is worthy of Book of the Year or perhaps Book of the Century."

"I have read dozens of books on preaching. The best book I have read is Bryan Chapell's Christ-Centered Preaching."