Overview
Viewed as antiquated and remote, the Old Testament is frequently neglected in the preaching and teaching ministry of the church. But contrary to the prevailing attitude, might the Old Testament contain relevant and meaningful application for today? Renowned author and scholar Walter Kaiser shows why the Old Testament deserves equal attention with the New Testament and offers a helpful guide on how preachers and teachers can give it the full attention it deserves.
Growing out of his teaching material from the last decade, Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament demonstrates Kaiser's celebrated straightforward exposition. Offering an apologetic for the Christian use of the Old Testament, the opening chapters deal with the value, problem, and task of preaching from it. Following a discussion of the role of expository preaching, Kaiser provides a practical focus by examining preaching and teaching from the texts of various genres. A final chapter explores the relevance of the Old Testament in speaking to a contemporary audience.
Bible teachers, pastors, seminary students, and professors will appreciate Kaiser's practical focus and relevant applications. Additional helps include a glossary and suggested outlines and worksheets for expository preaching.
Growing out of his teaching material from the last decade, Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament demonstrates Kaiser's celebrated straightforward exposition. Offering an apologetic for the Christian use of the Old Testament, the opening chapters deal with the value, problem, and task of preaching from it. Following a discussion of the role of expository preaching, Kaiser provides a practical focus by examining preaching and teaching from the texts of various genres. A final chapter explores the relevance of the Old Testament in speaking to a contemporary audience.
Bible teachers, pastors, seminary students, and professors will appreciate Kaiser's practical focus and relevant applications. Additional helps include a glossary and suggested outlines and worksheets for expository preaching.
Endorsements
“Here is a readable guide to preaching from the Old Testament, written by a man who is himself a superb preacher, scholar, and exegete. This book will help all of us fulfill our responsibility of preaching the 'whole counsel of God' with wisdom and grace. I recommend it highly.”
Erwin W. Lutzer, Moody Bible Church
“Building on his epochal Toward an Exegetical Theology, Walter Kaiser now puts the urgent necessity of preaching the whole Bible clearly in the context of the contemporary situation. In my view, this is the best book we have on preaching the literary genre of the text. Kaiser is not only a master exegete with theological sophistication but also a master theoretician of preaching and a model practitioner of the craft.”
David L. Larsen, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“Those who know Kaiser's Toward an Exegetical Theology will welcome this step forward in breadth, clarity, and specificity. His zeal for faithful expository preaching enriches the whole.”
Greg Scharf, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“Those of us who care about biblical preaching face an uphill climb. Those who care about effective preaching of the Old Testament find the mountain to be particularly steep. With his new book, Walter Kaiser gives the preacher a welcome boost. This book finds its place alongside recent offerings by Graeme Goldsworthy, Steven Mathewson, and Sidney Greidanus, each of whom has championed a sound biblical theology for preaching the Old Testament.”
Kenton C. Anderson, ACTS Seminaries of Trinity Western University
“The Bible of the early church was the Old Testament. It might be an interesting experiment for a pastor to preach from the Old Testament for a year to a twenty-first-century church. Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament would be a reliable and practical guide to help pastors through that great expanse of God's eternal truth.”
Haddon Robinson, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
“A front-ranking evangelical Old Testament scholar and passionate preacher himself, Kaiser launches a compelling case for restoring the Old Testament to a prominent place in the Christian pulpit. Enticing suggestions and demonstrations of how this can be appropriately and effectively done abound throughout the book. It deserves careful study by all preachers who aspire to be faithful to their divine commission.”
Richard Allen Bodey, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“This book contains a forceful argument for the necessity of preaching from the Old Testament as well as a succinct description of the various genres of literature in the Old Testament. Its guidelines and many examples of interpretation and sermons will be helpful for those who preach and teach Old Testament passages.”
Sidney Greidanus, Calvin Theological Seminary
“Walter Kaiser gives a solid defense for preaching from the Old Testament and provides helpful insights on Old Testament backgrounds and interpretation. His hints for preaching the genres of the Old Testament will be of value to any preacher.”
Scott M. Gibson, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
“I always listen when Walter Kaiser, learned Old Testament scholar and preacher par excellence, speaks! Here is the very best advice—from the very best—as to how to preach the whole counsel of God. Every preacher should own this book.”
R. Kent Hughes, pastor, College Church, Wheaton, Ill.
Author
Walter C.,Jr. Kaiser
Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (PhD, Brandeis University) is president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and at Wheaton College. Kaiser is active as a preacher, speaker, researcher, and writer and is the author of more than forty books, including Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament and The Majesty of God in the Old Testament.