Christ-Centered Preaching - Second Edition

Bryan Chapell's book Christ-Centered Preaching was released in 1994 and was just re-released in a second edition this month. The book, subtitled Redeeming the Expository Sermon, runs about 400 pages including an extensive bibliography.

There were two ways in which I felt I benefitted from Chapell's first edition, which I purchased this past Fall. One is his focus on what he calls the Fallen Condition Focus, which he says reveals both the text's and sermon's purpose. This is far more than a cute concept or tool. It contributes to our task of speaking what the passage says, rather than using the passage to support our ideas.

The second benefit came through his discussion of what it means to preach Christ-centered sermons. I think we are all guilty of preaching moralistic messages, or what he calls the "Be" messages based on a biblical character and not attaching it to Christ. However, we can also feel that we attach it to Christ when we throw the Gospel in at the end of a sermon. This, says, Chapell, is not the point. Rather, we need to present the redemptive lesson (using the idea in a broad sense) that we find in the passage.

I've been teaching the Bible to adults for nearly 30 years, but only preaching regularly for two. I've read several books on preaching, and I would suggest this as one of the better ones I've read. Chapell seems to have a good grasp on both what goes into a sermon and what a sermon ought to look like.

I've made a commitment to read a book about preaching once or twice a year. If you do something like that for your own growth, this is one to put on the short list.