Digital Logos Edition
Your work as a pastor can make it easy to overlook the deep needs of your own soul. These 43 questions and answers, written to reflect the format of historic catechisms, seek to provide nourishment for weary pastors in the thick of ministry. Each chapter features content designed to care for your spiritual health, feeding your mind and heart with life-giving truth aimed at helping you press on in ministry with endurance, contentment, and joy.
“Preachers who don’t commit to keeping on learning will end up saying the same things in the same ways. Predictable sermons bless few, if any.” (Page 17)
“The point of the narrative for us today is that if we want to see the glory of Christ, we must go to his Word” (Page 41)
“The infinite happiness of the Father,’ said Jonathan Edwards, ‘consists in the enjoyment of his Son” (Page 29)
“Above everything else, those of us who are called to preach need to know that God is love” (Page 27)
“we are to be led into a life of deepening and joy-filled contentment in Christ.” (Page 32)
These warmhearted and practical devotions could also be titled The Preacher’s Comfort. Allen gets inside the pastor’s head and points him to Jesus Christ in a way that will soothe and strengthen many a weary preacher’s soul.
—Joel R. Beeke, President and Professor of Systematic Theology and Homiletics, Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary; Pastor, Heritage Reformed Congregation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; author, Reformed Preaching
Our age is fixated on techniques. Yet the beautifully crafted sermon that exalts the preacher over Christ is actually the ugliest sermon of all. Adapting the wisdom of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, The Preacher’s Catechism draws us back to what really matters. But make no mistake: the result is profoundly practical. You can read it as a primer or dip in for fresh insight or inspiration. All the way, you’ll find plenty to inform, challenge, and encourage your preaching.
—Tim Chester, Pastor, Grace Church Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire; Faculty Member, Crosslands Training
The weakness of much contemporary preaching stems not primarily from a lack of exegetical technique or presentational skill but from the inadequate spiritual preparation and flawed motives of the preacher. Lewis Allen’s new book will challenge preachers to ensure that they proclaim the Word of God with a prayerful desire to see God faithfully disclosed and glorified for who he is, out of a love for his people. Forty-three short chapters apply the core teaching of the Westminster Shorter Catechism specifically to preachers with clarity and insight. Any preacher who reads this book will be humbled, stimulated, challenged, and equipped for the glorious task of preaching, and encouraged to have a deep trust in the power of the Word and the sufficiency of God in this labor. The format is designed for preachers to read alone, perhaps as a daily meditation, but would also be ideal for use by preaching groups, ministers fraternal, or staff teams that want to improve the quality of their preaching.
—John Stevens, National Director, The Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches