Excellent Preaching: Proclaiming the Gospel in Its Context and Ours

by Craig G. Bartholomew

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2015

Preaching in Context

The Bible is far more exciting and relevant to modern life than most realize.

In Excellent Preaching, Craig Bartholomew explains how to preach so that the powerful message of the Bible penetrates the daily lives of your congregation. While we need to be intimately acquainted with Scripture, we also need to understand the context in which we preach. But good contextualization is hard work.

Some preach sermons firmly grounded in Scripture, but the message will fall flat if it is not contextually applied. Others excel at contextualization, but the relevance of their message will do no good if it is not consistently biblical. Bartholomew seeks to avoid either pitfall, bridging the gap between a biblical foundation and relevant application.

Grounded in rigorous scholarship and rooted in years of preaching experience, this short, accessible, and practical book helps preachers connect the message of the text to everyday life.

Praise for Excellent Preaching

In his masterful little book, Craig Bartholomew provides a view of preaching in which the preacher proclaims God’s living and authoritative word in a manner appropriate to a specific cultural context. Along the way he teaches the reader how to view a biblical text within the context of the whole biblical narrative, preach it in a way that draws hearers closer to God and at the same time sends them out into the world, and apply it to the prevalent idolatries of our time.

—Bruce Riley Ashford, provost & dean of the faculty, professor of theology and culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

Bartholomew’s thoughts on preaching should be read by every preacher. Our congregation is richly blessed when he opens God’s word to us. His singular focus on the glory of Christ in all of scripture has been inspiring to me in our friendship and partnership in preaching the gospel. This book challenges us to take our task seriously, offering practical guidance and instruction for every preacher from the recently ordained and to the seasoned pastor.

—Rev. R.D. Glenn, Rector, St. George’s Anglican Church, Burlington

Contents

• Foreword by the Right Reverend Charlie Masters
• Introduction
• The Destination, the Plane, and the Cargo
• The Captain
• The View from Arrivals
• The Airport: Contextualization
• Landing the Plane: Some Examples
• Conclusion
• Appendix A: Suggested Reading
• Appendix B: An Expanded Apostles’ Creed

Top Highlights

“Thus eternal life is far more than life that goes on forever. It is life as God intended it to be, the life of the kingdom of God, which has already broken into history and is available freely in Jesus.” (Page 8)

“Rather preaching must be directed at the congregation’s hearts, for it is at this deepest level of our being that we connect with God.” (Page 12)

“How do we listen to Scripture so that we can preach the Bible for all its worth in today’s world?” (Page 6)

“Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, one of the great preachers of the 20th century, said that he looked for preaching that ushered him into the presence of God. John Stott noted that we need truth on fire in our pulpits. The Word is the means of encounter with the living God, and the sermon is there to facilitate this encounter.” (Pages 11–12)

“The biblical story needs to become the lens through which we interpret our world.” (Page 31)

Product Details

• Title: Excellent Preaching: Proclaiming the Gospel in Its Context and Ours
• Author: Craig G. Bartholomew
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2015
• Pages: 96
• Format: Logos Digital, Paperback
• Trim Size: 5x8
• ISBN: 9781577996507

About Craig G. Bartholomew

Craig G. Bartholomew is the Director of the Kirby Laing Institute for Christian Ethics, Cambridge. He is the author of numerous influential books on the Old Testament and hermeneutics, including Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, Old Testament Wisdom Literature and the volume on Ecclesiastes in the Baker Commentary series on the Old Testament Wisdom and Psalms.