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The Priority of Preaching
Have you ever gone to a conference as a preacher of a local church and come away jaded because you felt that you couldnt live up to impressive conference speaker in your week to week Sunday ministry? This book is for the preacher; prospective preacher or the listener.From the words of Deuteronomy & Moses this is a call to make the proclamation of Gods word a priority each week.
125 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2009
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About the author
Christopher Ash
54Ìýbooks73ÌýfollowersChristopher Ash works for the Proclamation Trust in London as director of the Cornhill Training Course. He is also writer in residence at Tyndale House in Cambridge, and is the author of several books, including Out of the Storm: Grappling with God in the Book of Job and Teaching Romans. He is married to Carolyn and they have three sons and one daughter.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 34 reviews
February 9, 2012
Christopher Ash is a preacher who trains preachers, and his little book The Priority of Preaching provides a unique angle on that training. He mines the example of Moses' long sermon in Deuteronomy for the contemporary (expository) preacher. He places particular weight on the fact that Moses predicts that a succession of prophets will serve Israel—to them the Jews were told to listen (Deut. 18:15�22). The content of their messages was, Ash argues, supposed to be the written words of God.
I'm afraid that connection—and several other connections he made between New Testament preaching practice and supposed Old Testament precedent—is where he lost me. It feels awkward to say so, but Ash actually seemed stronger when he was relating general insights about preaching than when he was trying to tie those insights directly to Old Testament texts.
For example, Ash points out that
Ash wonders if we have unwittingly "contributed to making some of our churches more monocultural than they might otherwise be" by insisting on this kind of exercise. What do we do for those people who lack the education or fluency to participate in small-group Bible study? They need to learn the word, too. If a back-and-forth dialogue won't work, what will? Ash says there are two options, preaching and theater. Of course, he opts for the former. He makes the perceptive argument, one going back to the Reformation, that theater only produces people who know Bible stories but don't know what they mean.
Ash attempts, however, to tie this argument back to Deuteronomy (through Moses' prediction that preaching prophets would come to guide Israel)—and I, at least, wasn't quite ready to follow. But that doesn't invalidate his excellent insight.
I had the same feeling multiple times throughout the book. Perhaps added OT study will persuade me that he was right, but for now I believe that the way God ruled His people Israel and the way Jesus guides His church are not meant to be tied together as closely as Ash assumes. (We definitely can and must learn from the OT, but it's not always a simple process.)
Critique done. Because this was a warm and insightful book by someone whose heart beats for God's word to spread and be taught accurately.
Let me just tick off some of the insights that are now bathed in neon yellow in my copy of Ash's book:
� "Submission is not the same as discussion. Discussion is comfortably in line with the spirit of the age. We are happy to discuss and interpret.... There is a place for discussion and questioning to clarify our grasp of meaning and correct one another's blind spots. But all too often, discussion is one of the ways we avoid submission." (35, 36) Ash argues that preaching should not be replaced by dialogue, although it should be so engaging as to provoke a silent dialogue. "There may be times when a silent dialogue in preaching is actually preferable to a spoken dialogue. Some so-called dialogue is really simultaneous or alternating monologue.... Good spoken dialogue is easier said than done. How often a dialogue is hijacked by some over-talkative person asking questions that most of the others don't want answered! Sometimes a coherent reasoned exposition is interrupted by irrelevant questions. Spoken dialogue sounds good, and it is sometimes necessary, but there are both practical and theological reasons for working at the silent dialogue of good preaching." (54�55)
� "There is not mystical short-cut, whereby the lazy preacher can hope to be clothed by some anointing, so that his ill-prepared words will come with the power of God.... Godly preparation is a struggle, but there is no substitute for the time and the pain of this engagement with the word." (40, 42)
� "Those who think [the] doctrine of authority puffs up the preacher have not begun to feel the sheer terror of being a preacher.... To be a preacher is one of the most deeply humbling experiences in the world." (42)
� "Liberalism claims to permeate and influence culture, but only does so in the way that a mouse permeates a cat; it is swallowed by it." (51)
� "Let us not teach, but also preach. If teaching is like the signpost which explains clearly to us where we ought to go and how to go there, preaching is like the friendly but firm shove from behind to get us started on actually going there and to keep us moving. We must teach: exhortation without teaching.... is an act of verbal aggression, an invasion of my personal space." (64)
Now for two final insights that deeply benefited me. I've seen writers (typically left-leaning ones) praise community interpretation of the Bible, but I've never seen anyone flesh out what it means. Ash, a conservative, gave the best insight on the value of communal reading of Scripture:
In addition, he pointed out that "attending church" online removes the mutual accountability of knowing what we've all heard as a community:
The book ends with an excellent and brief appendix presenting seven arguments for expository preaching.
Pick up this book, read the appendix, and then dip into a chapter for some insights. If the sustained argument didn't quite carry me along, I still feel I benefited from the loving work of a careful brother.
I'm afraid that connection—and several other connections he made between New Testament preaching practice and supposed Old Testament precedent—is where he lost me. It feels awkward to say so, but Ash actually seemed stronger when he was relating general insights about preaching than when he was trying to tie those insights directly to Old Testament texts.
For example, Ash points out that
an interactive Bible study is not culturally-neutral. To sit around drinking coffee with a book open, reading and talking about that book in a way that forces me to keep looking at the book and finding my place and showing a high level of mental agility, functional literacy, spoken coherence and fluency, that is something only some of the human race are comfortable doing... For those who can do it, it may well be profitable; but many people can't, and just feel daunted or excluded by the exercise. (28)
Ash wonders if we have unwittingly "contributed to making some of our churches more monocultural than they might otherwise be" by insisting on this kind of exercise. What do we do for those people who lack the education or fluency to participate in small-group Bible study? They need to learn the word, too. If a back-and-forth dialogue won't work, what will? Ash says there are two options, preaching and theater. Of course, he opts for the former. He makes the perceptive argument, one going back to the Reformation, that theater only produces people who know Bible stories but don't know what they mean.
Ash attempts, however, to tie this argument back to Deuteronomy (through Moses' prediction that preaching prophets would come to guide Israel)—and I, at least, wasn't quite ready to follow. But that doesn't invalidate his excellent insight.
I had the same feeling multiple times throughout the book. Perhaps added OT study will persuade me that he was right, but for now I believe that the way God ruled His people Israel and the way Jesus guides His church are not meant to be tied together as closely as Ash assumes. (We definitely can and must learn from the OT, but it's not always a simple process.)
Critique done. Because this was a warm and insightful book by someone whose heart beats for God's word to spread and be taught accurately.
Let me just tick off some of the insights that are now bathed in neon yellow in my copy of Ash's book:
� "Submission is not the same as discussion. Discussion is comfortably in line with the spirit of the age. We are happy to discuss and interpret.... There is a place for discussion and questioning to clarify our grasp of meaning and correct one another's blind spots. But all too often, discussion is one of the ways we avoid submission." (35, 36) Ash argues that preaching should not be replaced by dialogue, although it should be so engaging as to provoke a silent dialogue. "There may be times when a silent dialogue in preaching is actually preferable to a spoken dialogue. Some so-called dialogue is really simultaneous or alternating monologue.... Good spoken dialogue is easier said than done. How often a dialogue is hijacked by some over-talkative person asking questions that most of the others don't want answered! Sometimes a coherent reasoned exposition is interrupted by irrelevant questions. Spoken dialogue sounds good, and it is sometimes necessary, but there are both practical and theological reasons for working at the silent dialogue of good preaching." (54�55)
� "There is not mystical short-cut, whereby the lazy preacher can hope to be clothed by some anointing, so that his ill-prepared words will come with the power of God.... Godly preparation is a struggle, but there is no substitute for the time and the pain of this engagement with the word." (40, 42)
� "Those who think [the] doctrine of authority puffs up the preacher have not begun to feel the sheer terror of being a preacher.... To be a preacher is one of the most deeply humbling experiences in the world." (42)
� "Liberalism claims to permeate and influence culture, but only does so in the way that a mouse permeates a cat; it is swallowed by it." (51)
� "Let us not teach, but also preach. If teaching is like the signpost which explains clearly to us where we ought to go and how to go there, preaching is like the friendly but firm shove from behind to get us started on actually going there and to keep us moving. We must teach: exhortation without teaching.... is an act of verbal aggression, an invasion of my personal space." (64)
Now for two final insights that deeply benefited me. I've seen writers (typically left-leaning ones) praise community interpretation of the Bible, but I've never seen anyone flesh out what it means. Ash, a conservative, gave the best insight on the value of communal reading of Scripture:
"We are to be a community who interpret the word; but the kind of interpretation we are to aim at is much more than agreeing what it means. We are to interpret the word in the sense of becoming a living visible interpretation of the word, a community in which the word of Christ is lived out and made concrete." (101)
In addition, he pointed out that "attending church" online removes the mutual accountability of knowing what we've all heard as a community:
"When I gather with my brothers and sisters to hear the word preached, it is still possible to hit the 'Off' button. I can look out of the window; I can read Wesley's instructions for congregational singing in Christian Hymns; I can read the 39 Articles at the end of the Book of Common Prayer; I can doodle; I can daydream. But it is not quite so easy. For I have sitting around me brothers and sisters who might notice; and I would hate to be seen to be inattentive.... When we listen together, you know what word I have heard, and I know what word you have heard. I've heard it!... We are accountable to one another for our response, and this stirs us up and encourages us to respond as we ought." (99)
The book ends with an excellent and brief appendix presenting seven arguments for expository preaching.
Pick up this book, read the appendix, and then dip into a chapter for some insights. If the sustained argument didn't quite carry me along, I still feel I benefited from the loving work of a careful brother.
October 23, 2024
"The church's DNA is the DNA of the preached word of God and by that word of grace which knocks down pride Jesus gathers unlikely people together"
My favourite book on preaching so far, short, punchy, based on sermons so easy to read, with good recaps to follow the argument.
This gives no tips on the HOW, but big on the WHY. And without the why I don't think I can sustain the hours needed to get better at preaching anyway. His thesis: when you preach, "men and women can hear the voice of the living God from your mouth. ... We must listen today to the voice of the Christian preacher because he is the prophet in our generation as Moses was in his."
So I better exert effort in understanding God's word if I am going to be preaching God's word!
Other thoughts I liked:
* The written word is not enough, it needs to be preached. That's why the reality of "no prophets" is so devastating, Amos 8:11, Ps 74:9.
* The revelatory role of prophets is fulfilled in Christ, but preachers still take up their proclamatory work.
* Silent dialogue: One of the greatest gifts of a preacher is a sensitive understanding of people and their problems that he can anticipate their reactions each part of his sermon and respond to them.
* We need repeated preaching because by nature we will never repent and believe we'll move on from simple gospel of daily repentance and daily faith.
* Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. Not panicky or frenetic but rooted in a quiet confidence that the God who made the promises will fulfil them in his time and in his way.
My favourite book on preaching so far, short, punchy, based on sermons so easy to read, with good recaps to follow the argument.
This gives no tips on the HOW, but big on the WHY. And without the why I don't think I can sustain the hours needed to get better at preaching anyway. His thesis: when you preach, "men and women can hear the voice of the living God from your mouth. ... We must listen today to the voice of the Christian preacher because he is the prophet in our generation as Moses was in his."
So I better exert effort in understanding God's word if I am going to be preaching God's word!
Other thoughts I liked:
* The written word is not enough, it needs to be preached. That's why the reality of "no prophets" is so devastating, Amos 8:11, Ps 74:9.
* The revelatory role of prophets is fulfilled in Christ, but preachers still take up their proclamatory work.
* Silent dialogue: One of the greatest gifts of a preacher is a sensitive understanding of people and their problems that he can anticipate their reactions each part of his sermon and respond to them.
* We need repeated preaching because by nature we will never repent and believe we'll move on from simple gospel of daily repentance and daily faith.
* Preaching is theology coming through a man who is on fire. Not panicky or frenetic but rooted in a quiet confidence that the God who made the promises will fulfil them in his time and in his way.
January 27, 2025
Short and engaging. His appendix on expositional preaching was worth the read by itself.
June 25, 2020
This little book by Christopher Ash is a wonderfully biblical and pastorally helpful explanation and defense of preaching in general and of expository preaching in particular.Ìý The core of the book are three chapters which are adapted from conference addresses he gave on the subject some years ago.Ìý Each chapter is rooted in the book of Deuteronomy, a fact which gives a wonderful focus and richness to his discussion of the authority, purpose, and fruit of preaching.
This book would be particularly useful to one of two audiences: either for those who are skeptical (or unfamiliar) with expository preaching or for those who are familiar with it, but are tempted to discouragement.Ìý For the first group, Ash offers a biblical and compelling case for the power and priority of preaching.Ìý For the second group, Ash offers pastoral reminders and encouragements that God delights (and ordains) to use the foolishness of these means to communicate with His people, establish the church, and influence the world.Ìý Short and simple, yet deep and profound, this book is well worth any preacher's time.
This book would be particularly useful to one of two audiences: either for those who are skeptical (or unfamiliar) with expository preaching or for those who are familiar with it, but are tempted to discouragement.Ìý For the first group, Ash offers a biblical and compelling case for the power and priority of preaching.Ìý For the second group, Ash offers pastoral reminders and encouragements that God delights (and ordains) to use the foolishness of these means to communicate with His people, establish the church, and influence the world.Ìý Short and simple, yet deep and profound, this book is well worth any preacher's time.
May 20, 2024
Needs some editing, but all in all a concise, urgent, and encouraging reminder of the significance of what takes place from the pulpit each Lord’s Day.
August 12, 2019
There is good content here, but the overall argument from Deuteronomy to make his point fell flat in my estimation. There are many other places that the point could have been demonstrated with much greater clarity.
The appendix "Give God the Microphone!: Seven Blessings of Consecutive Expository Preaching" very helpfully and concisely demonstrates the value of consecutive expository preaching rather than topical or dip in and dip out expository preaching. According to Ash they are the following:
1. Consecutive expository preaching safeguards God's agenda against being hijacked by ours.
-Relevance
-Entertainment
-Immediacy
2. Consecutive expository preaching makes it harder for us to abuse the Bible by reading it out of context.
3. Consecutive expository preaching dilutes the selectivity of the preacher
4. Consecutive expository preaching keeps the content of the sermon fresh and surprising.
5. Consecutive expository preaching makes for variety in the style of the sermon.
6. Consecutive expository preaching models good nourishing Bible reading for the ordinary Christian.
-Love this quote: "Good topical preaching may give a Christian a fish, but good expository ministry will teach him how to fish" (121). Gold.
7. Consecutive expository preaching helps us preach the whole Christ from the whole of Scripture.
The appendix "Give God the Microphone!: Seven Blessings of Consecutive Expository Preaching" very helpfully and concisely demonstrates the value of consecutive expository preaching rather than topical or dip in and dip out expository preaching. According to Ash they are the following:
1. Consecutive expository preaching safeguards God's agenda against being hijacked by ours.
-Relevance
-Entertainment
-Immediacy
2. Consecutive expository preaching makes it harder for us to abuse the Bible by reading it out of context.
3. Consecutive expository preaching dilutes the selectivity of the preacher
4. Consecutive expository preaching keeps the content of the sermon fresh and surprising.
5. Consecutive expository preaching makes for variety in the style of the sermon.
6. Consecutive expository preaching models good nourishing Bible reading for the ordinary Christian.
-Love this quote: "Good topical preaching may give a Christian a fish, but good expository ministry will teach him how to fish" (121). Gold.
7. Consecutive expository preaching helps us preach the whole Christ from the whole of Scripture.
July 20, 2018
Christopher Ash is quickly becoming a favorite theologian of mine. His treatment of the qahal in Deuteronomy is pretty unprecedented; and referring to Moses as the prototype preacher definitely forces me to rethink some things. Ash argues that Christ speaks to his assembly (churches) through the preached Word. Many reformed theologians can agree that the written Word is the central means for God speaking to His people. However, Ash is arguing for the special way in which the preached Word is used as "God speaking" to his congregation on Sunday. This may seem like a dangerous game, perhaps leading to a Barthian worldview, but I felt Ash handled it carefully and with wisdom.
I found his arguments a bit difficult to follow at times, but the central tenets of the book were clear and helpful.
I found his arguments a bit difficult to follow at times, but the central tenets of the book were clear and helpful.
June 10, 2024
This book really illuminated that there is so much to be learned from preaching, worshipping and assembling in the name of God simply from the book of Deuteronomy. Even the author readily admits that Deuteronomy is often seen in a different light, but it's actually a preaching book. It focuses on the preaching of Moses to the congregation assembled.
I loved reading about the different things that preaching should do, be and mention. Urgency, Expository, understandable, ministering to a broken world, etc. That was all very insightful and helpful tips to understand. The author made the book very easy to understand with various stories and examples from famous theologians and preachers in history. At the end of the day, but really provided an encouragement and a lesson on why we preach (and preach Christ crucified)
I loved reading about the different things that preaching should do, be and mention. Urgency, Expository, understandable, ministering to a broken world, etc. That was all very insightful and helpful tips to understand. The author made the book very easy to understand with various stories and examples from famous theologians and preachers in history. At the end of the day, but really provided an encouragement and a lesson on why we preach (and preach Christ crucified)
August 31, 2017
A very thoughtful, helpful book that i would highly recommend to anybody who is teaching or seeking to teach the Bible. However I also think it would be helpful for any Christian to read to think about what their attitude should be towards preaching and also other forms of teaching such as Bible Studies.
This book gave me loads to think about and also a new appreciation of Deuteronomy. It also mentioned many Biblical themes that I haven't properly thought about their whole applications for today.
I think I will be mulling over this book for a while and it has already had a very immediate effect on how I listen to God's Word every Sunday.
This book gave me loads to think about and also a new appreciation of Deuteronomy. It also mentioned many Biblical themes that I haven't properly thought about their whole applications for today.
I think I will be mulling over this book for a while and it has already had a very immediate effect on how I listen to God's Word every Sunday.
December 25, 2022
(4.3) I wish I had read this before I started preaching. Such a positive and confidence giving book on what preaching is and why we do it.
Encouraged to read of some things I have already been using helpfully in preaching and really challenged in other ways but excited to work harder at urgency in preaching particularly.
Some really helpful stuff on consecutive expository preaching and on the borrowed authority of preaching but I think the most helpful thing for me was thinking through the ‘silent dialogue� of preaching.
Encouraged to read of some things I have already been using helpfully in preaching and really challenged in other ways but excited to work harder at urgency in preaching particularly.
Some really helpful stuff on consecutive expository preaching and on the borrowed authority of preaching but I think the most helpful thing for me was thinking through the ‘silent dialogue� of preaching.
April 11, 2025
Great read for practicing and aspiring preachers.
Especially valuable is the last chapter (appendix) - Give God the microphone.
The book is about the importance of consecutive expository preaching. Easy to read, with fun examples from the life of an author. Will try to read it again in the future God willing.
Especially valuable is the last chapter (appendix) - Give God the microphone.
The book is about the importance of consecutive expository preaching. Easy to read, with fun examples from the life of an author. Will try to read it again in the future God willing.
August 23, 2022
so good. i think every Christian should read this. Great biblical theology on "the gathering". this isn't just for pastors. it will give you a whole new appreciation for what "the church" is & the blessing that is the preached Word.
May 28, 2024
Buen libro, como predicador ayuda a que lo hagas con entusiasmo y amor por lo venidero, pero también por lo presente.
Ama a tu congregación y ama a los perdidos a través de la predicación fiel de la Escritura.
Ama a tu congregación y ama a los perdidos a través de la predicación fiel de la Escritura.
October 31, 2017
Robust biblical treatment of the vital importance of expositional preaching in our churches
February 6, 2020
Short and sweet.
February 7, 2020
What a wonderful little book! A clear and convincing case from the Bible for a biblical preaching ministry.
May 11, 2020
Extremely important message delivered through the exposition of Deuteronomy.
May 31, 2023
Helpful book on preaching. Ash uses Deuteronomy to walk the reader through what it means to be a preacher and why it is significant.
November 8, 2024
Really useful- great drawing from Deuteronomy. Some very great points drawn from scripture. Short but meaty.
October 16, 2016
Un gran desafìo a darle prioridad a la predicaciòn bìblica.
El autor se basa en el libro de Deuteronomio y presenta la autoridad de la predicaciòn, la pasiòn y la insistencia con gran calidad.
Lo mismo el capìtulo dedicado a la congregaciòn reunida para oìr la Palabra de Dios.
El autor se basa en el libro de Deuteronomio y presenta la autoridad de la predicaciòn, la pasiòn y la insistencia con gran calidad.
Lo mismo el capìtulo dedicado a la congregaciòn reunida para oìr la Palabra de Dios.
March 22, 2012
I picked up this small book because I had so thoroughly enjoyed another of the author’s works Listen Up! A practical guide to listening to sermons. I am so glad I did. This is one of the best books on preaching that I have read in a long time. Christopher Ash works for The Proclamation Trust as Director of the Cornhill Training Course, a one or two year course designed to train preachers and Bible teachers in Great Britain. This book is unique, it is a book about local New Testament church preaching but based upon the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy. “I have chosen Deuteronomy because it seems to me that Deuteronomy gives us God’s mandate for preaching. It’s a curious book, in some ways, because nothing really happens in it� (p. 21). “Deuteronomy is the mandate for the people of God to assemble under the preached word of God, or to be more accurate, the written word preached. This is why Deuteronomy is not really a law book, but a preaching book� (p. 23).
The three chapters of this book were originally presented by the author at a pastor’s convention in 2008. He produced them in book form “for ordinary ministers who preach regularly to ordinary people in ordinary places, who may dream of being world-renowned but are going to be spared that fate� (p. 12).
The focus of chapter one is authority. Using Deuteronomy 18 as a basis, Ash concludes that the preacher’s authority is a “borrowed authority� in which God speaks to us by the voice of a man. He unfolds his argument by showing that Moses was the first of many prophets whose revelatory role would ultimately be fulfilled in Christ. Since Christ is ascended, preachers continue the proclamatory work of the prophets. Along the way, Ash has some very insightful comments to make about the shortcomings of Bible Study Groups and how to overcome these failings.
The emphasis of chapter two is urgency, passion and engagement. Examining Deuteronomy 30, he asserts that preaching transforms the church. God’s people are transformed by the preached word of God (p. 46). True preaching isn’t a monologue. The preacher is to be answering the “silent questions� of his listeners as he engages the text. The preacher should be so thoroughly consumed with his text that he “ought to be able to continue his sermon without his notes if necessary� (p. 68).
In chapter three he turns his attention to the local church assembly. Applying Deuteronomy 4, he explains how preaching and assembling are related. He lays out why Christian ought not to forsake assembling together, starting at Sinai and ending at Zion. The local church is a foreshadowing of when all believers are united around the throne. Only the preached word of grace in Jesus Christ (p. 98) can truly mend a world broken by racial, cultural and economic divisions.
Don’t allow the size of this book convince you that it doesn’t have much to offer. This reviewer has barely scratched the surface. Preachers of the Word need the edification this book provides.
December 29, 2017
Extremely helpful book that walks through Deuteronomy through the lens of preaching. Some excellent insights into the benefits of the priority of preaching for christian ministry and some of the dangers when it's put underneath other methods.
June 17, 2014
This is an excellent book on the subject of preaching. I have recommended it to many who preach the Word.
The author gives this overview:
Our focus in the first chapter was authority. We took those words, ‘listen to him�, listen to the word of the living God in the mouth of the preacher of Christ. The expository preacher has a real authority; but it is a borrowed authority, borrowed only with great toil, humility and pain. We distinguished preaching from discussion, Bible reading, and even Bible study in a group. We saw how the preached word expresses most clearly the authority of Christ in the written word. We considered how, while the written word is the logical locus of God’s authority, the preached word is the practical expression of that authority, in which God speaks to us by the voice of a man.
Then in chapter 2 we took the theme of urgency, passion and engagement. We considered the distinction, that preaching is more than just teaching and how preaching is to be a spiritual event in which Christ is offered to men and women by the preached word, and urged on men and women by urgent appeal, by a preacher who is engaged with people and culture and speaks not in a moronic monologue but rather is engaged in a silent dialogue speaking to people he knows, loves and understands.
Finally, in the last chapter we turned our focus from the preacher to the congregation, the assembly, and how preaching and assembly are related.
The author gives this overview:
Our focus in the first chapter was authority. We took those words, ‘listen to him�, listen to the word of the living God in the mouth of the preacher of Christ. The expository preacher has a real authority; but it is a borrowed authority, borrowed only with great toil, humility and pain. We distinguished preaching from discussion, Bible reading, and even Bible study in a group. We saw how the preached word expresses most clearly the authority of Christ in the written word. We considered how, while the written word is the logical locus of God’s authority, the preached word is the practical expression of that authority, in which God speaks to us by the voice of a man.
Then in chapter 2 we took the theme of urgency, passion and engagement. We considered the distinction, that preaching is more than just teaching and how preaching is to be a spiritual event in which Christ is offered to men and women by the preached word, and urged on men and women by urgent appeal, by a preacher who is engaged with people and culture and speaks not in a moronic monologue but rather is engaged in a silent dialogue speaking to people he knows, loves and understands.
Finally, in the last chapter we turned our focus from the preacher to the congregation, the assembly, and how preaching and assembly are related.
July 1, 2010
This is a concise and very helpful overview of the import and glory of preaching. The introduction is entitled "For Discouraged Preachers" followed by three lengthy chapters on: "The Authority of the Preached Word", "Preaching that Transforms the Church", and "Preaching that Mends a Broken World."
I regularly read books on homiletics (the art and practice of preaching) and am familiar with the standard comments, helps and rationales regarding the proclamation of God's Word. But this book was refreshingly different. The third chapter ("Preaching that Mends a Broken World") was alone worth the price of the book.
If you are a minister, buy this book and highlight and margin-note the daylights out of it. If you are a parishoner, buy this book and let it shape the way you prepare yourself to hear the Word preached in the assembly, and shape the prayers you pray for your pastor week-to-week.
I plan to re-read this little gem very soon.
I regularly read books on homiletics (the art and practice of preaching) and am familiar with the standard comments, helps and rationales regarding the proclamation of God's Word. But this book was refreshingly different. The third chapter ("Preaching that Mends a Broken World") was alone worth the price of the book.
If you are a minister, buy this book and highlight and margin-note the daylights out of it. If you are a parishoner, buy this book and let it shape the way you prepare yourself to hear the Word preached in the assembly, and shape the prayers you pray for your pastor week-to-week.
I plan to re-read this little gem very soon.
July 6, 2014
Ash uses the book of Deuteronomy (more a "preaching book" than a law book) to make the case that "public preaching deserves the highest priority among all the different expressions of word ministry in the church" (p. 17). Preaching is the "ordinary place where men's hearts be moved, and God's secrets be revealed" (p. 43). Ash makes the case by pointing out, for instance, that a church could (though this is not recommended) scrap its small group Bible studies, and still be a church; "but if we fail to gather together in our main meetings under the preached word of God, we cease to be a church" (p. 92). If you're a discouraged preacher, wondering if the stress and emotional energy required to preach week after week is worth it, read this book, and be reminded that, "who, being called to be a preacher, would stoop to be a king?" (p. 25).
March 2, 2011
This short book of 122 pages is by the director of the Cornhill Training Course for training preachers and Bible teachers in the UK. The book is from his presentation at the 2008 Evangelical Ministerial Assembly in London. He bases his argument on several texts from Deuteronomy, 18:9-22 (The Authority of the Preached Word), 30:11-20 (Preaching that Transforms the Church), and 4:5-14 (Preaching that Mends a Broken World). It's well-written, but there are better books on preaching available, like Lloyd-Jones, for instance.
September 29, 2016
I don't give 5 star ratings lighly. This really is a wonderful little book. For any preacher, it would go wonderfully alongside Timothy Keller's John Reed Miller lectures on preaching given at RTS. Filled with some solid one-liners that keep you going, it remained interesting. Ash's style is intelligent and conversational. My favorite thing was that it is a thematic exposition of Deuteronomy, which I thought was a very interesting take on the topic and a great way to approach the subject of preaching. I loved this book.
March 9, 2011
This book was a pleasant surprise. I had not heard much about it, but a fellow pastor really enjoyed it, so I thought I would give a try. The book was a tremendous encouragement to me. It is well structured and short, which made for an easy read. However, it did not feel light. Numerous points the author made caused me to stop and evaluate my preaching and my ministry. I highly recommend this to any new minister or to any older minister who feels that preaching is no longer effective.
December 30, 2013
Ash delivered a series of messages at a minister’s conference in London back in 2008. That material has been adapted here, in what proves to be a decidedly helpful look at both the form and function of preaching within the local church. Ash skillfully examines how the proclamation of God’s Word is inseparable from the gathering of God’s people. The result is a much-needed encouragement to both those who faithfully preach and those who faithfully gather.
January 26, 2017
Very good and encouraging book for preachers. Using Moses' great sermon from the book of Deuteronomy, Christopher Ash encourages the preacher by reminding him of his task before God. This is a very readable book that will be an encouragement to all of those who bring the Word of God to the People of God every Lord's Day.
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