Christ-Centered Preaching
I read the first edition of this book in 1999, when I was still a seminary student. It was probably the single most powerful influence on my development as a preacher. One of Chapell’s emphases is the Fallen Condition Focus: “the mutual human condition that contemporary persons share with those to or about whom the text was written that requires the grace of the passage for God’s people to glorify and enjoy him.” More than once, the FCF has gotten me out of a homiletical pickle — you know, when you’re stumped about how to preach the passage before you. This third edition is considerably larger than the first. It contains a lot more nuance and takes into account further developments in homiletics. For example, chapter 10 on “A Redemptive Approach to Preaching” has been expanded significantly. I especially appreciated Chapell’s discussion of various redemptive-historical methods and how they ought all to be accorded a place in the preacher’s toolbox. I can hardly imagine there being any Reformed preachers who’ve never read Chapell — especially since it’s now a widely-used seminary text. But, like me, you may have read the first edition many years ago. If that’s you, let me say it’s worth a few clams to pick up the third and give it another go.
