What Are the Best Books on Preaching?

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If a young preacher walked into your office asking for your best books on preaching, what would you suggest?

Before we continue, I ask you to answer that question in the comments. With a little help, this publication can be a wonderful resource for preachers looking to grow their craft.

You are reading: Best books on preaching

That’s how I would answer it, not as the experienced preacher, but as the young man.

Below are the most formative preaching books and resources I have come across over the years, nearly all of them assigned to me by Bible college professors, seminary professors, and pastors.

I’ve grouped them by category and linked them to the logo resource where we take them (publisher’s website when not). I also ranked my top three on the list.

to learn the basics

creative bible teaching (gary j. bredfeldt and lawrence o. richards)

This is the first book I read on preaching/teaching, and it remains a wonderful introduction to the basics of communicating biblical truth. emphasizes preaching/teaching people, not just preaching/teaching a truth.

so as not to be boring

saving eutychus (gary millar and phil campbell)

The humorous title says it all: this is a book about preaching sermons that keep your listeners awake. is written by two men with disparate styles, but who share a passion for engaging sermons.

communicating for a change: seven keys to irresistible communication, including the audio version (andy stanley)

preach expository

expository preaching: how we speak god’s word today (david helm)

This is my only book, the one I would give to every preacher.

You can read it in less than an hour, but you will refer to it again and again. I especially enjoy the first chapter, where Helm describes various dangers of preaching. for example, “drunk preaching”:

in those weeks where we stood in the pulpit and leaned on the bible to back up what we wanted to say instead of just saying what god wanted the bible to say, we’ve been like a drunk leaning on a light pole: using it more as a support than as lighting.

The other chapters guide you to apply context and theology to your preaching and then communicate it all as a cohesive whole to your particular audience. This is the shortest but most useful book on preaching that I know of.

my ranking: 1st

Christocentric Preaching: Redemption of the Expository Sermon (Bryan Chapell)

There are dozens of books on expository preaching, but Chappell’s is the most comprehensive I’ve read. it is meant to be a complete guide to the trade, and I remember it as such.

chapell also has mobile education courses on the same topic.

preach contextually

I would repeat expository preaching here and also point to a ministry of helm, charles simeon trust.

the charles simeon trust (cst) trains men and women for biblical exposition, and one of its emphases is to preach with contextual awareness, that is, the contexts of biblical theology and systematic theology, integrating both disciplines in the expository preaching without flattening the meaning of a particular text.

You’ll find those same principles covered in expository preaching, but you can dive deeper into them through the cst’s various offerings, including in-person workshops.

to be examined

Preaching and Preachers, 40th Anniversary Edition (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)

lloyd-jones is known as one of the greatest preachers of the last century, and reading this book is like having him as a preaching mentor. your perfect 5 star rating on amazon doesn’t surprise me.

preaching & Preachers is a compilation of essays based on lectures he gave to seminary students in 1969. It is less about the practicalities of preaching than it is about the commitments and character of preachers. Lloyd-Jones has strong but grounded convictions that will sharpen every preacher to the core.

my ranking: 2nd

on preaching: personal & pastoral perspectives for preparation & preaching practice (h.b. charles jr.)

I had the honor of editing this book and then hearing h.b. Charles preaches at a church retreat, and he’s the real deal. What I love about these essays is the attention Charles gives to the preacher’s heart and the personal anecdotes that make for interesting reading. full of personal and practical ideas.

to preach to the skeptics

preaching: communicating faith in an age of skepticism (timothy keller)

As with most of Keller’s works, there is an apologetic bent to this book that makes it stand out. I’d call this required reading for any preacher, especially those who preach in more intellectual contexts.

my ranking: 3rd

honorable mentions

These are books I haven’t read but highly recommend:

Power in the Pulpit (A Complete Guide to the Craft)
Progress in the Pulpit (Tracking Power)
Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Messages Expository (Haddon Robinson’s classic, used for decades in seminary classrooms across the country)
Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching: In Honor of R. kent hughes
preach as a reminder (Christianity Today 2019 book of the year winner, ecclesiastical/pastoral leadership)

browse other popular books on preaching

an easy way to get a well-stocked preaching library (+ sermon preparation tools)

logos preaching suite packages offer carefully selected books and sermon preparation tools that help you write and deliver expository sermons without wasting time flipping through indexes and other “heavy lifting.” you can make a one-time purchase to have any preaching suite package forever. Or if you’re on a tight budget, subscribe monthly for one low cost.

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