Selections from Will Willimon's quarterly column, "Five-Minute Preaching Workshop" published in Pulpit Resource.

"Progress in the Pulpit is a master class in preaching, written by two most-qualified authors. Dr. Jerry Vines is truly a Prince of the Pulpit.” — Dr. Albert Mohler Jr., from the foreword Like musical instruments, preachers get better over time—unless, of course, they neglect maintenance. Progress in the Pulpit is for seasoned preachers looking to refresh their craft and receive guidance for contemporary challenges to preaching. While most preaching books are geared toward new preachers, Progress in the Pulpit builds on the basics and focuses on what often falls into neglect. You will learn to better: Connect to audiences without compromising biblical truth Plan, evaluate, and get feedback on sermons Battle biblical illiteracy in your congregation Employ word studies and other technical aspects of biblical interpretation Increase imagination and creativity in sermon writing Extend the life of a sermon via social media, small groups, and more Establish habits for continued growth Drs. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, who wrote Power in the Pulpit (a book still used in seminaries today), remain committed to pure expository preaching. Yet they understand that the times change and present new challenges. Here they offer guidance to help preachers stay sharp and grow in the craft of faithfully proclaiming God’s Word.

A conversation between 2 eminent Black thinkers on how to work together to make the world a better place despite deep religious differences Brad Braxton and Anthony Pinn represent two traditions—Christianity and Secular Humanism respectively—that have for centuries existed in bitter opposition. For too long, people with different worldviews have disparaged and harmed one another. Instead of fighting each other, Braxton and Pinn talk with, listen to, and learn from one another. Their wide-ranging conversation demonstrates the possibility of fruitful exchange that accounts for—rather than masks—their differences. Written amid the Covid-19 pandemic, threats to our democracy, and national protests for racial justice, A Master Class on Being Human shows us that constructive dialogue can help us pursue the common good without sacrificing our distinctive identities. In conversations that are frank, personal, and deeply informed by scholarship, Braxton and Pinn discuss topics that are urgent and immediate, such as the ongoing violence against Black communities, the rise of religiously unaffiliated communities, the Black Lives Matter movement. They also ponder those broader philosophical and theological questions that inform our politics and sense of what it means to be human: the meaning of religion, the stubborn dilemma of moral evil, the power and problems of hope. Braxton and Pinn invite us to join them in a master class as they strive to create a world where differences are not tolerated but instead celebrated. In that kind of courageous classroom, all can learn how to be better people who in turn transform the world into a better place.

"Lane provides practical tools to help pastors deliver engaging messages. Anyone who preaches or teaches will benefit from this book." -Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling Author of The Circle Maker, Lead Pastor of National Community Church. Today's audiences are more distracted than ever, but sermons can only be effective if people are listening. You have to capture people's attention. But how? In Preaching Killer Sermons, author and pastor Lane Sebring reveals practical preparation and delivery techniques that will enable you to better connect with your listeners. Discover how to: -Capture and maintain the interest of your listeners -Structure each sermon for the greatest impact -Maximize your prep time on a tight schedule -Overcome distractions & communicate with clarity -Inspire people toward life-change If you want to discover practical methods to communicate clearly every time you preach, this book is for you. What church leaders are saying about Preaching Killer Sermons: Lane has written a very helpful, practical book for preachers and teach-ers. I think there are two great sins in preaching: misusing the text and boring your audience. In teaching pastors and seminary students, I find there are plenty of resources and attention given to avoid the first great sin. But there is a lack of resources on how not to bore people. And too many preachers feel that if they have rightly divided the Word of Truth, they have done everything God requires them to do. I think accuracy and effectiveness are equally important in preaching. Preaching Killer Sermons is a great resource to help pastors truly be effective in communicating the powerful truth of God's Word. I plan to start using this with the preaching students I teach. -David Whiting, Executive Search Consultant, Vanderbloemen, former Lead Pastor, Northridge Church, Rochester, NY The hardest thing I do each week is not leadership development or pastoral care - it's crafting a message which will communicate truth in an engaging and impactful way. I genuinely want to get better at what I believe is God's greatest call on my life. I'm thankful for Lane's heart to help us be better preachers. I'm thankful for this book. -Ron Edmondson, Senior Pastor, Immanuel Baptist Church, Lexington, KY, Church leadership blogger, RonEdmondson.com Pastor Lane Sebring has done an outstanding job of reverse engineering the "great sermon." His efforts will help all who preach to preach better prepared sermons, and become better prepared communicators. Preach-ing Killer Sermons should be included reading in homiletics courses around the world. -Brett Fuller, Senior Pastor, Grace Covenant Church, Chantilly, VA Chaplain, Washington Redskins If you are a communicator in the local church you need to pick up this book. Lane brings practical insights and helpful encouragement on every page. Pick it up ... and apply the lessons contained within. -Rich Birch, unSeminary, Executive Pastor, Liquid Church, Mountainside NJ The concepts Lane shares in this book have helped sharpen my effectiveness in communicating the content of God's inerrant Word! I would highly recommend this book to both the novice and the experienced preacher. -Dr. Billy Ross, Senior Pastor, Centreville Baptist Church, Centreville, VA Trustee, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary I serve on a Teaching Team with Lane, so I watch him live out Preaching Killer Sermons each week. Lane's heart is to communicate God's Word in culturally relevant and engaging ways. Now he's sharing his passion in a book full of practical tools to help preachers (and teachers/speakers). You'll hear his heart as he challenges you to examine and refine your own preaching habits. -Elaine Bonds, sought after speaker, Graduate, Proverbs 31 She Speaks and CLASSeminars

Many sermons preached today lack the divine knowledge and spiritual understanding available only through dynamic expository preaching. In Preaching: How to Preach Biblically, John MacArthur’' well-known passion for the Bible combines with the expertise of faculty members at The Master's Seminary to inspire and equip preachers in effective biblical preaching. Preaching: How to Preach Biblically flows from biblical foundations for expository preaching through a detailed process of developing expositions and creating sermons to the actual delivery of expository messages, connecting what pastors learn in seminary with the sermons preached in a local church. This volume shows how to progress purposefully from one phase to the next in preparing to minister to God's people through preaching. This book answers these questions and more: What is expository, biblical preaching? What are the theological and historical foundations for insisting on expository preaching? What are the steps involved in preparation for and participation in biblical preaching? What models exist for expository preaching today? The Master's Seminary faculty, with over thirty years' experience in preaching and seminary training of preachers, contributes a treasury of expertise alongside insights from expositor John MacArthur. While united on their commitment to exposition, the variety of individual expressions and methodological preferences discussed offers beneficial assistance for any preacher seeking a higher level of expository excellence.

Instead of being a dour task on the checklist, what if the process of homily prep renewed you? Instead of feeling insecure about your message, what if your skills made you confident to preach a consistently clear message of Good News, authentic to you, relevant to your listeners, holding their attention and inviting transformation? Backstory Preaching: Integrating Life, Spirituality, and Craft shows you how. By integrating your life and spirituality with the practical skills necessary for effective preaching, you can move beyond the boredom, stress, or insecurity of preaching so it is no longer you who preach but Christ who preaches in you. By connecting with God in the midst of your sermon prep, the Gospel will be spread deeper and further. God’s joy—and yours—will be made complete.

The Mind of the Master Class tells of America's greatest historical tragedy. It presents the slaveholders as men and women, a great many of whom were intelligent, honorable, and pious. It asks how people who were admirable in so many ways could have presided over a social system that proved itself an enormity and inflicted horrors on their slaves. The South had formidable proslavery intellectuals who participated fully in transatlantic debates and boldly challenged an ascendant capitalist ('free-labor') society. Blending classical and Christian traditions, they forged a moral and political philosophy designed to sustain conservative principles in history, political economy, social theory, and theology, while translating them into political action. Even those who judge their way of life most harshly have much to learn from their probing moral and political reflections on their times - and ours - beginning with the virtues and failings of their own society and culture.

What makes for good preaching? In this accessible volume—written for preachers and preachers in training—pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God's Word. In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it. Part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series.

“God has appointed preaching in worship as one great means of accomplishing his ultimate goal in the world.” —John Piper John Piper makes a compelling claim in these pages about the purpose of preaching: it is intended not merely as an explanation of the text but also as a means of awakening worship by being worship in and of itself. Christian preaching is a God-appointed miracle aiming to awaken the supernatural seeing, savoring, and showing of the glory of Christ. Distilling over forty years of experience in preaching and teaching, Piper shows preachers how and what to communicate from God’s Word, so that God’s purpose on earth will advance through Biblesaturated, Christ-exalting, God-centered preaching—in other words, expository exultation.