Christ-Centered Preaching, 3rd Edition (Bryan Chapell)

“Bryan Chapell’s Christ-Centered Preaching was a pathbreaking book in 1994. While some writers had been urging preachers to treat every text within the redemptive flow of biblical history–always culminating in Jesus Christ–this book was the first one to tell us how to do it. Though one of many classic manuals on expository preaching, it has always been the most detailed, analytic, practical, and comprehensive of them all. This third edition has been updated to address current issues and challenges preachers face and includes many new resources, only making this volume more invaluable.”

“One of my favorite books on preaching just got even better! In this classic text on the foundations for Christ-centered expository preaching, Dr. Chapell serves us in a number of ways. He articulates the essential theological convictions for Christ-centered exposition, and he also walks the reader through the practical process of sermon preparation. As you follow this seasoned pastor and scholar, you will learn to read the Bible with a sensitivity to the character of God who provides redemption and the nature of humanity who needs redemption; to study the text with both a magnifying glass and a wide-angle lens; and to give people real and lasting hope in every sermon. Not only will these insights improve your preaching, but you will also find yourself in moments of worship as you consider the unsearchable riches of Christ’s grace.”

“‘Good, better, best!’ That is how I describe editions one, two, and three of Bryan Chapell’s Christ-Centered Preaching. The insights, wisdom, prescriptions, and balance that have for decades made this our foundational preaching textbook at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School have been updated, clarified, reinforced, nuanced, and thoroughly documented. Dr. Chapell expertly and seamlessly includes more material throughout. I especially value his reinforcements to those parts of expository preaching that need extra attention just now, namely studying the biblical text itself and preaching Christ without distorting or neglecting how God designed the chosen preaching portion to function. I am eager for my students–and every serious preacher–to read this new edition and let its rich and comprehensive contribution bear lasting fruit in faithful preaching.”

“To a world in need of preachers who proclaim the life-giving message of God’s amazing grace found only in Jesus Christ, Bryan Chapell’s book Christ-Centered Preaching is a welcome gift. Whether you’re just starting out in Bible college or have been in the pulpit for many years, this seminal book must be within arm’s reach so that it can help you grow in your preaching ministry. I know that my teaching and preaching ministry would not exist without the help of Bryan Chapell and Christ-Centered Preaching. May we all heed his wise words to honor God’s word and preach His grace as we center all of our sermons on Jesus Christ.”

“When Bryan Chapell first gave us Christ-Centered Preaching back in 1994, he forged a pathway for us to think rightly about the subject and to practice it faithfully. In the latest installment of a preaching classic, this creative and masterful writer and preacher seasons his expertise with even more of his rich pastoral insight and experience. He reminds us that preaching the text of Scripture naturally implies the responsibility to preach Christ, and he demonstrates how to engage contemporary audiences in such preaching. Even if you’ve read a previous edition of this critical work, don’t fail to get this fresh edition and glean from its present-day application. This book is a necessary resource for all who feel the weight of and embrace the privilege of exalting Jesus through biblical preaching.”

“Christ-Centered Preaching is a huge, all-important book. I never teach my way through it without realizing how much it has to say. . . . Chapell’s book is too vast to master, but to miss considering it is like willfully ignoring the Pacific while claiming to be an oceanographer.”