Psychologist, physician and preacher Richard Cox calls on the best modern neuroscience to prove that a better understanding of the brain can transform your preaching. Arguing that the sermon is a highly charged cognitive event, Cox explains the role of brain stimuli in such crucial pastoral tasks as delivering comfort and provoking moral action.

In our world, stories matter. Methods and systems are beneficial because they provide structure and help keep us on the right road; but the motivation and courage to keep walking the road, come from the stories we hear and see and experience-stories that inspire hope and bring us face-to-face with God.For ministers, the call to preach is a call into a story that forms and shapes us. It's about stumbling into revelation as life unwinds and scripture unfolds. It's about listening to God's voice and then sharing it with others. It's about recognizing that when people gather to hear a sermon, God speaks. And it's about understanding that when He speaks, He speaks through you.Preaching the Story That Shapes Us is more than a textbook on preaching. It's an empowering call for preachers to present a picture of the kingdom of God already at work among us, recognizing that the work of preaching is not just about arranging words--it's about people. With elegant prose and crafted reason, Dan Boone weaves together scripture, personal narrative, structure, and theological reflection to provide a satisfying, efficient guide to narrative preaching. From exploring the importance of biography to walking readers through creative processes that shape the sermon, Boone shows preachers how to awaken lives and share the stories of God that reveal who we are and lead us to who we will be.

Today, traditional forms of preaching are being scrutinized and challenged. The biblical sermon is not immune to the pressure to evolve or even fall by the wayside, leaving pastors and seminary students confused over how best to communicate to today’s listeners. In this forward-looking textbook, Kenton Anderson delivers a strong call to current and future ministers to indeed choose to preach biblical sermons, despite the obstacles to doing so. While preaching itself is non-negotiable, the exact form it takes can be much more flexible, allowing people to hear from God as they hear his Word preached. Rather than presenting one model or process for preparing a sermon, Anderson explains several available options. As you discern your message from the Bible, will you begin with the text (deductive) or with the listener (inductive)? Will you focus on the idea (cognitive) or the image (affective)? The choices you make lead to five possible sermon structures: • DECLARATIVE—make an argument • PRAGMATIC—solve a mystery • NARRATIVE—tell a story • VISIONARY—paint a picture • INTEGRATIVE—sing a song Each model is described in detail and related to well-known contemporary preachers, including John MacArthur, Rick Warren, Eugene Lowry, and Rob Bell. This book equips you with a variety of tools for your preaching tool kit. A CD-ROM with additional helpful resources is included, as well as discussion questions and practical exercises.

You can teach the craft, but you must first form the heart. Many preachers want to preach better, but they don't always know how to go about improving, and most books on preaching focus on the mechanics of the craft. But preaching involves more than the steps from a text to a sermon, because every time a preacher stands up to preach, their character shines through—for better or for worse. In The Heart of the Preacher, Rick Reed focuses on the personal heart preparation required before any preacher is ready to preach. He explores issues preachers often wrestle with—like discouragement, insecurity, and pride. He then offers practices to fight these challenges and form a heart that carries the fruit of the Spirit into the pulpit. It takes more than a good speaker to preach. It takes a Spirit-filled person. This book will help you check your heart and cultivate the most important aspect of preaching: your character.

Is bigger always better? It's not often that we hear the virtues of the small. Our culture teaches that bigger is better--and that includes church ministry and preaching, too. But what if rather than swinging for the fences, preachers focused on improving their sermons through small habits, practices, and exercises? What if smaller is better? In a world where "small" isn't always celebrated, Jonathan T. Pennington provides Small Preaching, a short book of simple tips that can have revolutionary effects over time. Pennington offers preachers 25 words of wisdom that will help shape their preaching for the better.

A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Christian Communicators. This extensive encyclopedia is the most complete and practical work ever published on the art and craft of biblical preaching. Its 11 major sections contain nearly 200 articles, comprehensively covering topics on preaching and methodology, including: Sermon structure and “the big idea.” The art of introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Methods for sermon prep, from outlining to exercising. Approaches to different types of preaching: topical, expository, evangelistic, and more. Best practices for sermon delivery, speaking with authority, and using humor. Leveraging effective illustrations and stories. Understanding audience. and much more. Entries are characterized by intensely practical and vivid writing designed to help preachers deepen their understanding and sharpen their communication skills. The contributors include a virtual Who’s Who of preaching from a cross section of denominations and traditions, such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, Andy Stanley, and many others. Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson—two of today’s most respected voices in preaching—provide editorial oversight. Includes audio CD with preaching technique examples from the book.