Frequently, new pastors or recent seminary graduates ask me "What should I be reading in the area of preaching?" I usually interact with a few questions to learn about what homiletical education they've had, what kind of preaching they do and what they perceive to be their strengths and weaknesses. That way I can "prescribe" more precisely for the present needs. Nevertheless, I have found myself turning again and again to many of the same sources.

Hence, the following short annotated bibliography of books represents my recommendations for preachers to read following their initial seminary courses in preaching. The list offers only a start on a good reading program in homiletics.

This bibliography comes as one teacher/preacher's opinion, so remember to practice Proverbs 15:22. As will be obvious, I practice and teach expository preaching, so the list develops primarily from that tradition.

I have arranged this list of "first reads" in five categories: (1) primers (usually used as first textbooks), (2) general works on preaching, (3) works that deal with specific aspects of preaching such as application, illustration or delivery, (4) genre- related works (how to preach in a specific biblical genre, such as narrative or prophecy) and (5) reference works.

Within each category, the books are listed in a suggested order for reading. The books in the "reference" section below probably will not be helpful as a single reading, but will prove very valuable in trying to locate people or topics or to "jog the memory." (In such a brief list, it is impossible to list every valuable work. Therefore, exclusion of a particular work does not imply a lack of endorsement. Likewise, inclusion on the list does not imply that the book should not have been read previously as a text book.) I recognize, of course, that pastors must read widely and in areas other than preaching, but for those who want to improve their preaching practice or thinking about preaching, here's where I believe you should start.

Primers

Primers are those books that serve as an "introduction to preaching," or "here's a philosophy of preaching and how to do it." Robinson, Haddon W. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1980).

This is still the preaching primer of choice! No book offers a better walkthrough of the process for preparing and delivering expository sermons. Robinson provides the steps to sermon preparation and delivery from exegesis to "preaching so that people will listen." No recent book has been used more broadly as a textbook in Bible colleges and seminaries. Moreover, the work has been translated into several languages.

Richard, Ramesh. Scripture Sculpture: A Do-It-Yourself Manual For Biblical Preaching. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1995).

With a somewhat different vocabulary, Dr. Richard follows Robinson's philosophy of preaching by offering a manual on exposition that highlights the purpose of the sermon as the critical bridge between text and sermon. The method has been taught successfully to tens of thousands of pastors internationally.