The example of Martyn Lloyd-Jones is an inspiration to all preachers. This is particularly seen in the fact that many of his sermons are even now being published for the first time--nearly twenty years after his death. In Authentic Christianity: Studies in the Book of Acts, Volume I (Crossway), Lloyd-Jones provides a model of expository preaching in a pastoral approach.

Theology

Preachers should invest in worthy books with a serious theological engagement. Too many preachers spend their book budget on volumes related to specific issues, often without adequate theological foundation. The past year has seen the release of a large number of worthy volumes addressing theological issues.

D.A. Carson, one of the most prolific and admirable authors in the evangelical academy, has released Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Post-moderns (Zondervan). Carson has edited a work that will be of interest to any preacher seeking to understand the challenge of postmodernism. Carson's own major work on this subject, The Gagging of God (Zondervan) is must reading for the evangelical preacher. In Telling the Truth, Carson argues that "the evangelist must find ways into the values, heart, thought patterns--in short, the worldview, of those who are being evangelized but must not let that non-Christian worldview domesticate the biblical message. The evangelist must find bridges into the other's frame of reference, or no communication is possible; the evangelist will remain ghettoized. Nevertheless, faithful worldview evangelism under these circumstances will sooner or later find the evangelist trying to modify or destroy some of the alien world-view and to present another entire structure of thought and conduct that is unimaginably more glorious, coherent, consistent, and finally true." Pastors will gain key insights from reading The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God (Crossway), also by D.A. Carson. Carson provides a clearheaded biblical understanding of the biblical doctrine of the love of God.

R.C. Sproul has released The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped our World (Crossway Books). Sproul, well known for his writings on apologetics and doctrine, here addresses the makers of the modern mind and provides analysis from a Christian worldview perspective. The issue of postmodernism also stands behind the release of A Confessing Theology for Postmodern Times, edited by Michael S. Horton (Crossway). The volume grew out of a major consultation sponsored by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. Contributors to the volume include D.G. Hart, Richard Lints, Richard G. Gaffin, Jr., and Paul Zahl.

Books addressing critical theological issues include Body and Soul: Human Nature and the Crisis in Ethics (InterVarsity) by J.P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae. Moreland and Rae address the modern scientific reductionism that threatens our humanity. Terrance Tiessen deals with God's relationship to His creation in Providence and Prayer: How Does God Work in the World? (InterVarsity). Doug Groothuis also addresses contemporary philosophical challenges in Truth Decay: Defending Christianity Against the Challenges of Post-Modernism (InterVarsity).