Some resources on preaching

Today I came across some resources on preaching that might be quite helpful; here are some lectures on “Preaching Today” from the Desiring God 1999 Conference for Pastors.  In particular, note the lectures on “Preaching Today: The (Almost) Forgotten Task” by none other than Dr. James Montgomery Boice.  Truly, these are not to be missed if you care about preaching.

Further, the May/June newsletter of 9Marks Ministries has some really good articles on the issue of expositional preaching.  As the newsletter states, they cover this issue quite thoroughly:

We call expositional preaching the first mark in a healthy
church because we believe if you get that right, the other
marks follow. You’ll hear this theme surface again and again
in this issue’s articles. Mike Gilbart-Smith leads the way by
comparing what he calls “authoritative” preaching to recent
proposals for “conversational” preaching. Ajith Fernando, Al
Mohler, Kevin Smith, and Derek Thomas offer their two cents
on that question. Mark Driscoll takes on the proposal for
narrative preaching, while former Trinity preaching prof Mike
Bullmore presents a defense for expositional preaching. And
postmodernism, the cause of so much hand-wringing these
days about what “should” happen the “pulpit,” is reconsidered
by “Carl Trueman.”

Yet expositional preaching does not qualify as faithful simply
because it exposes the biblical text; it must also demonstrate
how the text—rightly exposed—remains relevant to one’s
hearers today. That means wisely applying the sermon to our
hearers. Dee Reju thoughtfully asks why so many Christians
don’t look to the Scriptures for life and guidance. Israel Haas
exhorts younger preachers to consider the middle aged and
elderly, while Aaron Menikoff and Mark Dever exhort all
preachers to consider several categories of hearers.

The newsletter is well worth reading, to say the least.