Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry

Scott M. Gibson, ed., Preaching Points: 55 Tips for Improving Your Pulpit Ministry (Bellingham: Washington, Lexham Press, 2016), 123 pages, ISBN 9781683592082.

No matter how many homiletic courses taken and sermons delivered, preachers are always looking to improve their sermons. Many times the pastor leaves the pulpit on Sunday and although many hours of prayer and study went into sermon preparation, he or she is not satisfied with the results.

One pastor commented, “We pray and study all week then when we stand behind the pulpit to proclaim God’s Holy Word we fumble and bumble.”

Although the minister’s library has many preaching titles they are always on the lookout for newly published books on the subject.

Preaching Points: 55 Tips For Improving Your Pulpit Ministry will be a welcome addition to a pastor’s already voluminous library.

This book contains nuggets of wonderful insights that will help the pastor in sermon preparation.

Preaching Points is written by professors of homiletics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and the Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching at the seminary.

The contributors are respected professors of preaching including, The late Haddon W. Robinson, Jeffrey D. Arthurs, Patricia M. Batten, Scott M. Gibson (editor), and Matthew D. Kim.

In the Introduction Professor Gibson states the main idea of the book. He writes, “Be Clear!” (p.1) And in the first tip, Professor Robinson says that the “Big Idea” is the dominant idea in your sermon. (p.3)

Regarding clarity, Gibson writes, “The preacher has the responsibility to be clear to his or her listeners. If there were to be an eleventh commandment given to preachers it probably would be “Be clear”! (p.1)

The late Dr. Howard Hendricks, who taught at Dallas Theological Seminary supports this point about being clear by saying, “A mist in the pulpit puts a fog in the pews.”[1]

Obviously, it is important to be clear, but what is the Big Idea?

Professor Robinson states the following:

We talk about the Big Idea at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. The Big Idea is the dominant idea in your sermon. It’s made up by asking two questions: First, what is the author talking about? And second, what is the author saying about what he is talking about? (p. 3)

In his book, Biblical Preaching, Robinson devotes an entire chapter to the Big Idea. Clearly, this is an important part of sermon preparation and it behooves the pastor to heed his advice.

The Preaching Points listed in the book will certainly help the preacher to stay on track and keep the attention of his or her listeners. Outstanding chapters of note are: Sermon preparation is twenty hours of prayer; Feed my lambs, not my giraffes; In our preaching, less is more; Praise your listeners before correcting them; and Strengthen yourself in the Lord.

A very important point is shared by Professor Kim. It is advice from Charles Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers. He writes “soak yourself in the text.” Too many times, in an effort to finish the sermon, the preacher rushes and neglects a homiletical bath. Kim argues that Spurgeon would say, “Meditate, ponder, and immerse ourselves in the Word of God” (p. 7).

Although the preacher may be very familiar with the text and may have preached from it many times before, they should still soak themselves in the text.

One pastor who knows the importance of soaking oneself in the text shared that he reads his text 100 times.

The book does not provide notes or a bibliography, however, the experience of these leading scholars make up for it. Several books on preaching have been written by the contributors to this book.

The material shared is invaluable for sermon preparation. They are a fountain of information to assist the pastor in fulfilling Paul’s exhortation to pastors to “Preach the Word.”

This book may not be mentioned on lists of the best books for preachers, however, it will benefit the preacher to purchase a copy. It is a very easy read and very well-written. Grab your highlighter, you will want to return here many times to be refreshed.

Reviewed by Larry Russi

 

Publisher’s page: https://lexhampress.com/product/153980/preaching-points-55-tips-for-improving-your-pulpit-ministry

 

Notes

[1] “A Fog in the Pews” Moreland First Baptist Church

Tags: biblical preaching, Charles Spurgeon, Haddon W. Robinson, homiletics, Howard Hendricks, improving, Jeffrey D. Arthurs, Matthew D. Kim, ministry, Patricia M. Batten, points, preaching, pulpit, Scott M. Gibson, sermon preparation, tips

Category: Ministry, Summer 2025