| Title | : | A Legacy of Preaching: Two-Volume Set---Apostles to the Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method of History’s Great Preachers |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0310538793 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780310538790 |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 800 |
| Publication | : | Published December 11, 2018 |
Each chapter introduces readers to a key figure in the history of preaching, followed by an analysis of the theological views that shaped their preaching, their methodology of sermon preparation and delivery, and an appraisal of the significant contributions they have made to the history of preaching. This diverse collection of familiar and lesser-known individuals provides a detailed and fascinating look at what it has meant to communicate the gospel over the past two thousand years. By looking at how the gospel has been communicated over time and across different cultures, pastors, scholars, and homiletics students can enrich their own understanding and practice of preaching for application today.
Volume One covers the period from the apostles to the Puritans and profiles thirty preachers including:
Origen of Alexandria by Stephen O. Presley
John Chrysostom by Paul A. Hartog
Augustine of Hippo by Edward L. Smither
Gregory the Great by W. Brian Shelton
Bernard of Clairvaux by Elizabeth Hoare
Francis of Assisi by Timothy D. Holder
Saint Bonaventure by G. R. Evans
Meister Eckhart by Daniel Farca?
John Huss by Mark A. Howell
Martin Luther by Robert Kolb
John Calvin by Anthony N. S. Lane
Jonathan Edwards by Gerald R. McDermott
John Wesley by Michael Pasquarello III
George Whitefield by Bill Curtis and Timothy McKnight
and many more
Volume Two covers the period from the Enlightenment to the present day and profiles thirty-one preachers including:
Catherine Booth by Roger J. Green
Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Thomas J. Nettles
Henry Ward Beecher by Michael Duduit
John Albert Broadus by Hershael W. York
D. L. Moody by Gregg L. Quiggle
Billy Sunday by Kristopher K. Barnett
Karl Barth by William H. Willimon
Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Keith W. Clements
D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones by Carl Trueman
John Stott by Greg R. Scharf
Harry Emerson Fosdick by Dwayne Milioni
Aimee Semple McPherson by Aaron Friesen
Gardner C. Taylor by Alfonza W. Fulwood and Robert Smith Jr.
Billy Graham by John N. Akers
Martin Luther King Jr. by Alfonza W. Fulwood, Dennis R. McDonald, and Anil Sook Deo
J. I. Packer by Leland Ryken and Benjamin Hernández
and many more
A Legacy of Preaching: Two-Volume Set---Apostles to the Present Day: The Life, Theology, and Method of History’s Great Preachers Reviews
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Every preacher will want this set! Occasionally, a book about the history of preaching will come along and serve as a mighty motivating force for preachers. Dedication, zeal, power—all put on display in the lives of the best preachers of days gone by. It’s been at least 20 years since a book that blends biography and preaching counsel in a way that makes you want to grab a biblical text and get going has come along. This set, edited by Benjamin K. Forrest, Kevin L. King, Bill Curtis, and Dwayne Milioni, has filled that lacuna for our generation.
Improving on the works of previous decades, this book employs a winning design. First, specialists on the subject were secured to pen each entry. Second, each writer had to follow the same format: historical background (biography), theology of preaching, methodology for preaching, and contributions to preaching. There’s even a helpful bibliography for each entry. This format was particularly helpful. You got to know the preacher and his preaching. You could say that the approach maximized the impact you could glean from each one.
Volume One covered the Apostles to the Revivalists. You got to think of Paul and Peter as preachers before heading into some of the Church Fathers. Next, Medieval times were covered including Bernard of Clairvaux, John Huss, and Girolamo Savonarola. The Reformers including Luther, Tyndale, and Calvin as preachers were given a look next. Puritan greats Perkins, Baxter, Owen, Bunyan, and Henry were great selections in that group of preachers. Only four revivalists were covered including Edwards, Wesley, and Whitefield, but they were preaching giants.
Volume Two that covered the Enlightenment through modern times was even better. I love Nineteenth-Century British preaching and so was Part One here was my favorite in either volume. Alexander Maclaren and Charles Spurgeon are two of my favorite preaching heroes and real insights could be gained from their entries. I’ve read much on both of them, but I learned more here. The story of Gipsy Smith surprised me too.
Many more outstanding entries finished out the book. You might quibble over a few selections or omissions, (Where was G. Campbell Morgan?), but these volumes are pure gold. Mark them off as must-have books for the preacher! I’ll be consulting my set many times in the coming years I’m sure.
I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
