In February, about 100 Sovereign Grace pastors gathered in Gaithersburg for our Pastors College Preaching Conference. They heard from Jeff Purswell (dean of the Pastors College), Mike Bullmore (longtime homiletics professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and now senior pastor of CrossWay Community Church in Bristol, Wisconsin) and myself. As expected, the pastors left the conference with a list of recommended books on this most important topic.

But pastors can be easily overwhelmed when they hear someone recommend numerous books on a topic. It can be hard to know where to begin.

Over the last few years, rather than just recommending books, I’ve begun recommending specific chapters of books. I do this for a number of reasons. Obviously, it’s easier for a pastor to read a chapter than an entire book. Reading one excellent chapter can create an appetite for the entire book. And some books contain helpful chapters but are not worth reading in their entirety.

Rather than recommending a small library of books on preaching, today we are featuring the five favorite chapters from each of the three speakers at the conference. I think this list will serve pastors and create realistic and achievable reading assignments on the important topic of preaching. Consider creating a reading plan for the next month developed around these chapters.

So here are the top five recommended chapters on preaching from Jeff Purswell, Mike Bullmore, and myself.

Jeff Purswell’s recommended chapters

1. “Why Preach?” by J.I. Packer. The Introduction to The Preacher and Preaching (P&R, 1986).

2. “Theological Foundations for Preaching” by John Stott. Chapter 3 in Between Two Worlds (Eerdmans, 1982).

3. “Preaching Christ from the Old Testament” by Ligon Duncan. Chapter 2 in Preaching the Cross (Crossway, 2007).

4. “The Gravity and Gladness of Preaching” by John Piper. Chapter 4 in The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker, 1990).

5. “Paul’s Theology of Preaching” by Dennis E. Johnson. Chapter 3 of Him We Proclaim (P&R, 2007).

Mike Bullmore’s recommended chapters

1. “A Redemptive Approach to Preaching” by Bryan Chapell. Chapter 10 in Christ-Centered Preaching (Baker, 2005).

2. “The Preacher” by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Chapter 6 in Preaching and Preachers (Zondervan, 1971).

3. “The Goal of Preaching” by John Piper. Chapter 1 in The Supremacy of God in Preaching (Baker, 1990).

4. “The Blind Eye and Deaf Ear” by C.H. Spurgeon. Various chapters in editions of Lectures to my Students.

5. “The Minister’s Fainting Fits” by C.H. Spurgeon. Various chapters in editions of Lectures to my Students.

C.J. Mahaney’s recommended chapters

1. “Expository Preaching: Charles Simeon and Ourselves” by J.I. Packer. Chapter 9 in Preach the Word (Crossway: 2007)

2. “The Whole Man” by R.C. Sproul. Chapter 4 in The Preacher and Preaching (P&R, 1986).

3. “The Pattern of Illustrations” by Bryan Chapell. Chapter 7 in Christ-Centered Preaching (Baker, 2005).

4. “The Preparation of the Preacher” by Martyn Lloyd-Jones. Chapter 9 in Preaching and Preachers (Zondervan, 1971).

5. “Unction” by Tony Sargent. Chapter 3 in The Sacred Anointing: The Preaching of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Crossway, 1994).