Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching Hardcover – November 2, 2008

This book includes contributions from an all-star cast of pastors and scholars. Each chapter is written by a different theologian. The contributors include Albert Mohler Jr., James Montgomery Boice, Derek W. H. Thomas, Joel R. Beeke, R. C. Sproul, R. C. Sproul Jr., Sinclair B. Ferguson, Don Kistler, Eric J. Alexander, John Piper, and John MacArthur.The book calls pastors to preach God's word in their churches. This sounds simple, but the truth is many preachers spend much time in the pulpit entertaining their congregations. The authors call modern pastors to preach God's Word and to hold nothing back. Pastors are called to deliver God's message of salvation unflinchingly and to refrain from fads, styles and popular topics.If pastors are not causing their hearers to squirm they are not focusing on the gospel. God's Word is offensive to sinners and they should be convicted when hearing it. Gospel messages that make us feel good about our sinful state and help us learn how to fit Christ into our busy lives are not Christ centered, but man centered.Rarely do you hear a church described, first and foremost, by the character, power, and content of its preaching. This is because few preachers today are true servants of the Word. The authors tell us the gospel is the most transformative, the most powerful, and the most explosive message there is. If pastors have a problem finding something to preach, then they are not preaching the gospel.Preachers that pander to the sinner and avoid preaching the convicting truth of the Bible are not honoring our Father in their ministry. Jesus called pastors to fulltime ministry to shake listeners from their man-centered life and into a life dedicated to him. This radical transformation cannot take place if we are not challenged from the pulpit.From top to bottom these authors live their advice for pastors to teach the truth, uncomfortable or not. This book is a solid reminder of all preachers, but it is also a call to all congregants to insist on preaching in their churches that is substantive, Bible centered and God honoring.

Feed My Sheep, A Passionate Plea for Preaching is a terrific book for pastors and those that regularly fill the pulpit. Chapters address issues such as the primacy of preaching as a function of the church and the church services, the "foolishness" of preaching as explained by the Apostle Paul, preaching from experience, preaching to the mind, preaching to the heart, with authority, evangelistically and to people who suffer. It is a well-rounded study on the mission of pastors to teach the Word.Many of the names of those who author the various chapters will be recognized by the reader. Some of the most well-known are the late Dr. James Montgomery Boice, Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr., Dr. John Piper, Dr. John MacArthur, and Dr. R.C. Sproul. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It can be read quickly over a period of hours or days or in segments. However it is consumed, it will have the same impact. Each chapter is full of great advice on how and why preachers do what they do and how it has the power it does. Dr. MacArthur ends the book with a reminder to pastors that we are but jars of clay, ordinary vessels, carrying the extraordinary treasure of God so that the "surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves (2 Cor. 4:7)."I read this on the kindle and loved it.[...]

Feed My Sheep(A Passionate Plea for Expository Preaching) I'll be honest, I don't know who all of the contributors to this book are. Some of the names are unknown to me. I do know, however, that a book with John Piper, John MacArthur, Albert Mohler, and R.C. Sproul must have some merit to it. I especially sense that is so when I find that it is about passionate expository preaching. That being said, I did not find this to be the greatest book that I've ever read in terms of enjoyment, but (and that "but" is big) reading isn't all about enjoyment. I read to learn. I read to grow. I read to benefit from my reading. I believe that all of these have happened as a result of this book. You see, I am a preacher. I grew up and minister in circles where expository preaching is practically unknown. I discovered expository preaching almost accidentally. For you die-hards out there, I discovered it providentially :-) Then I read MacArthur's book on preaching and it radically redefined my ministry, because it confirmed and helped direct what I was already sensing. This book helps do that, too. Feed My Sheep is not a textbook on expository preaching. You will not necessarily learn how to preach an expository sermon from this book. It was not written for this purpose. The book does not seek to present an exhaustive overview and justification of expository preaching, though it does a great job of doing exactly that. The main goal of the book is to present the duty of, and need for expository preaching. This book is written by men whose ministries are defined by the faithful preaching of God's Word. They don't necessarily call for us to preach verse by verse through the Scriptures. They do call for us to use the Word of God as the foundation and structure of our sermons. That is certainly needful, but they do not stop there. The contributors also call for us to preach so as to affect the lives and hearts of the hearers. They call us to preach with passion out of Scripture, as well as applying Scripture to our lives. In a day when much preaching is like cotton candy, this book calls for us to be milk, meat, and potatoes sort of preachers. We must not simply preach to the felt needs of the people. We should not let our preaching be defined by surveys. We must preach the Word of God, whether it is convenient or inconvenient. It is this sort of preaching alone that will truly minister to people and prepare them for life and eternity. This book has had such a good reception that it has been released again. My hope is that this book's message will resonate with so many people that it will become a classic.