The Simplicity of Preaching: See, Savor, Say

The fundamentals of preaching are central to the life the church. Revisit them in this crucial guide for beginner and veteran preachers alike.

When a preacher stands in the pulpit or at the lectern, he aims to help God’s people understand what God has said and how it applies to their lives so that they grow in their knowledge of God and are equipped to live for his glory. It’s a job with eternal significance, so the process of getting to that point is crucial.

Jonathon Woodyard and Chase Sears encourage us to go back to the basics. Returning to the fundamentals of preaching from time to time, reminding ourselves of our basic undertaking, is a wise strategy for faithfulness and helpful to both veteran and novice.

Preaching flows from a man who has seen great things in the Bible, has savored what he has seen, and is eager to stand before God’s people to say what he saw. This is the pattern we follow in The Simplicity of Preaching.

The authors highlight some strategies you can employ to see what the text says; ways you can help yourself savor the glorious truths of the Bible; and good homiletical practices that inform how you can most effectively say things from the pulpit.

This short book is helpfully divided into five sections:

1.     What is Preaching and Why Do We Need It?

2.     The Role of the Spirit in Preparing to Preach

3.     Seeing: How We See Before We Say

4.     Savoring What We See

5.     How We Say What We Have Savored

P. Chase Sears is Senior Pastor of Tulip Grove Baptist Church in Nashville, Tennessee. He has over a decade of ministry experience in the local church and has taught New Testament & Exegesis at college and seminary level. He’s married to Sarah and they have five children.

Jonathon D. Woodyard currently serves as the Vice President for Student Life and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri. He and Gina have been married for twenty years and have two boys.