Here’s a review of Alec Motyer’s book Preaching?: Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching
I’m happy to give a very favorable review to Alec Motyer’s Preaching. For one, as a pastor in a local church with responsibilities to preach each week, I find that any encouragement I can get to refine this skill is helpful. On a deeper level, though, because of what I believe about God’s Word, preaching isn’t just a ho-hum, random activity for me. Each week, I want to communicate the message that God has for His people. It’s because these dual realities exist that I give a favorable review to Motyer’s work.
This book is readable; it’s accessible. The book doesn’t read like a heady expositional preaching textbook (which can be helpful, as well). The content is laid out in an engaging way. You almost anticipate what the next chapter should be and Motyer delivers the content that’s needed in light of the importance that goes with the work of preaching.
Another thing I loved was how each chapter is thoroughly Biblical. There are numerous illustrations from the Bible itself. It’s almost as if this book is a thrilling Biblical theology of expositional preaching at times. As God’s Word is held out to help the reader, connections are made to the act of preaching. It seems to me that this methodology allows the Holy Spirit to help teach us how to go about preaching through the Holy Spirit given gifts of this author. This makes this little book of preaching of great value to the preacher as it flows out of our Bible reading.
Finally, the book ends with that grand capstone: Christ. There’s a tension each preacher feels in wanting Christ to be seen and glorified yet realizing that each specific text might not explicitly call for a Gospel appeal. Motyer makes some helpful inroads for helping preachers navigate this tension.
So, for these reasons, I commend this work. It will be helpful for pastors seeking to honor God in the preaching event. It will assist lay leaders in understanding the importance of the preaching text. And, for all, it will help us marvel at the grace that’s give by our great God in communicating through the medium of His Word.