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Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching | 
 enlarge | Authors: R. 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, John Macarthur
Publisher: Reformation Trust Publishing
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
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Rating:  5 reviews
Sales Rank: 247347
Media: Hardcover
Edition: Second edition (revised, expanded)
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 156
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 1567691072
EAN: 9781567691078
ASIN: 1567691072
Publication Date: October 24, 2008
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Product Description
Is Biblical Preaching Doomed to Extinction?
In the Old Testament, God decried the fact that His people were perishing for lack of knowledge about Him. The same seems to be occurring today. There is sharing, suggesting, plenty of storytelling, and lots of preaching to felt needs in modern pulpits. But the authoritative, expositional opening of the Word of God is becoming scarcer all the time.
Jesus told Peter, Feed my sheep (John 21:17). Such is the mission for all Christ's shepherds. But when preaching is neglected, those who have been called to feed the sheep do little more than pet them.
In this book, eleven pastors and scholars issue a fervent plea for preachers to preach the Word. Here is encouragement for pastors to persevere in their calling and wisdom to guide congregations in holding their shepherds to the biblical standards.
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| Customer Reviews:
Excellent Reminder For Minister On How To Preach. January 2, 2009
Every minister should have a copy of this book close by when they prepare their sermons. Expository Preaching is what you are called to do. Teach and preach not become an expert at delivering a 20 minute sermon illustration.
Wonderful Concise Treatise for Today's Pulpit Ministry December 31, 2008
While not exhaustive in its content, A Passionate Plea for Preaching provides an excellent introduction to 11 important aspects of preaching. Being that the book is quite short, it would make an excellent gift for a congregant to give to his pastor in any evangelical tradition. In an age where many pastors are neglecting pulpit ministry and deferring to other forms of communication, this book provides a sober reminder of the primacy of preaching. It is not very detailed, and as such may not provide much for the pastor who is already convinced of and practicing regular exposition of the Scriptures; however I do not believe that this population is this book's target audience. (Though the chapters by Beeke, Ferguson and Piper are challenging to all, and worth the price of the book alone).
Though all of the authors are Reformed, this is not a matter of contention in this book, so it would make a wonderful gift for the more broad evangelical pastor who does not normally have a lot of time to read. It is my prayer that this book might be used to open up the eyes of many such pastors to return to the imperative to preach the Word.
 Preach The Word December 11, 2008
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.
Book Review: Feed My Sheep - A Passionate Plea for Preaching November 30, 2008
-Introduction-
Feed My Sheep - A Passionate Plea for Preaching was originally published by Soli Deo Gloria Publications, however since that publishing house became a part of Ligonier Ministries in 2004, and given this books high demand, the decision was made by Reformation Trust (Ligonier Ministries' publishing arm) to release a second edition in hardback. It is this second edition that is being reviewed.
Feed My Sheep has not only been compiled with the works of many esteemed preachers of our day, it also comes with endorsements that include Iain Murray, J. Ligon Duncan III and Don Whitney. This creates great expectation for any book, and I am confident that Feed My Sheep will not disappoint.
-Summary-
Feed My Sheep has to two intended audiences; preachers and lay people. It remains at an introductory level with the preface stating that their dual hope for this book is that it would "help enflame a new generation of preachers to preach the Word and will educate a new generation of believers in the pew to understand what they ought to expect from the pulpit each Lord's Day." (p. xi) They have set out to achieve this through dedicating eleven chapters to eleven different topics closely related to expository preaching. Each chapter has been contributed by a different author, most of whom are pastors themselves and therefore qualified -at least practically speaking- to address the issue at hand.
1. THE PRIMACY OF PREACHING by R. Albert Mohler Jr.
2. THE FOOLISHNESS OF PREACHING by James Montgomery Boice
3. EXPOSITORY PREACHING by Derek W. H. Thomas
4. EXPERIENTIAL PREACHING by Joel R. Beeke
5. THE TEACHING PREACHER by R. C. Sproul
6. PREACHING TO THE MIND by R. C. Sproul Jr.
7. PREACHING TO THE HEART by Sinclair B. Ferguson
8. PREACHING WITH AUTHORITY by Don Kistler
9. EVANGELISTIC PREACHING by Eric J. Alexander
10. PREACHING TO SUFFERING PEOPLE by John Piper
11. A REMINDER TO SHEPHERDS by John MacArthur
In very broad terms the call throughout Feed My Sheep is for the modern church to return to Paul's admonition to boldly and reverently "preach the word" (2 Timothy 4:2). Apart from obedience to Scripture's command, why is this important? The preaching of the Word of God is a means of grace, and Boice states that it is by this "that God moves in the hearts and lives of people to turn them from sin to Jesus Christ" (p.22). This, along with the fact that it edifies God's people and brings glory to God is continually brought to the reader's attention.
Feed My Sheep begins purposefully with R. Albert Mohler Jr. establishing the primacy of preaching, affirming Martin Luther's position that "the preaching of the Word is the first essential mark of the church" (p.1). Further, not only is the preacher to proclaim the Word of God, as R. C. Sproul expands on the role of the preacher as a teacher, he challenges congregations by stating that their cry should be, "Feed us the Word of God" (p.74). Concluding the many passionate exhortations to preachers is a humbling reminder by John MacArthur. The essence of his final chapter is that preachers are not to think highly of themselves, but highly of God's Word; "It's not about you; it's not your personality; it's the Word of God" (p.154)
-Critique-
Of the preachers who read Feed My Sheep, they will fall into one of two groups; preachers who are already committed to expository preaching, and those who are alien to this method of opening God's Word to His people. Therefore the structure of this book is its greatest strength as it enables both of these groups to benefit from its pages. Those who are already committed to expository preaching will find something to challenge their current preaching mode given the varying emphasis of each author, and those who are being called to expository preaching for the first time will be provided with tremendous examples of what God glorifying preaching should be.
The lay reader will gain an insight into the high calling of a preacher, and it should help correct the focus of some on the Lord's Day from music or drama, back to God's ordained means of grace, the preaching of God's Word.
-Conclusion-
Feed My Sheep has stood the test of time and now has seen its second edition. The plea is clear; return to preaching the Word of God. With the support and contributions from many of today's most esteemed preachers, and their individual commitment to the primacy of the Word, Feed My Sheep will continue to exhort, encourage, challenge and provide godly examples for preachers and lay people alike. I highly recommend this book and pray that by God's grace the publisher's hopes for this book continue to be realised, as God will be glorified and the face of evangelicalism will change as pulpits proclaim God's eternal truth each Lord's Day.
Expositors Par Excellence September 28, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
'Preaching is important as a means of grace not merely because it is used of God to bring about conversions, but also because it is used for our sanctification, that is, our growth in holiness.' James Boice, pg 43
In this volume, some of the most sound preachers of our day explain and defend why they continue to be expository and true to the biblical text, as opposed to post-modernists, textual-critics, hyper-pneumatologists, and just about every other Enlightenment deviation. It also underscores the need for sound seminary education.
'It is wrong for a man to impose his system violently upon any particular text; but at the same time it is vital that his interpretation of any particular text should be checked and controlled by this system, this body of doctrine and of truth which is found in the Bible.' Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Preachers and Preaching, pg 66-67
But Derek Thomas warns against perfectionism, 'Its (the sermon's) research has even created a Gnostic view that only the few - those endowed by a special wisdom and insight - can possibly be trusted to understand what the Bible says. The sermon fails to underline the Reformational emphasis on the perspicuity of Scripture: 'that not only the learned, but the unlearned, in a due use of the ordinary means, may attain a sufficient understanding of them.' A Reformed sacerdotalism has emerged, with the preacher squarely resident between the Bible and the listener.' pg 83
'The systematic preaching of the Word is impossible without the systematic studying of it.'
John Stott, The Preacher's Portrait, pg 30
'Fragmentary preaching, however brilliant, will never do this.'
RL Dabney, Lectures On Sacred Rhetoric, pg 81
The text as primary object, and not the preacher, is once again brought to bear and made to be understood as the fundamental difference to bringing glory to our triune God.
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