John Stott 
Challenge of Preaching [PDF ebook] 

This book strongly challenges the notion that there is no place for preaching in the contemporary world. It sets out the theological case for preaching and then goes on to describe what constitutes good preaching. It does not focus on techniques to be used but on the nature of the task and the character of the one who preaches. The good preacher works to build a bridge between the listeners and the truth being proclaimed. To be able to do this, the preacher must study both the Scriptures and the today’s world. The book offers some suggestions on how to go about preparing a sermon and calls for preaching delivered with sincerity, earnestness, courage and humility. John Stott’s thoughtful and practical advice given at some length in I Believe in Preaching has here been abridged by eliminating quotations and examples that spoke more directly to readers in the UK and the US in the 1980s. Greg Scharf has retained the core of the original book but made it more accessible to contemporary readers.