The kingdom of God is blaringly absent-minded as the overarching theme of evangelical preaching. Preaching textbooks, preaching classes, and, worse still, evangelical pulpits scarcely mention Scripture's primary subject matter, the kingdom of God fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Theology classes usually teach kingdom doctrine, but preaching classes rarely discuss it.

Preaching textbooks are notorious for leaving out the kingdom of God 's human relationship to homiletics. Simply one book has been published on preaching the kingdom of God in the final fifty years (and information technology was not from an evangelical indicate of view)!1 The kingdom of God's nigh comprehensive treatment in a preaching book by an evangelical writer totals a whomping xv pages, and information technology was written 18 years ago!2 The time has come to recover the kingdom of God's importance in evangelical preaching.

The kingdom of God is the Bible's principal theme and is the focus of Jesus Christ's ministry. In recent years, biblical theology has recaptured the kingdom of God as the common thread running through the One-time and New Testaments. Throughout Scripture, God is progressively revealing to human being kind the nature and reality of His kingdom. In the Former Testament, God built a people who were to live under his dominion, and He promises to establish David's kingdom forever (two Sam. 7:16).

In the gospels of the New Testament, the kingdom of God was the dominant focus of Jesus' ministry. Jesus taught that the kingdom of God had come up in and through Him. Jesus' first public annunciation was "Repent, for the kingdom of God is about," (Matt. 4.19). Throughout His public ministry building, Jesus demonstrates how He is the Messiah, the "all-powerful ruler" who was to come and rescue His people and to sit on David's throne forever.

At the cross, King Jesus atoned for the sins of His people. Through His resurrection, Jesus demonstrated His power over decease and the dazzler and wonder of a life live before God. The residue of the New Attestation reveals how the church exists as a present 24-hour interval sign of the kingdom and how God'south kingdom will exist completely established at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Almost any biblical or theological survey affirms that the kingdom of God is the Bible's well-nigh centrally important idea, but many preachers do not proclaim it as their primary focus or ascendant theme. Of course, many would claim to preach the kingdom of God, but how many really practice? Some will remember that they preach the kingdom only considering they telephone call for decisions for Christ and strive to preach biblical letters. However, an enormous canyon exists between how one thinks he preaches the kingdom and how he really does.

Preachers should teach their listeners that they are to be a part of God's present, real, and active rule on this globe. Preachers should explicitly equip their listeners to see where and how their lives fit into the realm of God's kingdom rule. A preacher who deals with the x tensions presented here will foster a Kingdom vision for their lives. While every preacher strives to preach the kingdom, a preacher who negotiates between and examines these ten tensions will hopefully gain a better perspective from which to proclaim the kingdom of God.

The kingdom of God has been predominately proclaimed as an ideology. Throughout the early 20th Century, the kingdom of God was taught as an thought. Liberalism fabricated the kingdom a utopia brought about by social reforms and by fighting for social causes, while the person and work of Christ were minimized. In contemporary 21st Century, some theological undercurrents once once again bandage the kingdom of God equally a utopian ideology that masks the person and work of Jesus Christ. Mayhap not meaning to, they elevate the idea of the kingdom over the kingdom in a person. From such a perspective, the kingdom of God becomes an ideological idol that replaces Jesus Christ.

Preaching the kingdom must never be separated from the person of Jesus Christ. Preaching the kingdom must denote God'south reign through Christ. In other words, the kingdom of God now has a name and a face. Information technology is not an abstract idea; information technology is the person of Jesus Christ (he autobasileia – the kingdom in person).3 He has established His rule through His crucifixion and resurrection. Jesus calls all those who would follow Him to surrender their lives to His Kingly rule and to participate in His Kingdom by obeying His educational activity. Kingdom preaching that does not focus on the person of Christ creates a kingdom ideology, as mentioned above.

As Leslie Newbigin writes, "when the message of the kingdom is divorced from the Person of Jesus, information technology becomes a plan or an ideology, but not a gospel. In Pauline terms, the preaching of the Kingdom then becomes a preaching of the law."4 Preaching the kingdom must never be reduced to a law, a program, or an ideology. It must ever exist the good news of the kingdom that has come up in a person.

While preaching the kingdom must emphasize the person of Christ, people must also understand the concept of the kingdom in biblical revelation. Teaching people about the kingdom's progressive revelation in Scripture is vastly different than preaching the kingdom as an ideological utopia, program, or social cause. Preaching the kingdom should teach the ideas of the kingdom, how the Onetime Testament laid the foundation for the coming King, how the New Attestation proclaims the fulfilled Kingdom in Christ, and how the church before long lives as a sign of God's constructive and actual rule on earth.

However, preaching these framework concepts of the kingdom differs from proclaiming the kingdom as ideologically superior to the person of Christ. Whatever kingdom proclamation not pointing to the Lordship of Christ in this world is simply an ideological idol. Preaching in contemporary culture needs the context of the Bible's pedagogy on the kingdom to truly appreciate how the kingdom of God is fulfilled and established in the crucified, risen, and reigning Jesus Christ.

The second tension in preaching the kingdom is whether ane should focus on the pieces of the kingdom puzzle or the big picture. Preaching and teaching on the kingdom of God can be like putting together a puzzle for the congregation. Week in and week out, the preacher challenges them to alive their lives for Christ, but he probably does not provide them with a real framework for agreement the kingdom of God. In other words, much preaching does not teach a kingdom worldview.

Preaching typically provides people with only the pieces of a kingdom worldview. The total movie of the kingdom is usually missing. For instance, well-nigh sermons usually focus on a specific text. A sermon series might examine a cluster of texts all related to a specific topic. However, when the preacher moves on to the next sermon series or the next biblical volume, he never makes the necessary connection betwixt the various truths. As a result, the congregation is given a cluster of small puzzle pieces with fiddling or no thought of how to accommodate them or how to put them together in their minds and lives. Preachers leave their listeners to effigy out how all these disconnected links interconnect and class a larger whole. In many means, this approach is like the folk proverb that says "yous can't run into the forest considering of the trees," for it leaves listeners without a proper view of the bigger picture show.

Preaching that encourages a kingdom worldview will provide the larger picture of the kingdom puzzle and show how all the pieces fit into information technology. Such preaching will proclaim the kingdom of God in Christ equally the main theme of the Bible and of all preaching. Big picture kingdom preaching likewise meets the needs of our listeners. Information technology helps them to meet and understand God's larger mission and purpose. Obviously, every sermon one preaches does not have to make a beeline to the kingdom. However, preaching the big picture of the kingdom gives hearers an thought of how to all the parts fit together and form a comprehensive whole. How else are they to empathize the large movie of the kingdom unless someone teaches it to them? (Rom. 10:14-xv).

Preaching should include the small pieces and provide the bigger flick of the kingdom puzzle. The majority of preaching will and should likely focus on equipping listeners with the pieces of the kingdom. Occasionally, nonetheless, preachers must pace back and encourage their congregation to wait at the bigger moving-picture show. Periodically, preaching the kingdom must cast the overarching vision of the kingdom to help listeners assimilate the various truths they hear proclaimed throughout one'due south preaching ministry building.

Calling for a determination is a vitally important part of kingdom preaching. When Jesus first announces the kingdom, he says, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is near" (Mark 1). He chosen upon those who heard his message to make a U-plow, to change their direction in life. He called for his disciples to come and follow Him (Matt. 4.19). He called for an immediate decision from them, and that is exactly how they responded. Preaching the kingdom must call for a decision from those who hear the message of Jesus Christ.

Much preaching, however, calls for decisions for Christ without people truly understanding what the kingdom of God is all about. Preachers usually call for decisions only on the basis of human sinfulness. Many sermons proclaim how sinful, how guilty, and how shameful nosotros are, and then they proclaim that Christ died to take away our sin, shame, and guilt. Then, the preacher will offering an invitation for anyone who wants to exist free from sin and who wants to go to Heaven when they dice. People will make decisions merely to escape the negative consequences of sin and will have no grander direction or purpose for their lives. Such preaching lacks a vision of the King who will make full every micronutrient of their torso and every nanosecond of their day with fullness of life and purpose.

Evangelical preaching needs to provide people with a vision of the kingdom. A vision of the kingdom will provide people with the proper context for agreement their decision for Christ. Preaching that encourages a kingdom vision helps people to know that Christ's call is to be a part of His kingdom and is non simply a momentary decision then that they can go to Heaven when they die. Such preaching will paint a picture of what God'southward rule in their lives looks like. When a vision of the kingdom has been proclaimed, people will better understand their determination to surrender their lives to Christ.

Visionary kingdom preaching will enliven people because they will see their lives as a role of God's larger work on earth. They volition empathize their purpose and encounter the need to be productive for God'south kingdom. Visionary kingdom preaching will assist people to recognize that every attribute of their lives – work, play, family, and relationships – can be a part of God'due south nowadays, real, and active rule in this world. Thus, evangelical preaching must concord together the need to cast a vision of the kingdom and the call for decisions so that the disciple's phone call is completely comprehended.

Preaching the kingdom of God must examine how it addresses the individual. In Western

culture, the primary focus is on the individual'south needs. Capitalistic culture thrives by convincing the private of his need for things and leads him to buy or consume them.

Much preaching, not void of its culture, besides focuses on the individual'due south needs. Such preaching tends to focus on felt or existent needs. In its purist course, information technology leads the individual from felt need to real demand. Traditional preaching attempts to accomplish this shift with a catchy introduction, a thorough explanation of the text, and a relevant application that is supposed to bring the text alive for the hearer. This manner of preaching overly focuses on the needs of the private. In this preaching style, sermons, fifty-fifty if they are expository, are really driven by the consumer needs of the individual.

The kingdom of God is overshadowed by preaching that focuses too much on the individual. The "individual needs" model structures the sermon's rhetoric solely to persuade the individual of his needs beingness meet by the gospel. When such preaching has convinced the private that his or her needs accept been met, only then will the preacher endeavour to teach them about the responsibilities of discipleship to the church building and to be a part of the kingdom.

This type of individualistically-styled preaching follows a logical, sequential process, focusing beginning on the individual, second on the church building, and third on the kingdom. As a result, this blazon of preaching produces self-focused Christians who need further persuasion if they are to truly unite in radical, brotherly, self-giving community and to participate in actively upbuilding God'southward kingdom.

Overly-emphasized individualistic preaching needs to recover the communal aspect of the kingdom of God and potentially to restructure its persuasive rhetoric. Emphasizing the communal aspect of the kingdom encourages listeners to realize that information technology is not all about them and their consumer needs. Preaching the communal aspects of the kingdom will help listeners to know that they as individuals tin be a function of something far bigger and far greater than themselves. Preaching the kingdom in this way would reverse the flow of persuasive rhetoric from a i, ii, iii (private, community, kingdom) progression to a 3, 2, 1 (kingdom, customs, private) movement. Such preaching emphasizes how God's kingdom is coming in this world (three), how the church (ii) exists to presently extend that kingdom at present, and how the private (iii) can apologize of his sin, enjoy a restored relationship with God, and piece of work to spread God'southward kingdom on globe. Such a shift in preaching's rhetoric would counter catering preaching that caters to the individual's needs and would properly recover the communal aspect of the kingdom of God.

Evangelical preaching specializes on proclaiming the intellectual side of the kingdom of God. It proclaims the kingdom of God as an object, as something that is outside the human existence. Intellectual kingdom preaching focuses primarily on informing the mind. It makes the kingdom something that one knows about — something residing outside of the human torso. The kingdom becomes something "out there" to study in an impersonal, removed, and abstract way.

While the intellectual aspect of the kingdom is needed, kingdom preaching must also emphasize 1'due south personal feel of the kingdom. Experiential kingdom preaching proclaims how the individual and the community can experience the present, bodily, and living dominion of God in this life at present. It calls for an ongoing, personal religion response of surrender to the rule of Christ. Experiential preaching makes the kingdom of God in Christ a relational reality; it becomes a person, a Savior, a King that 1 can relate to. By emphasizing personal relationship, kingdom preaching encourages inward intimacy and closeness, which are experiential by nature, with the King and His kingdom. The kingdom no longer remains solely "out at that place" for ane to know, merely it comes alive as a first hand experience of an "in here" reality.

Preaching the kingdom of God effectively requires a balance between both the intellectual and the experiential aspects of the kingdom. To emphasize the intellectual to the exclusion of the experiential is to make the kingdom of God an impersonal object or concept that merely grows mold inside one'south listen. To only proclaim the experiential side to the exclusion of the intellectual is to reduce the kingdom to subjective emotional experience and makes the kingdom a mystical fog that one must live in.

To residual both the intellectual and experiential is to make the kingdom of God both an actual reality that one knows about and a vital connection that one knows of. Preaching both aspects makes the kingdom realm a precious pearl that ane will seek after and an all-consuming presence that is vibrantly live within us. Preaching that does not emphasize both of these aspects fails to communicate holistically to listeners and simply proclaims a i-dimensional kingdom.

Expository preaching has many definitions. Some are very narrow, while others are broader. Some are very limiting, and others are more giving. The well-nigh widely accepted definition of expository preaching is past Haddon Robinson. His definition states: "Expository preaching is the communication of a biblical concept, derived from and transmitted through a historical, grammatical, and literary report of a passage in its context, which the Holy Spirit first applies to the personality and feel of the preacher, then through the preacher, applies to the hearers."v

Robinson's definition has many bang-up points. Information technology emphasizes deriving preaching's content from the biblical text, encourages thorough exegetical study, and focuses on personal application of truth before congregational application. While Robinson's definition of expository preaching is helpful, information technology represents a narrow view of exposition. A narrow view of exposition confines the preacher to structuring his sermon completely around one primary biblical concept derived typically from only one biblical passage. Narrow exposition takes on a tunnel-like focus on one passage and insists on laser-similar precision in dividing its truths before the people.

A broader definition of expository preaching allows for more flexibility in sermonic craft and structure, but nevertheless remains true to the convictions of an expositor.6 A broad definition concerns itself with faithfully representing the text(south) and does not necessarily confine the sermon to only one passage. For those taking a wide view of exposition, the preacher'south motivation and representation of the text(s) is what actually matters. Thus, a sermon is deemed expository based on the mode one treats or handles a passage or passages.

The wide view also allows for a variety of sermon models. Every bit Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix claim in Power in the Pulpit, diverse models of sermons – topical, textual, narrative, biographical, dramatic monologue, theological, and ethical sermons – are all valid expository preaching methods, equally long as each form is "subjected to the expositional process."7

1's view of what is or is not expository volition determine how he preaches the kingdom of God. If one has a narrow definition of exposition, he will likely preach one selected passage of Scripture each time. In preaching the kingdom, he might create a serial effectually selected passages, but each sermon will only explain the meaning of one main text (two or three might exist used on occasion). A person holding a broader definition of exposition, on the other mitt, has a myriad of approaches to choose from in preaching the kingdom. To teach the kingdom of God in Christ, he might do a topical series, a theological/doctrinal series, or an ethical series on the kingdom theme and utilize a variety of biblical texts and sermonic forms. He might preach a first person drama, teach a narrative, or incorporate various media forms to communicate the kingdom. Thus, with the broader definition, the preacher is non shackled to only ane text and has more than liberty and flexibility in proclaiming the kingdom.

Which view is right? Both views of expository preaching are right. Both definitions are faithful to the commitments of an expositor. Both tin can be and are proficient past faithful preachers who teach and atomic number 82 their hearers to know more of the kingdom of God in Christ. While 1 definition of expository preaching offers greater flexibility as to how the kingdom is preached, that fact does not brand it an inherently improve approach. The lesser line: one should preach the kingdom from whichever view of expository preaching that he believes most faithfully communicates to others the truths about God's kingdom.

Evangelical preaching, for the most part, follows a propositional preaching model. Most evangelical preaching textbooks teach students to follow a very linear, point-by-indicate sermon model as the vehicle for delivering truth.eight The propositional model encourages a thorough exegesis of the text to observe the central theme or the "big idea" of the passage. Then, the residue of the sermon is build deductively effectually that theme, post-obit the text point past point. The preacher is encouraged to find the main principles and the timeless truths of the text, to organize them in an orderly progression, and to then brand applications of those points at the cease. Virtually preaching texts teach this expository model and many preachers follow it.

These same preachers, however, would modify their preaching methods if they were preaching on the mission field. On the mission field, the preacher would likely assume that those in another culture exercise not share Western deductive logic. They might use chronological Bible storying as a means of communicating biblical truth in another culture, but for some reason, they shun the same practice in a Western context. The preacher assumes that Western culture follows logical, deductive argument, learns best this fashion, and will live out the sermon'due south preconceived applications. The propositional sermon, though having its strengths, assumes that most people live the majority of their lives deductively, when that may not be the example.

Biblical storying needs to be recovered every bit a valid means of pedagogy others nearly the kingdom of God. While the preacher may assume that Western culture follows logical, literate processes of learning, the fact is that 75% of Americans are functionally illiterate or semi-literate.nine Functional illiteracy means that people might accept the ability to read, just it ways very little in their day in, day out living; they choose or prefer not to employ information technology. In other words, though nearly of the United States has the ability to read, to write, and to understand logical development, they have niggling use for it. They place far greater emphasis on events, stories, proverbs, relationships, feelings, emotions, and experiences. Thus, preachers must consider recovering the vastly important fine art of storying, for storying more finer connects biblical truth with the hearts and minds of functionally oral learners.

Both biblical storying and propositional preaching are needed to teach others well-nigh the kingdom of God in Christ. Non simply tin can both forms be effective models of communication, only they are both biblical. In the Bible, Jesus tells parables and stories about the kingdom. Jesus compares the kingdom to a mustard seed, to yeast that works through dough, among many other teaching stories. Nevertheless, in Paul's preaching, he uses straight propositional argument. In the Bible, both methods are used to communicate truth to dissimilar audiences, and in gimmicky culture, preachers should be prepared to use both to successfully communicate the kingdom of God.

Much evangelical preaching encourages passive participation in the kingdom of God. Of course, the kingdom does accept a passive element to it. As one scholar notes, "the Kingdom of God will never be fully realized autonomously from the personal, glorious, victorious Coming of Christ. Men cannot build the Kingdom of God; Christ volition bring it."10 Evangelical preaching definitely captures this "non nonetheless" reality of the kingdom, but maybe too much so. Evangelical preaching's over-emphasis of the "not yet" reality of the kingdom creates a passive disposition in its members. People who hear such preaching focus primarily on the life that is to come when Christ brings the kingdom. As a outcome, the kingdom is but a forward looking promise in the future, is totally disconnected from nowadays life, and creates passive participants who are merely passing fourth dimension until eternity when God'south kingdom will come up.

Preaching the kingdom must patently refer to the kingdom that is yet to come, simply information technology must likewise emphasize that the kingdom is soon at hand in and through Christ. Christ's kingdom impacts every area of living and is meant for life correct now. It is far more than just an insurance policy with God where one goes to heaven when he dies. The kingdom is currently inbreaking into the present earth through Jesus Christ. As George Eldon Ladd writes, "The deliverance comes from the power of The Historic period to Come which has reached back and projected itself in the person of Christ into the present evil Age and then that we, by the power of The Age to Come, may exist delivered from this present evil Age."xi

Thus, followers of Christ, who become like Him in His decease, somehow attain to the kingdom life by experiencing the power of the resurrection that is brilliantly alive in them. Equally a result, the kingdom has meaning in the present and calls people to agile participation. Preaching that emphasizes God's present rule volition encourage believers to exist agile bearers of that rule, for God's kingdom is soon at hand.

Evangelical preaching must balance the "already" but "not yet" dimensions of God's kingdom. Without the "not still" attribute, i has no hopeful expectation of God's total kingdom being revealed at the end of time. Without the "already" dimension of the kingdom, nowadays life has little to no pregnant. Preaching that proclaims both aspects will encourage active participation from those who accept already entered the kingdom of God through new nascence and will gear up them to enter God's eternal Kingdom in celebrity when Christ comes dorsum to terminate the practiced work He has already begun.

Without hesitation, the church must exist affirmed as a "sign of the kingdom."12 The church lives equally a community nether the rule of God and demonstrates to the world His effective will being done. Believers, as part of the church, showroom an allegiance and citizenship to a governing King from another world. As a result, they are to be holy, set apart from the world. Kingdom preaching must declare and help the church to realize its set-apartness. It must encourage the church toward living the holy nature of kingdom. Kingdom preaching that encourages such sacredness will further the church's identity every bit God'due south redemptive community in the world today.

While preaching must always uphold the sacred nature of the kingdom, it must also teach how the kingdom of God infiltrates the secular world (secular as used here refers to life exterior the church customs and as office of the larger culture, i.eastward piece of work, social activities, etc.). Different preachers, the vast majority of our congregations live in the "secular" world. Preaching that only proclaims the sacred nature of the kingdom never teaches congregants how to actually live exterior the church building walls. Such preaching creates an unhealthy divide that separates and compartmentalizes church life from the rest of 1's feel and never equips him or her to live in his or her "real" globe. Such "sacred" kingdom preaching never helps the listener see how his daily work, activities, chores, relationships, attitudes, thoughts, and time can be/are a part of God'due south kingdom. The listener is left to figure out how to live in the earth all on his or her own, which usually results in a syncretized hodgepodge of mixed upward values, beliefs, and practices.

I who preaches the kingdom of God has the responsibleness of helping listeners to sympathise how the "sacred" and the "secular" fit together. Preaching must teach people how to balance betwixt being prepare apart from the world simply yet living in it. The preacher must teach the listener how to integrate all of 1's life into a comprehensive whole nether God'south rule. He must pause down the wall that divides the sacred and the secular in the listener's mind. The preacher must teach his hearers how to embody the kingdom in every aspect of life and leave no area untouched. Such kingdom preaching will encourage hearers to live holistic kingdom lives.

Preaching a missional orientation teaches i that the spread of God'southward kingdom is part of the missio Dei and that missions are a part of fulfilling God'due south plan. In applied words, missional preaching stresses that at that place is something for everyone to do in the kingdom of God. While the term "missional" is a gimmicky buzzword and much could be said nigh it, being missional simply ways that all of the church'due south activities are focused on fulfilling God's purpose and mission in the earth. Preaching missionally, in its purist course, calls people into God's service now, for them to be on mission and fulfilling God's purposes wherever they are. It reminds one that what he or she does for the kingdom matters.

Preaching the kingdom existentially teaches that belonging to God'south kingdom changes the essence and nature of those who are a role of it. Such preaching reminds ane that he or she is to exist the kingdom. Existential kingdom preaching helps one to realize that he or she is the flesh and bones of the Christ's kingdom today. Preaching the kingdom existentially focuses the listeners on who they are in Christ and on what type of person that they are becoming. It emphasizes the transformed character of those indwelt by the Holy Spirit and of those who have entered into the kingdom of God. Existential preaching of the kingdom encourages one to showroom a Christ-like life as a result of his or her spiritual transformation.

Preaching the kingdom effectively needs both the missional and the existential focus. Preachers demand to proclaim the kingdom equally both something that we do and as something that we are to exist. Preaching should uphold both the mission and the essence of the kingdom. Preaching the kingdom both missionally and existentially clearly portrays the kingdom as a reality that tin can transform the world, but primarily as a transformative influence that begins with i's ain life.

For far too long, the kingdom of God has been missing from preaching. Even though the subject has been missing in preaching discussions, evangelical preaching has proclaimed faithfully proclaimed sure kingdom aspects while neglecting others. It is fourth dimension to recover the kingdom of God as the centrally important theme in evangelical preaching and to encourage balance in how we proclaim it.

________________

Ryan Baltrip is the Senior Pastor of Little Flat Creek Baptist Church in Corryton, TN.

________________

Bibliography.

Books.
Buttrick, David. Preaching the New and the Now. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998.
Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon. G Rapids:Baker: 1994.
Goldsworthy, Graeme. Preaching the Whole Bible every bit Christian Scripture: The Awarding of Biblical Theology to Expository Preaching. K Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.
Greidanus, Sidney. The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature. Yard Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.
Kirsch, Irwin S., Ann Jungeblut, Lynn Jenkins, and Andrew Kolstad, A First Look at the Findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey, third edition (Washington: U.S. Department of Teaching, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 2000.
Ladd, George Eldon. The Gospel of the Kingdom. Reprint. K Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Newbigin, Leslie. Sign of the Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980.
Origen. Commentary on Matthew. In Dues-Nicene Fathers. New York: Scribner'due south, 1926.
Robinson, Haddon. Biblical Preaching: The Development and Commitment of Expository Messages. Grand Rapids: Bakery, 2001.
Vines, Jerry and Jim Shaddix. Ability in the Pulpit: How to Set and Deliver Expository Sermons. Chicago: Moody, 1999.
Willard, Dallas. Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Human relationship with God. Downers Grove: Intervarsity, 1999.
______. The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1997.
______. Renovation of the Heart: Putting on the Character of Christ. Colorado Springs, Navpress, 2002.
York, Hershael West. and Bert Decker. Preaching with Bold Assurance: A Solid and Enduring Approach to Engaging Exposition. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2003.

Articles.
Lovejoy, Grant, et al., "Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 54-'Making Disciples of Oral Learners," presented to Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization on Sept. 29 to October. five, 2004 in Pattaya, Thailand.

________________

Notes.
1. David Buttrick, Preaching the New and the At present (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998).
2. Sidney Greidanus, The Modern Preacher and the Ancient Text: Interpreting and Preaching Biblical Literature (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988) contains 15 scattered pages throughout the book on the kingdom of God. Still, the most comprehensive treatment is a x page section in Bryan Chapell'southward Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon (Yard Rapids: Baker, 1994), 289-298. Graeme Goldsworthy, Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture (G Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), 87-89, also contains a brief explicit mention of the kingdom of God's relation to preaching.
3. Origen, "Commentary on Matthew," Dues-Nicene Fathers (New York: Scribner's: 1926), 498.
4. Leslie Newbigin, Sign of the Kingdom (One thousand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), eighteen-19.
5. Haddon Robinson, Biblical Preaching (K Rapids: Bakery, 2001), 21.
6. Hershael York, Preaching with Bold Balls (Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 2004), 18-31.
7. Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit (Chicago: Moody, 1999), 29-xxx.
8. Robinson, Biblical Preaching, Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching, and Vines and Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit are just a few examples the propositional model in evangelical preaching.
9. Lovejoy, Grant, et al., "Lausanne Occasional Paper No. 54-'Making Disciples of Oral Learners," presented to Lausanne Committee for Earth Evangelization on Sept. 29 to Oct. five, 2004 in Pattaya, Thailand, 11-13, 18-22, presents the most comprehensive study on orality in the world, just Irwin S. Kirsch, Ann Jungeblut, Lynn Jenkins, and Andrew Kolstad, A Outset Look at the Findings of the National Adult Literacy Survey, tertiary edition (Washington: U.South. Department of Education, Function of Educational Research and Improvement, 2000), provides more than specific orality information for the Us.
10. George Eldon Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, reprint (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995), 39.
11. Ladd, The Gospel of the Kingdom, 41.
12. Leslie Newbigin, Sign of the Kingdom (M Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980), forty.