Thoughts on Preaching

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1. 

   Marc Daniel Rivera (KristiyaKnow) – 18 September 2026

   I kept thinking about Charles Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students while reading James W. Alexander’s Thoughts on Preaching & Letters to Young Ministers from Banner of Truth. Not because the two books are identical—they aren’t—but because I had that same feeling of listening to someone who has spent years in the pulpit and classroom and is now turning around to tell younger ministers, “Here are some things I wish you would understand before you go any further.” And that’s probably what I enjoyed most about this book.

   Alexander doesn’t write like someone trying to impress young preachers with his knowledge of homiletics. He writes like someone who genuinely cares about what happens to them once they begin preaching week after week.

   The book itself is an unusual collection. Much of it comes from Alexander’s private journals, where he jotted down thoughts about preaching, sermon preparation, Scripture, study, spiritual life, and the minister’s calling. There are also articles and letters written for young ministers. Because of that, this isn’t a neatly packaged “seven steps to better preaching” kind of book. You get short observations, longer reflections, practical advice, theological thoughts, and occasional comments that make you stop and think before turning the page. I actually like that.

   Some of the best material is remarkably simple. Alexander talks about avoiding abstractions, being careful with diction, writing sermons, revising sermons, using Scripture properly, developing thoughts, making applications, and preparing for extemporaneous preaching. These are things every preacher has to wrestle with. But he doesn’t leave them at the level of technique.

   Again and again, he brings the preacher back to the question of what is happening inside the man who is preaching. That becomes especially clear in his emphasis on earnest preaching. Alexander seems deeply suspicious of preaching that has become merely formal. A sermon can be carefully constructed, rhetorically polished, and technically impressive while still lacking the thing that makes preaching living. For him, the preacher must actually believe, feel, and personally engage with the truths he is proclaiming.
   It’s possible to spend so much time preparing what you’re going to say that you forget to ask whether the Word you’re preparing to preach is doing anything in you.

   Alexander’s thoughts on Scripture are another major strength. He keeps returning to the Bible as the preacher’s essential preparation. Not simply collecting verses to support an argument, but knowing Scripture so thoroughly that it shapes the way the preacher thinks. His discussions of Bible study, familiarity with Scripture, textual knowledge, and preaching from great biblical themes all point in the same direction: the pulpit should be fed by the Word of God. That sounds obvious, but every preacher knows how easy it is to drift.

   There are also some wonderfully practical observations about sermon writing. Alexander discusses everything from free writing and composing thoughts to revising old sermons and avoiding repetition. I particularly appreciated the emphasis on thinking for yourself. He isn’t against reading good authors—in fact, he recommends reading widely—but he doesn’t want the preacher to become a collection of other people’s ideas.

   Reead my full review on https://kristiyaknow.wordpress.com/2026/09/18/book-review-thoughts-on-preaching/.