Keller on Preaching

Here are the various distillations of Tim Keller's series on preaching called Preaching to the Heart.

Most familiar with Keller on this topic will think of the 6 part series he gave at Gordon-Conwell. GC only sells CD's, so if you are interested in listening to them, you'll have to wait for them to ship it (not to mention having to pay for it *gasp*). Luke Simmons, a church planter in the Phoenix area says they are so good they would be worth 10x the cost (currently $25). Another church planter, Pete Williamson, agrees that paying for them in a world of free messages is still worth it.

For those not willing to spend money, there is a shorter, two-message version available for free. If that littler series whets your appetite, then I've been told that all of these messages are based on the D.Min class, Preaching Christ in a Post-Modern World, that Keller taught with Edmund Clowney, over at Covenant. Here is the 189pg syllabus for the class

***Update***
It appears the syllabus is actually for a class Keller taught at RTS and not at Covenant. While I'm sure there will be much in over-lapping content, the syllabus may not match up with the lectures exactly..

***Update 2***
I found a source required by Keller on page 12 of the syllabus: Keller, Tim; "Preaching to the Secular Mind" The Journal of Biblical Counseling 14:1 (Fall 1995), 54-62.

Preaching Christ from the OT with D. Murray

Just found this resource -- Preaching Christ from the OT -- the first 6 lectures from David Murray's class on the same. He is a professor at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary. Here is a direct link to the audio in case the blog links go dead. His blog has lecture notes which seem to be rather useful.

Which books/lectures have you found useful in learning how to preach Christ from the OT?

Free(!) Certificate through Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary

My darling wife connected with an old friend over the weekend and she found out that her husband is currently working on his PhD in homiletics with Haddon Robinson as his supervisor. I know. We all have our crosses to bear.

After the greenish tint left my skin she told us that GCTS has an online certificate program, and you can access the classes and get the cert. for free. Of all the certificate programs I've seen - other than SBTS's programs - this is the most extensive. There are ten different classes with study guides and exams that should offer the student a good foundation for further study. It is a shame that they only offer the classes through streaming real audio, unless you want to purchase the mp3 CD through the school bookstore. Some of us with our little mp3 players like to take classes on the go.

While I'm on this topic, I'd like to talk for a minute about why it is important for the teacher - lay or not - to continue to learn and study God's word.

First, it should continue to breed humility in the teacher. Some may think it produces the opposite, but I have found that I am far more dogmatic and arrogant the less I know about something, and the more I learn, the more I realize my knowledge on it is very limited in deed. Of course there will always be the exception, prideful people struggle with pride, but teachers who also have a teachable heart should be continually confronted with the limit of their knowledge.

Second, Bryan Chapell's lectures on preaching have taught me that when we teach the word of God, we are saying God's words after him, through our own personality. This means, that everything that we are, what we've done, seen, experienced, is the wrapper or packaging for re-spoken words of God. The vilest man on earth may give an exegetically sound exposition of scripture, but none of us are going to pay him any heed because his life is in incongruence with his message. But I would argue this "wrapper" goes beyond just character. If you, as a teacher, model a humble, teachable spirit that is always trying to grow, do you think your people will see that? Do you think that will come through in how and what you teach? As you continue to dig deep and learn more and more about the word of God, do you think that will add a vibrance to your teaching?

Now, I don't think we all need to study ourselves into a PhD. God has called some men to be Sunday School Teachers and no more. And they should be honored to have the opportunity to study and teach the word of God, Sunday after Sunday, week after week. But, aside from their job, their wives, their kids, and their preperation, they should consider scratching aside a little bit of time, even an hour a week, to push themselves just a little further. At an hour a week it would take a man a little less than two years to earn the certificate through GCTS. I think it's worth it. I think their church is worth it. I think the men and women in their classes are worth it. Do you?

Ligonier Academy

The Ligonier Academy seems to be a great resource for pastors or laymen who would like to further their theological and biblical education but don't have the time or money to do so at a traditional institution (and who wants to be traditional, anyway?).

They offer three different levels of certificates, each one expanding on the last. The programs seem to be built around the "great books" paradigm where a student will read a book and then write a 500 word assessment afterward which will be graded by the Ligonier staff.

The intro Certificate assumes no former bible training and takes only 9-12 weeks to complete. Tuition is a paltry $99. The Adavanced Certificate looks to be similar to "M.div Lite." This program will run you $500 in tuition but that is for a directed study that lasts 2-3 years and encompasses 90 books and a research paper. This is pretty awesome.

Ligoniers is a credible ministry (started by R.C. Sproul) that gets the Gospel right. This looks like it would be a solid investment for your spiritual growth.