On Preaching: Personal & Pastoral Insights for the Preparation & Practice of Preaching

by Jr. H. B. Charles

Publisher:

Moody Publishers

, 2014

Overview

If you are a pastor, you know the importance of preaching. You have spent time learning and refining the art of preaching because it is vital to the life of God's people—including the preacher. But you probably also find it challenging.

On Preaching is a masterful resource that will refresh your soul and revitalize your preaching ministry.

Drawing upon Scripture and years of preaching experience, H. B. Charles offers a practical resource for pastors, seminarians, church planters, and Bible teachers that is full of energy and wonderfully enjoyable. He gives tips like, "Avoid indecent exposure—get your wife's permission before using your family in the message" and "Illustrate! A good illustration is like a window on a house. It helps your listeners see in or out."

Written in a very clear and concise manner, this resource is formatted into 30 short chapters that can easily be read as a devotional. On Preaching will encourage seasoned preachers to dig deeper into the basics as they pause and reflect on the effectiveness of their ministry. It will also serve as a spring board for those who are just beginning a preaching ministry.

Key Features

• Gives practical tips for the sharing of the Word
• Contains 30 short chapters that can easily be read as a devotional
• Offers a practical resource for pastors, seminarians, church planters, and Bible teachers

Contents

Preparation for Preaching

• Preach the Word!
• Theological Training
• Finding Time to Study
• Developing a Sermon Calendar
• Sermon Preparation
• Why I Pray before I Preach
• What I Pray before I Preach

The Practice of Preaching

• Using Scripture in Preaching
• Selecting a Text to Preach
• Consecutive Exposition
• Becoming a Better Expositor
• Sermon Outlines
• Choosing Sermon Titles
• Sermon Introductions
• Sermon Transitions
• Sermon Illustrations
• Sermon Conclusions
• Writing Sermon Manuscripts
• Preaching without Notes

Points of Wisdom for Preaching

• Being Yourself in the Pulpit
• Developing Your Style of Preaching
• Pulpit Consistency
• Indecent Exposure in the Pulpit
• Pulpit Plagiarism
• Protecting Your Voice for Preaching
• Being a Guest Preacher
• Being an Associate Minister
• When You Lose Your Cutting Edge
• Do You Want to Be Somebody?
• The Bottom Line of Christian Ministry

Top Highlights

“In summary, your sermon process should consist of several practical steps: Think yourself empty. Read yourself full. Write yourself clear. And pray yourself hot. Then go to the pulpit and be yourself. But don’t preach yourself—preach Jesus to the glory of God!” (source)

“Ultimately, there are only two ways to preach—by exposition or by imposition. Either your preaching explains the God-intended meaning of the text or it sinfully imposes human speculation onto the text.” (source)

“The term Paul used in 2 Timothy 4:2, where he charges Timothy to preach the Word, was originally a political term, not a religious one. It referred to the function of a herald. If the king had a message to get out, he couldn’t just call a press conference and have all the news media publish or broadcast his remarks. He would dispatch his herald to deliver his message to his people. When the herald arrived at a city, he would cry out his message in a grave, formal, and authoritative voice. When he spoke, the people did well to listen and take heed. To ignore the herald’s message was to reject the king’s authority. And the herald would be careful to proclaim the king’s message with clarity and accuracy. To misrepresent the king’s message was just as dangerous as rejecting it.” (source)

“Bottom line: Milk a lot of cows. But churn your own butter.” (source)

“There are three kinds of preachers: the ones you can listen to, the ones you cannot listen to, and the ones you must listen to. I desire to be the kind of preacher that you must listen to. But that requires more than desire. It requires hard work. And the hard work never ends, if you take your preaching assignment seriously.” (source)

Praise for On Preaching

Pastor Charles has provided a tremendously practical guide to the entirety of preaching. Whether you have been preaching for 50 years or 5 weeks, you will find it helpful.

—George E. Hurtt, Pastor-Teacher, Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles

Timely. Practical. Insightful. Helpful. Refreshing. These are just a few ways I would describe H.B. Charles, Jr.'s new book, On Preaching. This book stands uniquely to offer tested wisdom from a voice of experience, integrity, and passion, through a man committed to communicating for God. Your seriousness about the ministry of preaching demands that you take in this book.

—Romell Williams, Jr., Senior Pastor, Lilydale Progressive Baptist Church of Chicago

In an age where the focus on the authority of Scripture and true life-changing expository preaching is deficient in pulpits across America, H.B. Charles, Jr. has used his almost thirty-year pulpit ministry to guide preachers away from the personality of the preacher to the process of effective preaching.

—Lance A. Mann Senior Pastor, St. Luke Baptist Church, Crocket, Texas

Uniquely gifted in the pulpit and with pen, my good friend and neighbor H.B. Charles gives us a practical yet profoundly gripping challenge to do the work of an expositor. Pastors everywhere need to read this book, and even more importantly, practice its content.

—Mac Brunson, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida

Product Details

• Title: On Preaching: Personal & Pastoral Insights for the Preparation & Practice of Preaching
• Author: Jr. H. B. Charles
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Print Publication Date: 2014
• Logos Release Date: 2014
• Pages: 160
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Subject: Preaching
• ISBNs: 9780802490988, 0802490980, 0802411916, 9780802411914
• Resource ID: LLS:9780802490988
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-05-20T08:15:15Z

About H. B. Charles, Jr.

H.B. CHARLES, JR. Is the Pastor-Teacher at the Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida, where he has served since the fall of 2008. He is primarily responsible for preaching-teaching, vision casting, and leadership development. Prior to coming to Shiloh, he led the Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church of Los Angeles for almost eighteen years. Succeeding his late father, he began his pastorate at Mt. Sinai at the age of seventeen.H.B. Charles regularly speaks at churches, conferences, and conventions around the country. He has contributed to several books and journals, and is the author of It Happens After Prayer. H.B. and his wife Crystal have three children: H.B. III, Natalie, and Hailey. Keep in touch with HB Charles at HBCharlesJr.com.