A lot of people I respect are talking highly of the book Saving Eutychus, written by Gary Miller and Phil Campbell. Here, for example, is Don Carson’s glowing recommendation:

I have read books on how to make sure your sermon is interesting, and I have read books on how to make sure your sermon is faithful to the text, but this book wants your sermon to be both. If I could, I would make this little book mandatory reading for seminarians everywhere, and then urge them to read it a couple more times during the course of their ministry. It avoids cutesy and manipulative suggestions, and makes its practical points while urging integrity, faithfulness, and imagination. Many books on preaching are published every year; this one is a “must.” (D.A.Carson)

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Some voices from the past warn us about “over-polishing” our sermons. Plainness, men!

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Mitch Chase shares 14 lessons he has learned from 14 years of preaching (pt 1, pt 2) . I found his reflections helpful. His 14 lessons are:

1. Listen to Great Preaching
2. Be Receptive to Feedback from Trusted People
3. Learn, Read About, and Grow in the Craft
4. Pray for Yourself, Sermon, and Hearers
5. Don’t Fret Over Fancy Outlines
6. Preach Tough Texts
7. Preach Controversial Texts
8. Preach from the Old Testament
9. Don’t Cling to a Certain Genre of Passages
10. Don’t Preach Everything You Learned about the Passage
11. At Least for Yourself, Summarize Your Sermon in a Simple Sentence
12. Rehearse Illustrations Before the Sermon
13. Sit Under Your Own Preaching
14. Get to the Gospel

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A post on a subject not often addressed, yet of great relevance to pastors:  Pastoring the Idle.