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Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures
Challenging modern preachers to expound the Bible like Peter and Paul, Him We Proclaim makes the hermeneutical and historical case for a return to apostolic preaching―preaching that is Christ-centered, redemptive-historical, missiologically communicated, and grounded in grace. But moving beyond theory, Him We Proclaim provides examples of how this method applies to all Old and New Testament genres―history; law; psalm; prophecy; doctrine and exhortation.
512 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2007
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241 people want to read
About the author
Dennis E. Johnson
28 books16 followersDennis E. Johnson (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is professor of practical theology at Westminster Seminary California and associate pastor of New Life Presbyterian Church.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
March 7, 2022
Dennis Johnson sure did his work here - well documented and quite voluminous. For the most part the material in part 1 was interesting. However, part 2 I found to be dry and tedious. The whole work was highly theoretical.
Johnson advocates for the redemptive-historical approach to preaching and while I like it and think it's commendable, I still have lingering questions. For one, would not doing Biblical Theology in each sermon tend to crowd out the text at hand? (Losing-the-trees-for-the-forest kind of thing.) Also, would not filling each sermon with redemptive-historical context tend to make every week sound the same? I would've liked to have seen him tackle these questions a bit more squarely. But, fundamentally, I found his insistence that Scripture's full meaning doesn't begin to emerge until you reach the canonical level. The OT is really a NT book. A quite fascinating and compelling thought indeed!
Johnson advocates for the redemptive-historical approach to preaching and while I like it and think it's commendable, I still have lingering questions. For one, would not doing Biblical Theology in each sermon tend to crowd out the text at hand? (Losing-the-trees-for-the-forest kind of thing.) Also, would not filling each sermon with redemptive-historical context tend to make every week sound the same? I would've liked to have seen him tackle these questions a bit more squarely. But, fundamentally, I found his insistence that Scripture's full meaning doesn't begin to emerge until you reach the canonical level. The OT is really a NT book. A quite fascinating and compelling thought indeed!
April 10, 2018
This was an exceedingly helpful read! Johnson makes a brilliant case for what he calls “apostolic hermeneutics” which is the NT (and OT!) use of the OT. All of the events of history were ordained by a sovereign God who used historical events and people to prepare the world for the revelation of Jesus Christ. This redemptive-historical paradigm more than satisfactorily explains many “difficult texts” where modern interpreters struggle to see how NT authors use the OT (such as Matthew’s use of Hosea in Mt 2:15).
The apostles learned their hermeneutics from the OT prophets and from Christ Himself - and we should likewise follow their lead in knowing and preaching Christ from ALL the Scriptures. Johnson provides biblical guidelines and criteria for doing so.
Chapter 7 is worth the price of the book. Johnson identifies 5 “strata” of NT usage of the OT which is extremely helpful. He also traces the Apostolic hermeneutic back to its origins in the OT prophets use of the OT.
The book is replete with examples of how to implement apostolic hermeneutics into sermons, making the book very practical.
The apostles learned their hermeneutics from the OT prophets and from Christ Himself - and we should likewise follow their lead in knowing and preaching Christ from ALL the Scriptures. Johnson provides biblical guidelines and criteria for doing so.
Chapter 7 is worth the price of the book. Johnson identifies 5 “strata” of NT usage of the OT which is extremely helpful. He also traces the Apostolic hermeneutic back to its origins in the OT prophets use of the OT.
The book is replete with examples of how to implement apostolic hermeneutics into sermons, making the book very practical.
April 17, 2009
Any book which includes "Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures" in its title instantly grabs my attention. How Christ is revealed in the Old Testament, and how the Old Testament foreshadows New Covenant realities has been a theological interest of mine for some time. So when P & R Publishing agreed to let me review Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures, I was thrilled with the opportunity. I hadn't known of Dennis Johnson, but I did recognize Westminster Seminary California where he is Academic Dean and Professor of Practical Theology. So with P & R as publishers, and the Westminster connection, I trusted it would be a good book.
I was wrong. It was a phenomenally good book. In every way it exceeded my expectations. 500 pages is quite a bit of ground, and with that space Johnson covers an awful lot of territory. Even still, by the end of the book, I was eager for more.
The book is part hermeneutic manual, homiletic textbook, and preaching guide. It's a polemic for apostolic preaching (that which recognizes the Christological bent of all of Scripture) even as it is an explanation for how to be exegetically careful in handling Old Testament texts. As I said it covers a lot of ground.
The book is divided into two parts: first Johnson makes the case for apostolic, Christocentric preaching. He then he fleshes out the practice of that preaching. Johnson contends that:
Such preaching today is not all that common. Johnson traces the history of how the Church has interpreted, and preached the Scripture. Behind the preaching of today's "twenty-first century evangelicals", lies both "the Reformation's hermeneutic restraint and the Enlightenment's faith in scientific methodology as part of our almost invisible but virtually inevitable mental framework" (pg. 126-127).
As an antidote, the major portion of the book focuses on a positive treatment of how to preach Christologically. Johnson focuses on Hebrews as an example of an extended Apostolic sermon, and goes on to carefully model his approach to preaching in five or six passages from each testament. The exegesis is very sound, and only with great care does Johnson run from the OT text to Jesus. But he does run to Jesus, and he shows us how to find the Biblical path to Jesus from most any Scriptural text.
It is not only the Scriptural promises of the Messiah that point to Jesus, "What God said in the words of the prophets as they pointed Israel's faith toward the future in the imagery of the past and present, God had also said through his design of the events of the history of Adam, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs, Moses, Israel and David." (pg. 226) Johnson shows how not just from the Old to the New, but often from older revelation to newer revelation in the Old Testament itself, God makes use of foreshadowings and types. The prophets use the imagery of the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings as they pronounce judgment or promise future blessing for Israel. Johnson's emphasis on how the Old Testament uses the Old Testament is extremely helpful and not something I've encountered before in the whole discussion of the NT use of the OT.
With this background, Johnson can argue,
Such an approach, Johnson admits, "requires a more comprehensive hermeneutic perspective." He proceeds to provide just such a perspective. He argues that Christ's role as the Mediator, and his threefold offices, Prophet, Priest and King, provide overarching themes by which to find Christ in the Old Testament revelation. He shows how to preach the promises in the Old Testament, and how to then preach the Promise Keeper in how we handle the New Testament. Showing how the NT passages interpret and fill up the OT provides a unified view of God's redemptive work which truly ministers to the believing soul.
This work doesn't stop with theory and theology. Johnson provides numerous discussions of texts in the book, working through the passages step by step. After exegetical discussion, he provides simple outline with application points for the passage at hand. He then offers an appendix with two sample sermons that are more filled out. After reading all the sermon outlines, and seeing how the theory comes to life, one will certainly be impatient to try out this method of preaching for himself.
I can't think of another similar book that rivals Him We Proclaim. If you are looking for a book to help revolutionize your preaching, or something to challenge your perspective of the Old Testament, look no further. For anyone interested in theology or aiming for a better understanding of how all of Scripture fits together, this book will be exceedingly helpful. I'm proud to be able to recommend such a great resource as this.
I was wrong. It was a phenomenally good book. In every way it exceeded my expectations. 500 pages is quite a bit of ground, and with that space Johnson covers an awful lot of territory. Even still, by the end of the book, I was eager for more.
The book is part hermeneutic manual, homiletic textbook, and preaching guide. It's a polemic for apostolic preaching (that which recognizes the Christological bent of all of Scripture) even as it is an explanation for how to be exegetically careful in handling Old Testament texts. As I said it covers a lot of ground.
The book is divided into two parts: first Johnson makes the case for apostolic, Christocentric preaching. He then he fleshes out the practice of that preaching. Johnson contends that:
Christians need to be shown how to read each Scripture, first in the context of its original redemptive-historical epoch, and then in terms of the focal point and climactic "horizon" toward which the particulars of God's plan always pointed, namely Jesus the Messiah, who is the second and last Adam, seed of Abraham, true Israel, royal descendant of David, and obedient and suffering Servant of the Lord.(pg. 49)
Such preaching today is not all that common. Johnson traces the history of how the Church has interpreted, and preached the Scripture. Behind the preaching of today's "twenty-first century evangelicals", lies both "the Reformation's hermeneutic restraint and the Enlightenment's faith in scientific methodology as part of our almost invisible but virtually inevitable mental framework" (pg. 126-127).
As an antidote, the major portion of the book focuses on a positive treatment of how to preach Christologically. Johnson focuses on Hebrews as an example of an extended Apostolic sermon, and goes on to carefully model his approach to preaching in five or six passages from each testament. The exegesis is very sound, and only with great care does Johnson run from the OT text to Jesus. But he does run to Jesus, and he shows us how to find the Biblical path to Jesus from most any Scriptural text.
It is not only the Scriptural promises of the Messiah that point to Jesus, "What God said in the words of the prophets as they pointed Israel's faith toward the future in the imagery of the past and present, God had also said through his design of the events of the history of Adam, Noah, Abraham and the patriarchs, Moses, Israel and David." (pg. 226) Johnson shows how not just from the Old to the New, but often from older revelation to newer revelation in the Old Testament itself, God makes use of foreshadowings and types. The prophets use the imagery of the Exodus and the wilderness wanderings as they pronounce judgment or promise future blessing for Israel. Johnson's emphasis on how the Old Testament uses the Old Testament is extremely helpful and not something I've encountered before in the whole discussion of the NT use of the OT.
With this background, Johnson can argue,
Because of the occasional character of the New Testament, however, we should not conclude prematurely that Old Testament texts that are not explicitly interpreted typologically by a New Testament writer cannot be read in the context of Christ's climactic work as Lord and Servant of the covenant, and as prophet, priest and king. Rather, we must seek to relate particular texts to the broader structures and institutions that provide the framework for God's relation to his people throughout the history of redemption. (pg. 279)
Such an approach, Johnson admits, "requires a more comprehensive hermeneutic perspective." He proceeds to provide just such a perspective. He argues that Christ's role as the Mediator, and his threefold offices, Prophet, Priest and King, provide overarching themes by which to find Christ in the Old Testament revelation. He shows how to preach the promises in the Old Testament, and how to then preach the Promise Keeper in how we handle the New Testament. Showing how the NT passages interpret and fill up the OT provides a unified view of God's redemptive work which truly ministers to the believing soul.
This work doesn't stop with theory and theology. Johnson provides numerous discussions of texts in the book, working through the passages step by step. After exegetical discussion, he provides simple outline with application points for the passage at hand. He then offers an appendix with two sample sermons that are more filled out. After reading all the sermon outlines, and seeing how the theory comes to life, one will certainly be impatient to try out this method of preaching for himself.
I can't think of another similar book that rivals Him We Proclaim. If you are looking for a book to help revolutionize your preaching, or something to challenge your perspective of the Old Testament, look no further. For anyone interested in theology or aiming for a better understanding of how all of Scripture fits together, this book will be exceedingly helpful. I'm proud to be able to recommend such a great resource as this.
December 7, 2018
An excellent and comprehensive help for preaching, maybe even a one-stop-shop for students of Christ-centered preaching. The only parts I couldn't not be hesitant about were the bits of Klinean/republication theology coming through here and there.
Two personal highlights: the chapter on current priorities and polarities in preaching, especially the part where Johnson analyzes Keller and records some personal interactions with him (all the gold is in the footnotes), and the last two chapters of the book, where Johnson gives examples of applying what he preaches.
Two personal highlights: the chapter on current priorities and polarities in preaching, especially the part where Johnson analyzes Keller and records some personal interactions with him (all the gold is in the footnotes), and the last two chapters of the book, where Johnson gives examples of applying what he preaches.
April 2, 2009
This book is a treasure.... Johnson manages to accomplish his homiletical task while reaching well beyond homiletics and tackling important hermeneutical, exegetical, and biblical-theological questions that all inform the preaching moment. Perhaps most astonishingly is that in such a thick and academic treatise, Johnson manages to be profoundly practical as well, providing a clear path forward. Read it!
November 30, 2024
The first work of Johnson’s that I’ve gotten to read. Clear, insightful, and rooted in a deep Canonical reading of Scripture. The book was long and full, but very rewarding. I look forward to reading more of Dennis’ work.
January 31, 2024
Just outstanding, both theologically and practically. A must read!
April 11, 2012
Him we proclaim comes from Colossians 1:27-28. This book teaches the reader why and how to see and preach Christ from all of scripture. Reading this as one who is not a preacher I had slightly different motives than most who will probably read it, but I am glad that I did. This book would be helpful for pastors to read but it is not beyond those in the pew, and the content is definitely for those in the pews as well. If pastors are to preach Christ from all of scripture, we out to be hearing Christ preached week in and week out. This book will help you know if you are preaching Christ and if you are hearing Christ preached. The book has two main parts the first is defending the case for apostolic christocentric preaching and the second is showing the how it was done by the apostles and how it is done today. The book can get tough a bit for one like me who is a man in the pew, but is also rewarding getting a better idea of what I should look for in a sermon and appreciation for good sermons and the time it takes a preacher to prepare. Most of all this book helps you to see Christ in the whole story of the Bible and just how great a Savior He is.
Year: 2007
Publisher: P and R
Pages: 494
Binding: Glue
Boards: paperback
Scripture Index: Yes
Person Index: Yes
Subject Index: Yes
Bibliography: Yes
Recommended Reading List: Yes
Year: 2007
Publisher: P and R
Pages: 494
Binding: Glue
Boards: paperback
Scripture Index: Yes
Person Index: Yes
Subject Index: Yes
Bibliography: Yes
Recommended Reading List: Yes
December 18, 2012
Fantastic book on preaching Christ! I most appreciated Johnson's emphasis on taking our cues from Scripture: letting God define His terms, looking to the Word for both mandates and reasons/motivations, and finding our example in Scripture (most prominently in Jesus, of course). Also includes a BRILLIANT chapter on tracing the history of "apostolic, Christocentric preaching." Johnson settles nicely into a line of biblical theologians "started" by Vos and Clowney.
April 9, 2008
One of the better recent books on preaching I've seen. Johnson takes a Christ-centered hermeneutic and applies it to preaching, pointing us away from the typical "exemplar" sermons ("Abraham was courageous to leave home when God called, and we should be courageous too...") and toward gospel-centered Christian preaching from the entire Bible.
March 24, 2016
One of the most comprehensive defenses of Christ centered hermeneutics and preaching that I've read. I found this to be a helpful book.
December 30, 2017
Drawing from Colossians 1:24 - 2:7, Dennis Johnson presents a homiletic approach that he refers to as “apostolic” preaching. According to Johnson, “apostolic preaching of Christ is redemptive-historically structured, missiologically communicated, and grace-driven.” In short, apostolic preaching is expository Christ-centered preaching that is derived from a biblical theological hermeneutic. The first part of Him We Proclaim spans from chapters 2 to 5, and aims to make a case for apostolic preaching by looking at apostolic interpretation and preaching from exegetical, historical, and polemical perspectives. This first section is designed to argue for the necessity of apostolic preaching rather than its technicalities and practicalities.
The second section of Dennis Johnson’s Him We Proclaim is a more practical approach to hermeneutics and homiletics. Having defended his case for apostolic preaching in Part 1, Johnson moves to show how it is faithfully executed. First, Johnson expounds the book of Hebrews, which he argues is actually a sermon that is structured in the apostolic preaching style. He then proceeds to show how the contemporary preacher can likewise prepare an apostolic sermon that preaches Christ from all of Scripture. Johnson explains typology, the “big picture” of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation, as well as covenant theology. Lastly, Johnson takes the reader through different kinds of texts - such as Old Testament law, wisdom poetry, songs, and prophecies, and New Testament gospel narratives, parables, epistolary doctrines and exhortations, and prophetic visions - and shows how these texts point to Christ.
The second section of Dennis Johnson’s Him We Proclaim is a more practical approach to hermeneutics and homiletics. Having defended his case for apostolic preaching in Part 1, Johnson moves to show how it is faithfully executed. First, Johnson expounds the book of Hebrews, which he argues is actually a sermon that is structured in the apostolic preaching style. He then proceeds to show how the contemporary preacher can likewise prepare an apostolic sermon that preaches Christ from all of Scripture. Johnson explains typology, the “big picture” of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation, as well as covenant theology. Lastly, Johnson takes the reader through different kinds of texts - such as Old Testament law, wisdom poetry, songs, and prophecies, and New Testament gospel narratives, parables, epistolary doctrines and exhortations, and prophetic visions - and shows how these texts point to Christ.
March 26, 2025
Over many years, I have read many books on preaching and gained considerable benefit from them. I was attracted to this one where author’s desire is to teach the reader how to preach apostolic christocentric sermons from all of Scripture.
The book contains many gems that are helpful to preachers. I admire the author’s knowledge and ability. I found the opening chapters the most interesting and useful.
The book is not a light read; I needed to push myself at times to keeping going. I did so by reading short portions at each sitting. Perhaps some sections were over developed. I would have welcomed a bit of light relief from time to time (illustrations, personal experiences, etc.) to allow the reader to take in some air before diving back down again into the deep! This would have allowed the book to be more practical and less theoretical.
The book contains many gems that are helpful to preachers. I admire the author’s knowledge and ability. I found the opening chapters the most interesting and useful.
The book is not a light read; I needed to push myself at times to keeping going. I did so by reading short portions at each sitting. Perhaps some sections were over developed. I would have welcomed a bit of light relief from time to time (illustrations, personal experiences, etc.) to allow the reader to take in some air before diving back down again into the deep! This would have allowed the book to be more practical and less theoretical.
April 3, 2020
Great book. Johnson argues for a nuanced approach to preaching called apostolic, Christocentric preaching. This sets him apart from others such as Chapell, Kaiser, Greidanus, and Robinson. Helpful book! The chapter on Hebrews is worth the price of the book. He does get long winded at times, which can discourage the reader's comprehension. Other than that, it is an excellent read.
January 2, 2020
One of the best books I’ve ever read. Johnson seems to forget his subject at times as he is reminded of the grace if God in Christ - this is a complement. Fantastic book on as the title says proclaiming Him.
May 26, 2020
Johnson carves our a particular approach to redemptive-historical hermeneutics by founding it in apostolic practice and teaching. He engages with other RH proponents and thus part of the value of his work is this analysis.
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December 23, 2019A thorough explanation of why and how Christocentric preaching is the way to go.
December 23, 2020
Dense, Long, Technical, but life changing. This was so helpful on how to faithfully preach christ from every text of scripture. Redemptive historical hermeneutic is the apostolic hermeneutic.
January 10, 2021
This is a great book on the importance of Christ centered homiletics (preaching) and hermeneutics (interpretation). It should be required reading for every minister of the Gospel!
December 9, 2022
Great book on how to preach Christ from all of the scriptures.
December 19, 2014
I really appreciated this book. It was much longer and detailed than I was expecting. It is not merely, "Hey, here's Christ in some OT passages." It was an entire theology of preaching Christ from all sections of Scripture. Johnson is a consummate exegete (his commentaries on Acts and Revelation are incredibly helpful while somehow managing not to be too technical). In other words, this is not a book to be read quickly. I read a little bit each day over the past few weeks. So how does he go about teaching his readers how to preach like the apostles?
He begins, after an introduction, in Chapter 2 discussing the purpose of preaching--is it to convert? To edify? Instruct? Most preachers tend to emphasize one of these above the other two (for me, it's the last one), but Johnson points out that good preaching can and ought to do all three at once. With this bedrock, we can begin to understand how the apostles themselves preached. Chapter 3 looks at Paul's "philosophy of ministry" in Colossians 1:24-2:7, mining that text in some detail for guidance on purposes, listeners, contents, tasks, costs, power, and offices fulfilled in preaching.
Chapters 4 and 5 move into a historical look at apostolic preaching. Chapter 4 deals with the early church, the Reformation period, and the Enlightenment--how did they interpret various texts? How did they preach them? This will interest historical theologians like me, but not everyone. Chapter 5 deals with misgivings that are more modern--is the text really unified? Were the apostles justified and held accountable for their interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures? Were they credible? Did they understand the OT texts in their proper contexts? You would be surprised at how many scholars reject the hermeneutical moves of the apostles, either claiming they were wrong, or that they were unrepeatable.
Chapter 6 moves into the practical portions of the book by taking a good look at the letter to the Hebrews, clearly the most sermonic of the NT writings. What can we learn from how that writer handled and applied the Tanakh? There's almost no limit to how much you can learn from the book of Hebrews concerning how the OT preaching Christ time and time again. But can we follow in its footsteps? How did we know when the NT is alluding to something that has come before? Chapter 7 answers this question. Some explicitly speak of "types" and "antitypes" between the O and N T. Some apply OT quotes to Christ. Others are only illusions, but still unmistakable. Some are more subtle or debatable, but they are there (Ex. 40:35 with Luke 1:35 and 9:34, for instance). Johnson then goes the other way around and canvasses the OT to demonstrate ways to pick up on hints and prophetic markers of the Messiah.
Chapter 9 is a bit of an interlude, discussing the paradigms that all good readers of the Bible must consider when reading any Biblical text: the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation paradigm, the covenant paradigm, and the prophet/priest/king paradigm.
Finally, the last two chapters give examples from the text of how to locate Christ. Chapter 10 deals with different OT genres: historical narrative (2 Sam. 16:5-14), law (Deut. 6:20-25), wisdom (Prov. 15:27), song (Pss. 42-43), and prophecy (Isa. 43:1-7). Chapter 11 is the New: gospel narrative (Luke 9:51-56), parable (Luke 16:1-13), epistolary doctrine (Eph. 2:11-18), epistolary exhortation (Eph. 4:25-5:2), wisdom (James 1:12-18), and apocalypse (Rev. 12:1-18). I appreciated all of these, but particularly the OT narrative, wisdom, and NT apocalyptic genres.
Truly, there is no passage in the Word that does not preach Christ. I intuitively know that, but Johnson has done a superb job at helping the reader (and preacher) learn to draw those gospel truths out, wherever they be found, without resorting to allegory, moralism, or absurdity.
Thanks to those who gave me this book!
He begins, after an introduction, in Chapter 2 discussing the purpose of preaching--is it to convert? To edify? Instruct? Most preachers tend to emphasize one of these above the other two (for me, it's the last one), but Johnson points out that good preaching can and ought to do all three at once. With this bedrock, we can begin to understand how the apostles themselves preached. Chapter 3 looks at Paul's "philosophy of ministry" in Colossians 1:24-2:7, mining that text in some detail for guidance on purposes, listeners, contents, tasks, costs, power, and offices fulfilled in preaching.
Chapters 4 and 5 move into a historical look at apostolic preaching. Chapter 4 deals with the early church, the Reformation period, and the Enlightenment--how did they interpret various texts? How did they preach them? This will interest historical theologians like me, but not everyone. Chapter 5 deals with misgivings that are more modern--is the text really unified? Were the apostles justified and held accountable for their interpretations of the Hebrew scriptures? Were they credible? Did they understand the OT texts in their proper contexts? You would be surprised at how many scholars reject the hermeneutical moves of the apostles, either claiming they were wrong, or that they were unrepeatable.
Chapter 6 moves into the practical portions of the book by taking a good look at the letter to the Hebrews, clearly the most sermonic of the NT writings. What can we learn from how that writer handled and applied the Tanakh? There's almost no limit to how much you can learn from the book of Hebrews concerning how the OT preaching Christ time and time again. But can we follow in its footsteps? How did we know when the NT is alluding to something that has come before? Chapter 7 answers this question. Some explicitly speak of "types" and "antitypes" between the O and N T. Some apply OT quotes to Christ. Others are only illusions, but still unmistakable. Some are more subtle or debatable, but they are there (Ex. 40:35 with Luke 1:35 and 9:34, for instance). Johnson then goes the other way around and canvasses the OT to demonstrate ways to pick up on hints and prophetic markers of the Messiah.
Chapter 9 is a bit of an interlude, discussing the paradigms that all good readers of the Bible must consider when reading any Biblical text: the Creation-Fall-Redemption-Consummation paradigm, the covenant paradigm, and the prophet/priest/king paradigm.
Finally, the last two chapters give examples from the text of how to locate Christ. Chapter 10 deals with different OT genres: historical narrative (2 Sam. 16:5-14), law (Deut. 6:20-25), wisdom (Prov. 15:27), song (Pss. 42-43), and prophecy (Isa. 43:1-7). Chapter 11 is the New: gospel narrative (Luke 9:51-56), parable (Luke 16:1-13), epistolary doctrine (Eph. 2:11-18), epistolary exhortation (Eph. 4:25-5:2), wisdom (James 1:12-18), and apocalypse (Rev. 12:1-18). I appreciated all of these, but particularly the OT narrative, wisdom, and NT apocalyptic genres.
Truly, there is no passage in the Word that does not preach Christ. I intuitively know that, but Johnson has done a superb job at helping the reader (and preacher) learn to draw those gospel truths out, wherever they be found, without resorting to allegory, moralism, or absurdity.
Thanks to those who gave me this book!
January 19, 2016
Dennis Johnson is beast mode smartaholic. This work is not for the faint of heart or the "Johnny come lately" to preaching books. It has the most attention to detail I have read in preaching. The language is rich and thick; it's not for children. It knows the other works on Christ-centered preaching and fluidly interacts making its own arguments in places. It may be the best comprehensive book on the model but because of that it's hard to wade through. So I say again, if you wanted a comprehensive guide to lead you into all the Christ-centered world this may be your book. If you are looking for an introduction to this subject, please run away. One of the things I loved in this book is the section on Hebrews. It so helped me when I was teaching through that book and its because of stuff like that I found this book extremely helpful. I feel good recommending it to anybody with the guts to take it on.
October 18, 2016
Rich in its treatment, thorough in its implications, generous with differing views, Him We Proclaim is a wonderful book on exegeting and expounding Christ from all of Scripture. There is enough on the interpretive side of the question to recommended to the interested student of the Word, and the preacher is only further helped by Johnson's advice on how to go about proclaiming Christ to His people. It is amazing how much is contained within the book, whether exegetical considerations, historical interaction, analysis of contemporary issues, step by step analysis of specific sermon texts, sample sermon outlines, or a long bibliography for further study.
December 23, 2013
Many books on preaching litter the shelves but few rise above the crowd to stand as exemplary volumes. While Johnson's work falls just short of such lofty aspirations, it remains a vital examination of Christ-centered preaching, full of powerful insight and penetrating observations. Perhaps overdeveloped in places (as it nears 500 pages), Johnson's work is nonetheless a resource worth carefully digesting for those called to the noble and demanding task of public proclamation of God's Word.
June 21, 2013
Excellent preaching resource! Still like Graeme Goldsworthy's Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture a little more, but this is incredibly thorough with the closing two chapters full of examples. Will reference often!
December 19, 2012
An excellent, thought provoking examination of the purpose of all true preaching.
December 5, 2012
Generally very good. First half seemed to have a lot of repetition and could have been edited.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews