This book provides excellent instruction on how (and how not) to use literature in sermons. The descriptions of reading for sermons were useful. However, seeing Plantinga using real-life examples in action was the most beneficial and eye-opening feature of the book. ( )

Advocates convincingly for an intentional reading plan that includes poetry, literature and other books. Many benefits include expanding the world of a preacher, fine-tuning language, helping with illustrations and moving people. Includes reading children's literature. "I am convinced that the preacher whose work is supported by wide exposure to great writing will be significantly improved by it. ..discover that great writers know the rod to the human heart and, once at their destination, know how to move our hearts."
"By reading fine writers, noting their command of language, absorbing it, making it their own in a way relevant to their own preaching context, preachers may strengthen their grasp of language, their first tool."
I heard a well-known preacher say he grabs several types of magazines when traveling and devours them.
I did some devotions on To Kill a Mockingbird last year and am planning to do the same on Charlotte's Web this year. I usually try to have a fiction book going but always before, it was to break up theological books. Now I will do it intentionally. A side benefit, many great literature books are available for little or nothing at used books stores.
I didn't agree with all that this author said. But I agreed with about 96% and it was golden! ( )

Very helpful for preaching pastors. ( )

This book was recommended to me by my Pastor and It confirmed the importance of broadening your literary preferences. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who teaches or preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If you are serious about your growth as an individual and as a preacher this book is for you. It is filled with wisdom nuggets and practical information. I gleaned a lot from this book. ( )

I was a convinced reader long before I became a preacher. I have my own personal preferences in both fiction and non-fiction. And since becoming a preacher I have suspected that to continue to read widely would be a good thing. And that premise, that a preacher should read widely as a part of their regular preparation for preaching, lies at the heart of Reading for Preaching by Cornelius Plantinga Jr.

The book is an outgrowth of a summer seminar that Plantinga has conducted through the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, a seminar designed to shape the reading skills of preachers as a means of improving their preaching of God's word. I writing and publishing this book he has made the wisdom of the seminar available to all who are called to preach God's word.

Writing in a conversational manner that is easy to read Plantinga begins by introducing the topic of having a reading program, describing the various benefits to preaching that come with active reading. He then discusses some of these benefits in greater detail, including the collecting of illustrations, an improved ability to listen, gaining wisdom, gaining insight on life experiences outside of your own culture, and learning more about the natures of both sin and grace. He includes generous examples of the kinds of things that attentive readers will encounter and which may give shape their preaching.

I found the wisdom of this book useful to my own ongoing growth as a preacher and I highly recommend it to all who preach God's word. ( )