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  The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have To Preach
  Reviewed by Hans Kristensen
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The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have To Preach

Edited by Bryan Chapell, 304 pages, Zondervan

Reviewed by Hans Kristensen

10 Nov 2011

9:12am Thursday, 10th November 2011  

This is a book that every pastor and every theological student should own. It is a collection of sermons written by well known pastors including Tim Keller and John Piper and other not so well known pastors. But it is the content - or the sermons, and not the preachers - that makes this book so amazing.
The sermons are responses to tragic and extremely difficult situations. These situations range from national catastrophes (it includes the sermons Tim Keller and Bryan Chapell preached after September 11) to funeral sermons for young children and people who have died in tragic circumstances. These sermons show theological depth and great pastoral wisdom and have been helping me think through great pastoral and theological issues.
One quibble is I would love to see the actual manuscripts of the preachers. Did they go into these sermons with full text notes or not? I dare say this says more of my personality than any downfall in the book itself.
This is a great book. If you are a lay person reading this, buy one for every member of your church staff or elder board. If you are a pastor or a student at bible college, buy this book and read it. This book rewards close reading and it will be a boon for you when you have to preach one the hardest sermons you'll ever have to preach.