The Whole Counsel of God: Why and How to Preach the Entire Bible

“Good books on preaching are many. Great ones are few. I regard this one among the great, because it advances novel proposals and covers ground generally overlooked. The authors are well qualified by training, gifting, and longtime practice. They have a burden for congregations not just to know but to love the Bible. They know the key to a congregation that is strong in the word is pastoral preaching that opens up the whole of Scripture, not just cherished bits and themes. Most importantly, they have a plan—calmly articulated but revolutionary in its way—and wise, strategic suggestions to move church leaders toward a more effective grasp and disclosure of the entire Bible’s deep nourishment and challenge. They lay out this plan with skill, tact, and compelling insight.”

“Tim Patrick and Andrew Reid have served the church well in this book. Their aim is to encourage and aid pastors in preaching through the whole Bible cover to cover, and to do so in a way that is informed by biblical theology, systematic theology, and the gospel itself. The book is thoughtful and practical, with many helpful diagrams and lists. The authors are rightly concerned about biblical illiteracy in churches. As they point out, even in churches where the Bible is expounded, it can be done in ways that don’t help the person in the pew gain a grasp of the whole counsel of God. This work is a very useful addition to the literature on preaching and one that ably addresses that need.”

“Practical ‘how-to’ advice from the school of experience is always welcome, and there is a wealth of it here, challenging the expositor to focus and think through issues that are rarely, if ever, considered. How should our preaching schedules faithfully reflect the whole counsel of God, as well as the pastor’s heart for the long-term welfare and nurture of the congregation? It will be a stimulating challenge and tonic for the more experienced preacher, but will prove especially valuable to those in the earlier years of pastoral ministry.”

“As individuals, we are positively influenced by our favorite Bible passages. We return to them to form our lives, and we use them to teach and encourage others. Of course we are negatively influenced by the Bible passages we do not know, do not read, and do not use. This limits our growth and maturity, and also limits our usefulness to others. In the same way, churches are positively influenced by their favorite Bible passages and negatively influenced by the Bible passages they do not know! While our evangelical theology may be that the whole Bible is the word of God, our evangelical culture may lead us to neglect most of it. Here is a robust challenge to preachers to ensure that we preach every part of the Bible—a big call for preachers and for churches! How good to be reminded to look for the maximum God has revealed rather than the minimum we can get away with!”

“Patrick and Reid have done a great service to working pastors. After considering theological foundations for preaching through the whole Bible, they give very practical instructions and tools for how to do it. Here are the answers to questions many younger preachers are asking about how to organize and maximize the impact of their work in the pulpit.”

“So many Christians have simply lost the plot—that is, if they ever knew there was a plot. They have never been shown how the Bible as a whole tells the true story of the universe, from creation to new creation, governed by the sovereign mission and purpose of God, with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ as its integrating center. The result is a crippling ignorance of what it means to live consistently as participants in that great drama of Scripture, instructed by the Bible’s historical revelation, and in expectation of God’s mission accomplished. This book’s rich theological reasoning and practical suggestions will motivate pastors to rectify that deficit by taking even more seriously their calling not just to preach ad hoc from the Bible, but to preach from the whole of the Bible over time, in such a way that their people grow in understanding the whole plan of God across the full canon of Scripture and live purposefully and fruitfully in the light of it (Col. 1:9–11).”