Book Recommendation: From & Before God by Sugel Michelén

Michelén, Sugel.  From & Before God: A Practical Introduction to Expository Preaching. Nashville, Tenn: B&H, 2019. 

In a time when preachers seem more concerned with giving their hearers a high-five than they are about giving them the meaningful, life-changing, Truth of the Word of God, Sugel Michelén's work, From & Before God: A Practical Introduction to Expository Preaching is a liferaft in a shipwreck. Not that the hearers in the congregation are any better. Too often, they are trying to save the deck chairs while the boat is breaking apart, asking, even demanding a high-five from the preacher. But if done correctly, expository preaching is the best safeguard from this disaster. 

Michelén gives us a 250-page book in three parts. Part one is the theological grounding for preaching, especially expository preaching. Part two dives down a little deeper into the nuts and bolts of expository preaching. And part three is practical instruction for preparing and delivering expository sermons. Following part three is a sample sermon on Exodus 17:1-7 that the author and reader built along the way.  

Before going on, here's a brief video recommendation I did for this book: 

In many ways, From & Before God is an expanded version of David Helm's book Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God's Word Today. With the extra pages, Michelén provided a more extensive focus for the broader opportunities for where preachers might preach, a how-to with practical examples, and an expanded argument for this kind of preaching. He also brought in extensive support from other sources. The recommended reading list in Michelén's book might be one of the most solid lists on preaching I've found to date.  

Also encouraging is the origin of this book. This author is not another American telling the rest of the world how to preaching. Sugeal Michelén is from the Dominican Republic, and a quick YouTube search will yield a cornucopia of his expository sermons in Spanish.   

Mark Dever wrote the introduction, and David Helm, Joel Beeke, Bryan Chapell, Paul Washer, John MacArthur, D. A. Carson, and others have already recommended this book. Although not as significant, I add my name to that list.  From & Before God is an excellent book for preachers just getting started and preachers who have been preaching for many years. It might also be worth reading if you listen to sermons and what to have a better foundation for what a sermon should be.   

Purchase From & Before God: A Practical Introduction to Expository Preaching where ever you buy your favorite books. . . or just follow this link to Amazon.