Book Recommendation: “Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures” by Dennis E. Johnson

~ Bob Hayton

At The 2011 Gospel Coalition Conference, this book was highly recommended. I thought I’d highlight the book again, since my review was posted way back in April of 2009.

What would a Christ-centered reading of the Old Testament look like? How can we best preach Christ from the Old Testament faithfully and with respect to what the Old Testament text itself actually says? These questions and more are explored by Dennis E. Johnson in his book Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures.

Part hermeneutic manual, homiletic textbook and preaching guide, the book first explains why apostolic, Christ-centered preaching of the Old Testament is needed today and then carefully fleshes out what this kind of preaching will look like. Johnson’s redemptive historical hermeneutic includes tracing out overarching biblical themes and giving close attention to the New Testament’s allusions to the Old Testament. His example sermons and outlines bring the theory to life and makes the book extremely useful. If you are looking for a single, comprehensive resource on Christ-centered, Old Testament preaching, you’ll want to pick up a copy of Him We Proclaim.

You can preview the table of contents, and chapter 1. You may also want to read my full review here.

The book can be purchased from these retailers: Christianbook.com, Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Amazon.com or direct from P & R Publishing.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by P & R Publishing. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

2 thoughts on “Book Recommendation: “Him We Proclaim: Preaching Christ from All the Scriptures” by Dennis E. Johnson”

  1. Thanks, Bob! I’ve added this one to my Half and Amazon wishlists to purchase.
    Do you have a general idea of how this book differs from Graham Goldsworthy’s book Preaching the whole Bible as Christian Scripture or Clowney’s “Preaching Christ in all the Scriptures”?

    1. Paul,

      I have perused those books, but not read them entirely. My thoughts are that this book is more extensive (at nearly 500 pages long), and also sensitive to some of the criticism that Graemesworthy in particular has received. It has a polemic bent in places and also tries to be more comprehensive, addressing homiletics in general along with the Christ-centered hermeneutic.

      Hope that helps some.

      Thanks,

      Bob

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