Preaching Coach Podcast with Dr. David Allen

In this episode of the Preaching Coach Podcast, Dr. David L. Allen reflects on excerpts from an anonymous 1885 article, “Modern Homiletics,” from the Southern Presbyterian Review, exploring whether preachers’ textbook ideals of sermons actually serve congregations. The article argues that modern sermon forms owe much to Greek rhetoric and Aristotle rather than New Testament preaching, and warns that polished, “fine” sermons can become empty displays of verbosity with little practical effect. True preaching, it contends, aims at specific, present impact on listeners, even if it breaks homiletical rules. The piece highlights D.L. Moody as an example of effectiveness without textbook form, urging preachers not to depend too much on methods apart from the Holy Spirit.

In this episode of the Preaching Coach Podcast, Dr. David Allen briefly departs from the usual focus on preaching to recommend four of his books for summer reading including:

“To the Jew First: Two-Part Romans: A Structural Game Changer?”
“Liberating Romans from Reformed Captivity”
“From the Mound to the Pulpit: Preaching Lessons from Baseball”
“Preaching Tools: An Annotated Bibliography of Sermon Resources for Every Book of the Bible” (releasing July 2026)

In this episode of the Preaching Coach Podcast, Dr. David Allen teaches from Jude 3–4, looking back to a 2015 theology journal article he wrote as a guide. He explains that “the faith” refers to the once-for-all delivered body of apostolic Christian doctrine that must not be altered, and that doctrine and practice belong together, since false teachers distort grace into immorality and deny Jesus Christ. He explains that all Christians—not only pastors—must contend for the faith because false teachers counterfeit truth, and contending must be done earnestly, with the intensity of a race or hand-to-hand combat.

In today’s episode, Dr. David Allen explores how pastors can keep their preaching fresh week after week, arguing that lasting freshness comes less from novelty and more from enduring disciplines rooted in Scripture and the task of shepherding. He emphasizes letting the biblical text set the agenda through consecutive exposition of books of the Bible, which naturally provides variety and prevents preference-driven preaching.

In today’s episode, Dr. David Allen walks through the steps of preparing to preach from the book of Amos, one of the 12 minor prophets and one of the books of the Bible that focuses on biblical justice.