Book Review: From & Before God

Book Title: From & Before God: A Practical Introduction to Expository Preaching

Preaching is one of the most important tasks that is found on this planet. It is the preaching of God’s Word (the Bible) that God uses as an important way of getting the gospel to those who need to hear it. Is all preaching the same? I would say certainly not.

Sugel Michelén is the Senior Pastor at Iglesia Biblica del Señor Jesucristo in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Michelén has written this work, From and Before God, to show how to do expository preaching. Expository preaching is a style that “helps hearers understand the meaning of the biblical text, and what God wants us to do in light of what the text teaches” (54).

There is many ways of preaching that are in our world today. I truly believe that expository preaching — preaching that allows the text to guide the sermon — is the best manner of preaching available to us. It is easy to put our own thoughts into Bible, but if we are going to be faithful to the text, allowing the text to guide the sermon is best.

Michelén does a tremendous job in showing how expository preaching is done well. In this book, I really like the fact that Michelén didn’t immediately go into the “how to’s” of expository preaching but rather the “why.” He calls it the “Theological Anchor.” It is helpful for the reader to see why expository preaching is the best method.

From and Before God is broken down into three sections: the Theological Anchor, The Nature, Form, and Content of the Expository Sermon, and Step-By-Step Preparation of an Expository Sermon. This is very helpful as Michelén shows the why, what, and how of expository sermon preaching in these sections.

From and Before God would make a great textbook for a preaching class. Michelén does the best job in showing the different elements of expository preaching. He puts it material together in a easy-to-follow format and in language that preachers of all education levels could benefit from.

Recommendation

I believe that if you are called by God to preach His Word, then you need to get a copy of this book. Michelén is seasoned in the work of preaching himself, and he has done a fantastic job in putting together a tool for other preachers to know how to do it correctly. This book will not take you long to get through, and it does not feel like a textbook. You can hear the heart of this Latin American pastor as he looks to help preachers coming behind him preach God’s word appropriately.