Preaching: Discipleship One Sermon at a Time - A Review

Rueda, Bryant. Preaching: Discipleship One Sermon at a Time. Kindle Direct Publishing: Bryant Rueda, 2025.

Bryant Rueda’s Preaching: Discipleship One Sermon at a Time is a compact, pastoral, and practical book on preaching. It is not a full-scale academic textbook on homiletics; it is an attempt to help preachers prepare and deliver better sermons. It is clear, theologically grounded, and immediately useful.

The book is built around a strong central definition of preaching: preaching is “reasoning from the Scriptures with boldness in the power of the Holy Spirit to persuade people that Jesus is both Christ and Lord.” This sentence lays out the structure for the entire book. The introduction and four chapters each develop one part of that definition, resulting in a book that is easy to follow and understand. The progression is simple and effective: reason from Scripture, depend on the Spirit, persuade people about Jesus, and then shape all of that into a sermon outline.

A Strong Biblical Foundation

One of the clearest strengths of the book is its biblical grounding. Rueda does not build an argument based on preaching trends or personal preference. He roots it in the witness of the book of Acts, especially in Paul’s ministry, where reasoning, boldness, and persuasion repeatedly appear together. This biblical basis gives a solid foundation to build from.

Even the brief word studies serve a pastoral purpose. Rueda uses them to show that preaching is not merely giving information, nor is it emotional pressure. It is a public act of biblical reasoning aimed at conviction. The framing helps define preaching as both doctrinally serious and pastorally practical.

Chapter 1 and the Strength of Practical Method

Chapter 1, “Reasoning from the Scriptures,” is probably the most practically valuable chapter for many preachers. Rueda begins at the right place by addressing motive before method. He writes, “Preaching begins with the right motive: love for God and your hearers.” The line captures the pastoral tone of the whole chapter. Rueda is not just teaching technique; he is giving a warning at the heart level.

The chapter’s discussion of grammatical mood (especially indicative and imperative) is especially useful. It gives preachers a concrete way to think about how the text speaks and how sermons should follow that shape. For newer preachers, this kind of guidance can be transformative, helping connect exegesis to sermon construction.

The strongest section in the chapter is the “Ten Questions” framework for sermon structuring. This is where the book becomes a hands-on preaching guide. Rueda walks the reader through text selection, theme, doctrinal focus, structure, illustration, application, and conclusion. He summarizes the value of the method well: “These ten questions guide the sermon structuring process, fostering clarity and persuasion.” That is exactly what the chapter provides.

His section on application is another standout. The list of “application landmines” is practical and memorable, and it shows pastoral realism. Many preaching books tell readers to apply the text, but fewer explain how application can go wrong. Rueda does. His warnings against spiritualizing, moralizing, proof-texting, and “promising the unpromised” are especially helpful because they push the preacher toward text-driven application rather than generic exhortation.

Chapter 2 and Dependence on the Spirit

Chapter 2, “Boldness in the Spirit,” balances well with Chapter 1. If the first chapter emphasizes preparation and structure, this chapter insists that no amount of preparation can produce spiritual fruit apart from the Holy Spirit.

The chapter’s main image is excellent: “The sword you wield is the sword of the Spirit. Skill in wielding it is essential, but its spiritual impact depends on the effectual work of the Spirit.” This is a strong and memorable way to hold together discipline and dependence.

Rueda is particularly effective here in warning against relying on technique. One of the book’s strongest lines comes in this chapter: “Without the Spirit of God, your sermon risks becoming merely an informative lecture...or a religious ritual.” It is a sharp diagnosis and pastorally important. It reminds preachers that faithful preaching is not just accurate content and polished delivery.

The chapter also includes one of the book’s most useful formulations: “Preaching is both predictable and unpredictable.” Predictable in process, unpredictable in effect. That distinction is wise and stabilizing. It encourages careful preparation while reminding the preacher to trust God for results.

Chapter 3 and Christ-Centered Persuasion

Chapter 3, “Persuading People About Jesus,” is the theological center of the book. Rueda argues that proper preaching must be Christ-centered, not merely moral, informational, or doctrinal in the abstract. He draws on a strong range of homiletical and biblical-theological voices and distills them into a useful framework for sermon preparation.

One of the best features of this chapter is that Rueda does not leave “preach Christ” as a vague slogan. He gives categories and questions that help the preacher move from interpretation to Christ-centered proclamation. That makes this chapter more than a theological statement; it becomes a practical guide for sermon shaping.

The chapter is especially helpful in showing that Christ-centered preaching is not forced allegory. Instead, it is a careful interpretation within the larger redemptive context of Scripture. That point alone makes the chapter worth reading, especially for preachers trying to avoid both moralism and artificial “Jesus-jumps.”

Chapter 4 and the Craft of Outlining

Chapter 4, “Outlining the Sermon,” may be the most immediately reusable chapter in the book. Rueda’s opening line is excellent: “The sermon outline is the skeleton that holds the sermon up so that it can walk from the pulpit to the pew.” That image captures the chapter’s burden perfectly. Good organization is not cosmetic; it is pastoral.

Rueda’s distinction between commentary outlines and sermon outlines is one of the clearest and most helpful parts of the book. He notes that many outlines are “descriptive rather than persuasive” and “lack a clear pastoral goal.” That is exactly right, and many preachers will recognize themselves in that critique.

His sample outlines then provide a concrete model for improvement. They are clear, text-driven, and shaped for hearers rather than just for the preacher’s notes. This chapter makes the whole book feel actionable, not just aspirational.

A Well-Chosen Theological and Homiletical Backbone

The bibliography is also worth noting. For a short book, it reflects substantial reading and a solid theological-homiletical foundation. It is something that gives the book a depth of sourcing even when its treatment is intentionally concise. Rueda writes accessibly, but he clearly draws on a much larger body of preaching theology and practice.

Shortcomings and Areas for Expansion

The main limitation of this book is depth. Rueda covers a lot of important ground, but because the book is short, some sections move quickly, leaving the reader wanting more. That is especially true in Chapter 3, where an extended worked example of a Christ-centered sermon would significantly strengthen the book. Readers may also want more on delivery, transitions, and sermon tone in live preaching.

A second area where greater depth would help is the distinction between preaching narrative passages and didactic passages. The book offers a strong overall method, but it does not spend much time on how sermon structure, emphasis, and application may differ when moving, for example, from the Genesis narrative to the Pauline argument. That distinction matters in real sermon preparation. Narrative texts often require attention to plot, characterization, and tension-resolution, while didactic passages often foreground logic, doctrinal sequence, and direct exhortation. Rueda’s framework can be applied to both, but more explicit guidance on those differences would make the book even stronger.

Still, this seems less a flaw than a tradeoff. Rueda has written a compact manual designed for immediate use, and he succeeds. The book’s brevity keeps it accessible and practical, even if some readers will want a longer, more developed follow-up. As it stands, Preaching: Discipleship One Sermon at a Time is a strong, useful, and pastorally rich guide that will help many preachers sharpen both their convictions and their craft.

Soli Deo Gloria