Daily Archives: August 10, 2011
Interview with Dr. Bryan Chapell
I mentioned just recently that Dr. Bryan Chapell has edited a new collection of sermons called, The Hardest Sermons You’ll Ever Have to Preach. It’s a collection of sermons by well known preachers (Keller, Piper, and Horton to name a few) that pastors can give during some of the most trying times in people’s lives: after a suicide, after the death of a child, after a community tragedy, and many other topics. Dr. Chapell was kind enough to share his time for a brief interview.
EC: What was your experience working with so many influential preachers as the book came together?
BC: All of these pastors are friends whom I respect. As I collected their messages, I began to marvel at how often the themes they pulled from Scripture echoed each other. The consistency of their words reminded me of the great blessing we have in God’s Word that shares God’s wisdom rather than throwing us back on our own. Especially in times of crisis, we need confidence that what we have to say is from God and not just our cleverness. As I listened to these pastors from so many different circumstances, churches and backgrounds speak so consistently of God’s faithfulness, I recognized they were not depending on their talent or intellects, but on God’s testimony of himself. This realization ministered to my own heart as my own confidence in God’s Word was reinforced in a time of trial I was experiencing during the editing of this book.
