On Preaching, Worship, and Doctrine: 3-Volume Bundle (includes Reformed Preaching, Reformation Worship, and Reformed Systematic Theology)

“Some people think Reformed theology is all about doctrine and has little to do with doxology. Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley have proved otherwise. Chapter after chapter of their Reformed Systematic Theology not only takes readers into the depths of our triune God, but also shows what these great truths have to do with the Christian life. No contemporary systematic theology will bring the reader to a greater understanding of how theology blossoms into doxology than this one.”

“This book splendidly avoids turning systematic theology into something dry, dull, and merely theoretical. It declares without hesitation that the essential prerequisites for doing theology are repentance and regeneration. It is a delightful read because real-life, Christ-focused application permeates its pages.”

“As is true of Beeke’s recently published work Reformed Preaching, the publication of his Reformed Systematic Theology in collaboration with his gifted assistant, Paul Smalley, is also the ripe fruit of his lifelong engagement as a preacher and as a teacher of preachers. This is not a systematic theology written by an ivory-tower theologian, but rather by a seasoned preacher for whom the doctrines he expounds have become, by the grace of God, an experiential reality.”

“Already the most prolific Reformed author of his generation, Joel Beeke (helped by his theological Barnabas, Paul Smalley) now harvests the fruit of a lifetime of study, reflection, teaching, and writing in this impressive magnum opus. Throughout the centuries, theologians have debated whether systematic theology is an intellectual or practical discipline. Reformed Systematic Theology rightly treats it as both, for the Great Theologian of the church underlined that we cannot love the Lord our God with our mind unless we also love him with heart, soul, and strength. Thus, in these pages, doctrine leads to doxology and also to further enquiry. Each locus is expounded biblically, is understood ‘together with all the saints,’ and leads to practical implications and applications, with psalms, hymns of praise, and probing questions for further reflection. This is catechesis at its best, in the great tradition of Augustine, Anselm, and Calvin, where ‘faith seeks understanding’ and leads to worship and obedience. Here is a major contribution to the education of theological students, but also a work for preachers to have close by as a constant go-to resource, and indeed for every Christian family to own and frequently consult. While today it may seem that ‘of the making of systematic theologies there is no end,’ Reformed Systematic Theology makes a distinctive, deeply engaging, and welcome contribution and deserves a place of honor. Many will be grateful to Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley for giving this immensely valuable gift to the twenty-first-century church.”

“Calm theological waters that have deep exegetical currents flow wonderfully through this accessible and highly practical systematic theology. Beeke and Smalley have written a work useful to the church at large that teaches Christians what they should believe and how they should love, but they have not sacrificed academic rigor to achieve these goals.”

“Joel Beeke has continued his decades-long service to Christ and his church by presenting us with his mature reflections on the nature of systematic theology. This text is fully reliable, well written, easily understood, and thoroughly researched. This first volume of four will undoubtedly be a blessing to the church, and I look forward to the following volumes!”

“Joel Beeke is a rare gift to the church, a noted Christian leader who combines the skills of a learned theologian, master teacher, noted historian, and yet also a caring pastor. Joined by Paul Smalley, this first volume of Reformed Systematic Theology is a virtual gold mine of biblical doctrine that is systematically arranged, carefully analyzed, historically scrutinized, and pastorally applied. I am not aware of another book quite like this invaluable work.”

“This account of the doctrines of revelation and of God, built on biblical exegesis, is rich in theological discussion and practical implications. It is very accessible and will be of interest to a wide readership. Beeke and Smalley are to be congratulated, and I look forward to further volumes in the future.”

“‘Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!’ This expression of praise from Paul’s great doxology is a fitting response to reading this wonderful work of doctrine and devotion. Though the Reformed faith is often caricatured as merely intellectual, this work demonstrates that Reformed theology is also profoundly experiential, as no chapter fails to move from theology to doxology. This resource will instruct the mind and inflame the heart.”

“Although many excellent books on systematic theology have been published in recent years, this new contribution by Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley covers the range of biblical truth in a fresh and unique way. While recognizing the importance of academic scholarship, they insist that what the church needs more than anything is ‘a theology that engages the head, heart, and hands.’ This new systematic theology will be welcomed and appreciated by theologians and laypeople alike as a treasure trove of biblical and Reformed doctrine.”

“This comprehensively argued book faithfully exposes error and guides the reader in the God- honoring path to right living and eternal happiness. Few are the books in our day that fix our eye firmly on God and his truth. But here is one book that does just that. I commend it heartily as a God-honoring and life-changing volume of real biblical theology.”

“Here is truth presented to make you think, pray, and sing. This is theology functioning as it ought to function—calling us to worship. You will not need to agree with the authors at every point to believe and to hope that this, and its sister volumes, will serve Christ’s church well in our generation and for generations to come.”

“In this latest book, Joel Beeke warmly welcomes us into his pulpit, his study, and even the place of his private prayers. To accept his invitation is to discover what it means for a sermon to offer both light and heat, and to learn how to preach the gospel as food for the hungry rather than as dessert for the deserving. In Reformed Preaching, Beeke introduces favorite figures from church history to form a composite picture of the experiential expositor. Even experienced expositors will find much to learn in this book from both the author and his friends.”

“Having known Joel Beeke for nearly fifty years, both as a personal friend and as a fellow minister of the gospel, I can unhesitatingly affirm that Reformed preaching has been, and continues to be, the passion of his ministry. Frequently I have had the privilege of hearing him preach from his heart to the hearts of his audience, preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ to poor, needy, and guilty sinners in need of precisely such a Savior. I am therefore delighted that in Reformed Preaching he is passing on to the next generation of preachers what it means to preach Christ scripturally, doctrinally, and experientially, and how to effectively aim such preaching at the hearts of those who hear themdoing so in complete dependence upon the Spirit of Christ for explication and application. May many younger (and older!) ministers of the gospel benefit richly from the ripe fruit of Beekes lifelong commitment to experiential preaching.”

“If Reformed experiential preaching sounds dull or dry, or just difficult, then you ought to read this book. As a true instructor, writing with real warmth and insight, Joel Beeke opens up enduring principles, spans the centuries to survey practitioners and identify patterns, and then earnestly urges us to the lively practice of such preaching. He carries us from the lecture room to the training ground and then sends us out into the field, humbled and yet hopeful, to preach from our hearts to the hearts of others.”

“I am very pleased to endorse this book by Joel Beeke because it is an invaluable contribution to Reformed preaching. While some in the Reformed community tend to associate experiential preaching with pietism and mysticism, Beeke shows that generations of Spirit-anointed Reformed preachers have employed the biblical experiential method. Beekes book represents the culmination of what has been on the authors mind for many years, namely, to come to a clear biblical understanding on what the gospel is and by whom, to whom, and especially how it is to be preached. This latest homiletical contribution by Beeke deserves to be read by all seminary professors, theological students, pastors, and all who are hungry for the true Bread of Life. The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever (Ps. 22:26).”

“I have yet to come across a preaching resource so helpful, poignant, biblical, and even devotional as Joel Beekes Reformed Preaching. The breadth and depth of historical weight and confessional integrity make this book a superb volume for any pastor, teacher, or layperson. I will certainly be using this in both my preaching classes and pulpit preparation!”

“It has been one of the great privileges of my life to teach homiletics alongside Joel Beeke at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary for the past ten years. Ive not only witnessed his expertise and passion for the subject, but Ive also seen and felt the ministry-transforming effects of this upon my own preaching, as well as upon hundreds of students from all over the world. Its a joyful answer to prayer to see his lectures now in print for the benefit of thousands more preachers of the gospel.”

“True Christian experience is always the experience that God and his Word are true. That truth is preeminently proclaimed through Spirit-anointed preaching. Reformed Preaching shows why preaching is a key of Gods kingdom. This helpful survey of the history of a few dozen of the Reformed churchs great preachers, from Ulrich Zwingli to Martyn Lloyd-Jones, illustrates how experiential preaching is used by the Holy Spirit to cause needy sinners to experience the vital truth of the gospel.”

“As an able teacher and exemplary model of the best in pulpit ministry, Joel Beeke has much to say about the subject of preaching. In this book, we sit at his feet and learn what real biblical exposition is from this gifted expositor. If there was ever a season when the church needed to read this book, the time is now.”

“It is said that a sermon is as good as a sermon does. Joel Beekes book will greatly help Gods servants minister the Word to this end: to the head, heart, and life. Here he scripturally defines Reformed and experimental preaching, surveys its foremost exponents from church history, and searchingly persuades us of the need for this kind of preaching today. Reading this, no preacher can fail to be challengedbut also encouraged and helpedto preach this way more than ever before. With the Lords blessing, this book will do untold good for ministers and churches everywhere. This is a much-needed and unique volume. I wholeheartedly commend it to ministerial students as required reading, and to all of us who proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ.”

“Reformed Preaching is grand, sweeping, and engaging. It is at once substantive theology, a church-historical survey, and a book of practical divinity on experiential, Reformed preaching. No one has written anything quite like it. Subtitled Proclaiming Gods Word from the Heart of the Preacher to the Heart of His People, Beekes book breathes the air of its theme. This book is excellent in every way; it is all doctrine and all application. Reformed Preaching challenges the church with the indispensable necessity of preaching that is biblical, doctrinal, and experiential, preaching that leads Gods people to taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps. 34:8). While Beeke addresses ministers and hearers of the preached Word alike, as a gospel preacher, I found myself worshiping the triune God on every page and humbled in the dust with gratitude for the privilege of proclaiming Gods truth. This is a book to be read over and over again. I pray that this volume will be widely and extensively read. I pray as well that Reformed Preaching may be a spark to revive the old Reformed commitment to experiential preaching in a new day.”

“Reformed preaching is simply ordinary preaching. Sermons that are faithful in their exposition and application to the hearers, rich in gospel content, Christ-centered in focus, and earnestly evangelistic in their calls to sinners to repent and entrust themselves to Jesus Christthis is Reformed preaching. It is not long sermons and heavy preaching. It is the pulpits pastoral and reviving ministry to the body of Christ, most frequently on the Lords Day, generally to the assembly of the faithful, but mighty in addressing the world. It is delivering compassionate and heart-warming sermons, sometimes profoundly solemn sermons. It is, most of all, interesting, gripping preaching and life-changing pulpit fare; and once it has been heard, nothing else will ever satisfy an awakened soul that hungers for the living God. It is the believers weekly feast. How does one preach like that? Read this book for starters. You will be enlightened and motivated, and you will especially become prayerful, longing for the spread of this kind of ministry throughout the whole world.”

“A preacher who does not practice what he preaches is a hypocrite; a preacher who does not preach what he himself has practiced is a mere theorist. A good preacher gives to others the overflow of what he himself has taken in from Gods Word. Effective preaching is from heart to heart, as suggested by the subtitle of Joel Beekes Reformed Preaching. Preaching is more than simply a verbal book report; it is a God-ordained means of bringing Gods truth to bear on the hearts and in the experience of the hearers. Beeke effectively underscores this powerful function of preaching both with models from past preachers and clear instructions for modern preachers. Beekes passion for experiential preaching is obvious, exposing his heart to ours.”

“The ethos of this soul-satisfying book on preaching is not fast forward to the new and fanciful but turn your affections back to the solid theological foundations of the past. Too much modern-day preaching aims to attract the undiscerning hearer with exciting and flossy novelties. But godly church members hunger and thirst not for shallow novelty, but for real, solid, biblical preaching and genuine food for the soul. The authors message is to open out the excellencies of the model preachers of the pastfrom Luther and Calvin to the great Puritans and right down to the beloved Martyn Lloyd-Jones, who died in 1981. Here is a book ideally suited to the reader who longs for solid preaching in the pulpit for his soul. For this reason, this is also an ideal book to place in the hands of the serious student for the ministry.”

“Faithful preaching is intimately bound up with the heartbeat of faithful Christian living. The proof of this is seen throughout the history of the church. Wills, affections, lives, churches, and entire communities have been transformed when the proclamation of Gods Word has reached beyond the mind to the heart. This was true during the Protestant Reformation, was repeated under the influence of the Puritans, and has been witnessed during times of revival. Joel Beeke mines the theology and practice of the great preacher-pastor-theologians of the past in a way that is guaranteed to bless and equip those who carry the baton for the generation they serve in the present and beyond.”

“Reformed Preaching is unique for its emphasis on learning to preach experientially from the Reformers and their theological successors through the centuries. Joel Beeke convincingly shows that Reformed preaching is doctrinally sound, profoundly personal, and effectively practical. Far from being a contemporary model, this work presents the preaching of the Reformation, which encompasses head, heart, and hands, as the enduring way to proclaim Scripture. This is a very foundational understanding of the Reformation impact on the history of the church.”

“Heart to heart: this is the preaching that cuts us to the quick and applies the balm of Gilead. And it is marvelously modeled in this book. Having appreciated every sermon Ive heard from Joel Beeke, I am sure that you will discern a refreshing connection between doctrine, experience, and life in his writing.”