My thanks to Scott at Resolve for linking to a great article by Timothy George on doctrinal preaching.   The full thing is here but here’s a quote to whet your appetite:

“…..the recovery of doctrinal preaching is essential to the renewal of the church. The crisis of identity which engulfs contemporary Christianity, especially in the West, has resulted in large measure from the loss of a persuasive message clearly proclaimed in the power of the Holy Spirit. What does the church have to say that no one else can say?

“What does the preacher have to say that the psychologist, politician, stock broker, or social commentator has not already said with more passion and insight than most pastors can muster even on Easter Sunday? The credibility of the church’s proclamation will not be restored by acquiring new communication skills or devising better sermonic forms, as helpful as these may be. The answer is a preacher in whom the Word of God burns as a fire in his bones, one who must speak because he cannot keep silent, one who preaches with fierce humility (”Who is equal to such a task?” 2 Cor. 2:16, NIV) yet also with unstinted audacity (”Such confidence…is ours through Christ,” 2 Cor. 3:4, NIV) in the certain knowledge that God Himself is speaking in the faithful proclamation of His Word.”