I have learned a lot from Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan, NY.  One of the most helpful things I’ve learned from Keller is with regard to preaching Christ and the gospel from every text.  Keller recently wrote a piece on preaching on The Gospel Coalition Blog titled Preachers-Only Aren’t Good Preachers.  Below is a quote from the post:

“If you put in too much time in your study on your sermon you put in too little time being out with people as a shepherd and a leader. Ironically, this will make you a poorer preacher. It is only through doing people-work that you become the preacher you need to be–someone who knows sin, how the heart works, what people’s struggles are, and so on. Pastoral care and leadership (along with private prayer) are to a great degree sermon preparation. More accurately, it is preparing the preacher, not just the sermon. Through pastoral care and leadership you grow from being a Bible commentator into a flesh and blood preacher.”

If you are a pastor or an aspiring pastor, I’d encourage you to read and listen to anything you can by Keller regarding preaching.  Start with the article mentioned above, but for the real bang, go out and try to find the lecture series he gave at Gordon Conwell titled Preaching to the Heart.  It is worth every penny you might have to pay. (Sorry, I couldn’t locate the lectures online.  If someone knows where to find them, please add a link in the comments section).