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Philip Pullman, author of The Golden Compass, made a curious statement a few days ago in a response to critics of his book and the soon-to-be-released film based on it. According to a BBC News story earlier this week, Pullman dismissed accusations that his film promotes atheism and denigrates Christianity by claiming: "I am a story teller. If wanted to send a message I would have written a sermon." Are you kidding me? As a preacher who prepares a sermon every week, I am shocked by this statement!

The Golden Compass, a movie based on Phillip Pullman's book by the same title, opens in theaters on December 7, 2007. It's creating a stir because Pullman, claims Laura Miller in The New Yorker, "is one of Britain's most outspoken atheists." Two years ago, BBC News reported Pullman's criticisms of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe ? the first movie in ?The Chronicles of Narnia' series by C. S. Lewis. According to BBC News, Pullman's own trilogy, ?His Dark Materials,' "tells us of a battle against the church and a fight to overthrow God." The Golden Compass is the first book ? and now movie ? in this trilogy.

Should pastors address this movie in their preaching? My answer is, "Yes, but." Let me explain.

I recently ran across a helpful way of describing preaching. It's in an essay by D. A. Carson in Preach the Word: Essays on Expository Preaching in Honor of R. Kent Hughes (Crossway, 2007). In his essay, "Challenges for the Twenty-first-century Pulpit," Carson encourages preachers to think of preaching in terms of "re-revelation."

Our church has a Thanksgiving Eve service, and I will deliver a brief meditation on the topic of "thanksgiving" (of course!). As I've been preparing, it occurs to me that American believers may confuse our culture's way of expressing thanks with the biblical way of expressing thanks.

This Sunday I'll preach the final sermon in an expository series on Ephesians. The text is Ephesians 6:10-24, the classic passage on spiritual warfare. Here are five suggestions for preaching on this text and other texts which develop the topic of spiritual warfare.

David Jackman, veteran preacher and President of The Proclamation Trust in London, England, made this statement last week in a preaching lecture in Chicago: "Life transformation takes time. So preach over the long haul. You are a long distance runner."

How do you draw your sermon preparation to a close? My friend, David Hansen, prays a simple prayer over and over on each Friday before he preaches. His prayer may be simple, but it's profound. This is what David prays . . .

My friend, David Hansen, has only one rule for sermon preparation on Tuesdays. This is the day he begins studying for Sunday's sermon. David's rule is "Do not rush." David insists on "spending unhurried, inefficient time with the text."

I’ve been thinking this morning about some of the books which have ministered the most to my soul over the years. Here is a partial list which I limited to ten. None of these books can take the place of Scripture. But each one of them, in its own way, has nurtured me and shaped me as a follower of Christ. By enriching my soul, these books have enriched my preaching.