"Richard Coekin wisely reminds us that application is one of the most important – and perhaps the most difficult – parts of preaching. This book is full of interpretive wisdom and practical guidance. Whether they agree with every conclusion or not, preachers young and old will be challenged and helped by this timely exploration of a neglected topic."
- Kevin DeYoung, Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church, North Carolina
"In an age of easy access to countless online sermons and powerful AI engines, preaching that applies God's Word to a specific context and local congregation is especially important. Richard’s engaging book will help equip you to do that. It will both fire up your convictions and sharpen your skills."
- Murray Anderson, Senior Pastor, Gracefields Church, Cape Town
"In an age where preaching can easily drift towards either purely academic explanation or shallow pragmatism, Richard calls us back to the heart of faithful ministry: helping God’s people hear the Word and live it. Apply the Word is both deeply biblical and refreshingly practical. Drawing on decades of pastoral experience, Richard shows how the preacher’s task is not simply to explain the text but to shepherd congregations by carefully applying its implications to real lives and real situations. This is a wise and generous book – written by a preacher for preachers. I am grateful for it, will be adding it to our London City Mission recommended reading, and gladly commend it to pastors, teachers and anyone who wants to see the Scriptures shape the life of the church more deeply."
- Efrem Buckle, Director of Training and Mentoring, London City Mission
"In an age where preaching can easily drift toward either purely academic explanation or shallow pragmatism, Richard Coekin calls us back to the heart of faithful ministry: helping God’s people hear the Word and live it. In this short and accessible book, Richard puts his finger on a key weakness of much contemporary expository preaching: namely the lack of appropriate application. On the one hand some preachers reject the need for application at all, whereas others strive so hard to make their sermons relevant to their hearers, they make applications which aren’t derived from the text. In contrast Richard Coekin makes a strong and compelling case for the necessity of application which discovers and proclaims the necessary implications of the text for our lives. Not only does he identify the need for thoroughly biblical application, he provides preachers with practical guidance on how to do it, which is rooted in the doctrine of Scripture, biblical theology, contextual cultural awareness and pastoral sensitivity. He writes with disarming honesty about his own growth as a preacher, sharing past mistakes and the experience of over three decades of fruitful ministry, but also draws on the wisdom of great preachers, past and present. This is a book which will help every preacher, no matter their experience, ensure they are not just rightly explaining God’s Word but bringing it to bear upon the hearts and lives of their hearers."
- John Stevens, National Director, FIEC (Britain)
"Imagine a book that could help you preach sermons that are not only true to the Scriptures but actually sing, so that congregations’ lives are transformed and changed by the great Word of God. This is the book! Full of pearls of wisdom from a man who has dedicated his adult life to mastering the art of genuinely communicating to people the living truths of God, it’s worth the time to read and digest. And, dare I say, it’s well applied into preachers’ lives."
- Andrew Heard, Senior Pastor, EV Church, Sydney; Chairman, FIEC (Australia)
"This timely and insightful book will help preachers fulfil their God-given responsibility. Through deep biblical reflection, memorable illustrations and his decades of ministry experience, Richard provides the pastor with a guilt-free resource that will equip us to teach more effectively what accords with sound doctrine. This book is for the good of the church and the glory of God. Buy it, read it and live it."
- Lee McMunn, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church, Scarborough; Assistant Bishop, Anglican Mission in England
"One of the enduring challenges in faithful preaching is learning how to move from explaining the text to applying it wisely to the lives of our hearers. What a blessing to the church that a book has been written to address this! In Apply the Word, Richard Coekin meets this challenge head on with pastoral clarity, theological conviction and the seasoned wisdom of many years in Word ministry. I have had the privilege of knowing Richard personally and of benefiting from his ministry – his passion for faithful exposition of the text and practical application to the hearers, shines through these pages. This book will serve preachers well, helping them bring God’s Word to bear faithfully and fruitfully on the lives of God’s people."
- Harrison Mungai Macharia, Executive Director, iServe Africa; Pastor of GracePoint Church, Kikuyu, Nairobi
"Preaching God's Word is at the heart of what brings about the salvation of God's people and their subsequent transformation in Christlikeness. Knowing how to do that in a way that is faithful to Scripture and relevant to the people in front of them is an essential skill for any preacher. Apply the Word unpacks the necessary tools for this and warmly commends the need for preachers always to be growing in how they apply the Word of God to the local church. A great resource for new and established preachers alike."
- Rachel Sloan, Director of Women’s Ministries, FIEC; Women’s Ministry Coordinator, Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh
"It’s rare to be able to get help from a seasoned pastor who is both an unusually gifted preacher and an unusually astute encourager of fellow preachers. As someone who has benefitted personally from the fruit of Richard’s pulpit ministry and wise counsel, I am glad to see this book in print. In it we find both principled guidance on how to approach the great task of preaching, as well as practical help for getting on with it. I’m praying Apply the Word will bear much fruit for the strengthening of pastors and the feeding of Christ’s flock."
- Santhosh Thomas, Vicar of St Andrew's Wimbledon, Southwark
