From the Author's Introduction:

This fourth collection of plain Talks includes material based on eleven different books of the Old Testament, a modest sampling of its deep and wide riches.

Some readers may be familiar with the writings of the celebrated German theologian and preacher, Helmut Thielicke. It was in January 1933 that Adolf Hitler's National Socialist Party seized control in Germany. Thielicke thus lived under Nazi rule for the next seven years while teaching theology at the University of Heidelberg. Forced for various reasons to relinquish his post, he was obliged to contemplate taking on a role he had long sought to avoid: pastoring a church. He saw himself purely as an academic, unable to adapt to the demands of practical ministry in a parish. He dreaded the task of preaching to a congregation, so different from lecturing to students. His autobiographical Notes From A Wayfarer, published in English in 1995, tells of the utter transformation that came over him as a result of being a parish pastor.

His attitude to preaching underwent a complete reversal: 'I regarded, and still regard, the sermon as the greatest intellectual achievement that can be demanded of a theologian.' He wrote that preaching involved a multiplicity of activities: precise interpretation of the biblical text; showing the everyday relevance; avoiding getting bogged down in an abstract train of thought; speaking graphically and vividly. He wanted 'ordinary people' to be able to understand with ease, and also 'educated people' not to go away empty-handed.

These Talks seek too not to get bogged down in abstract thought. It is my prayer that they might be an aid for private reflection or group discussion, as well as serving to prompt additional ideas on the part of those called to the daunting ministry of preaching.