Pastors, Preachers, and Great Bible Teachers

John Wesley, one of the greatest preachers to ever live, famously said, “Give me 100 preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God; such alone will shake the gates of hell.”

There’s really nothing like good preaching from the “Good Book” done in a good manner. In fact, some of the greatest heroes of the Christian faith were, first and foremost, preachers.

As someone who loves preaching the scriptures myself, I am also very fond of other people who preach the scriptures well. It’s a holy and healthy practice for me to also sit under the preaching of God’s Word as much as I can.

While you should have time with God and the scripture alone, it never hurts to listen to preachers online outside of your local church pastor. The only way it would hurt is if you neglect your local church pastor for an online substitute and/or start listening to untrustworthy preachers.

Few things cause more damage to a person’s spiritual maturity than a preacher who twists the scriptures and makes God say what He does not say. This is usually done for selfish gain, or because the communicator’s theology is misguided.

While I could easily write a list of bible teachers I would not recommend, I would rather provide you with a list of bible teachers that I think you should be listening to (listed in no particular order). Before we get to the list, here are two disclaimers:

1. As mentioned earlier, there are some incredible preachers from throughout church history that I would undoubtedly recommend. That said, this list will only include those who are still alive so you can get access to their sermons easily.
2. Although this should be assumed, I figured I’d let you know that even if I recommend these folks, that should not imply that I agree with everything about their theology, values, or personal lives.

Otherwise, please feel free to check out these bible teachers and let me know who else you would include in the comments!

Matt Chandler

I’ve been listening to Matt Chandler since I was in middle school. He’s the lead pastor at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas. If you’ve ever heard or watched me preach, you would probably pick up on many similarities between my preaching and Chandler’s preaching. This isn’t because I’m trying to mimic him in any way, but because I’ve literally listened to him almost every week for at least 12-15 years.

I love Matt for his deep convictions around biblical doctrine, his apparent sincerity, and his willingness to step away from his script if the Lord gives him something in the moment that his congregation needs to hear. I also love that he is a local church pastor first, even though he has become more and more popular across the globe, and he also insists on his teaching never substituting your involvement in a local church. In fact, he shares that at the beginning of every sermon video that The Village Church has ever uploaded to their YouTube.

I have incredible respect for Matt Chandler because he is faithful to his family, his church, the scripture, and God. Some accusations were made against Matt not too long ago, and the way he and the other Elders at TVC handled it was phenomenal. He is back in the preaching position after a short time away, and I cannot recommend that you listen to him enough.

John Mark Comer

It’s funny that I follow up from Matt Chandler to now recommend John Mark Comer, because I highly doubt you’d ever find them in a room together. There’s no issues that I know of, but they just have some different positions on certain doctrines.

That said, John Mark Comer (JMC) is one of my most listened to preachers of the last 5-6 years. He is the (recently retired) founding pastor from Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon. He’s a deep thinker and a well-researched communicator of scripture. He is an excellent resource when it comes to all things related to spiritual formation, discipleship, and practicing the way of Jesus.

Jackie Hill Perry

I know some people feel funny about women preaching the scripture, and Jackie has never claimed to be a pastor, but she does love to preach the word. I can say confidently that few people do it as well as she does it. Her deepest conviction around communicating scripture is one very similar to mine. As she often says it: Teach the Text.

There are some specific sermons/messages which have absolutely rocked my faith and stirred in me a deep love for Jesus. A few years ago, I was able to sit under JHP’s teaching about the holiness of God. I don’t know many messages that affected me the way that message did. For that reason, I’m just going to link that message below and let you realize for yourself how wonderful Jackie is.

John Piper

I love to listen to the preaching of someone who has followed Jesus for a lifetime, especially a long lifetime. One of the older preachers who is sort of a personal preaching inspiration for me is John Piper.

He is the pastor emeritus of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis where he pastored for 33 years. He is also the founder of, and a contributor to, the well-known Desiring God. Now he writes books and occasionally preaches at conferences across America.

If you want someone who is going to be true to the scriptures, look no further than John Piper. This man loves expositional, verse-by-verse preaching and preaches the scriptures in a way to cultivate deeper joy in God. As he has famously said, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

Jim Cymbala

If you are not familiar with Pastor Jim Cymbala from The Brooklyn Tabernacle, maybe you’ve heard of The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, a grammy winning choir led by his wife. As someone who has sat under the teaching of Pastor Cymbala on many occasions and has followed online for years, I can tell you that your faith will be greatly encouraged by his messages.

It’s one of my favorite things about living on Long Island, that I get to take a short drive into Brooklyn and hear this man communicate the word of God. He is incredibly passionate about prayer and obeying the Holy Spirit, having been a businessman who never went to seminary, but who loves the Lord and His Word. God has used the scriptures and his simple preaching to stir conviction in me on many occasions.

Darrell Johnson

Darrell Johnson is a pastor at The Way Church in Vancouver, Canada. I became aware of Darrell Johnson about four years ago when he spoke as a guest preacher at another church I love. I had heard his name beforehand but never was able to hear his preaching until this particular sermon came across my car speakers.

I had to listen to more. The way he walked verse-by-verse and phrase-by-phrase through the Word of God was inspiring and not boring. Since then, I think I’ve heard just about every message the man has ever preached. While much of what he says would be of great benefit to you, there is one which I absolutely have to recommend.

Many Christians are either obsessed, afraid, or intrigued with the book of Revelation. Years ago, Darrell wrote a pastoral expositional commentary through the book of Revelation entitled, Discipleship on the Edge. He also preached through the book of Revelation in his church at the time and now does many teachings around the world on this final book of scripture. It is my most recommended teaching on this very nuanced book. Click the button below to listen to this series and let that be a launching pad to listen to his other messages.