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Preaching God's Transforming Justice
by Ronald J. Allen Dale P. Andrews Dawn Ottoni-WilhelmThis unique commentary is the first to help the preacher identify and reflect theologically and ethically on the social implications of the biblical readings in the Revised Common Lectionary. In addition to providing commentary for each day in the lectionary calendar, this series introduces twenty-two Holy Days for Justice. These days are intended to enlarge the church's awareness of God's call for justice and of the many ways that call comes to the church and world today. The days include Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Earth Day, World AIDS Day, International Women's Day, Cesar Chavez Day, Yom HaShoah, and Juneteenth. For each of the lectionary days and Holy Days for Justice there is an essay that helps the preacher integrate a variety of social justice concerns (including racial/ethnic issues, sexism, classism, ecology, and violence) into their preaching. The contributors are a diverse group of homileticians, pastors, biblical scholars, theologians, and social activists.
Preaching God's Word, Second Edition: A Hands-On Approach to Preparing, Developing, and Delivering the Sermon
by J. Daniel Hays J. Scott Duvall Terry G. CarterPeople in churches today are hungry for a word from God. Preachers need to prepare and deliver sound biblical sermons that connect with their audience in a meaningful way. Whether you are a student who is new to preaching or a veteran looking to brush up your preaching skills, you will benefit from Preaching God's Word.Good preaching begins with good exegesis. The second edition of Preaching God's Word is a user-friendly, practical, and proven textbook that walks you through the five steps of the "Interpretive Journey" from the biblical text to contemporary application:Grasp the text in their town (what it meant to the original audience).Measure the width of the river that separates the biblical context from today.Cross the principle bridge by identifying the timeless theological principles.Consult the biblical map.Grasp the text in our town.While the science of solid biblical interpretation is essential to effective preaching, it must be married to the art of contemporary communication in order to bring the message home. Preaching God's Word also shows you how to understand your audience, develop powerful applications, use illustrations well, and deliver the sermon effectively. The concluding chapters discuss the unique preaching challenges presented by the various biblical genres, providing interpretive keys, things to avoid, and numerous examples.
Preaching God's Word: A Hands-On Approach to Preparing, Developing, and Delivering the Sermon
by Terry G. CarterPeople in churches today are hungry for a word from God. Preachers need to prepare and deliver sound biblical sermons that connect with their audience in a meaningful way. Whether you are a student new to preaching or a veteran looking to brush up your preaching skills, here is a valuable resource. Good preaching begins with good exegesis. Preaching God’s Word walks you through the steps of the “Interpretive Journey” from the biblical text to contemporary application: • Grasp the text in “Their Town” (what it meant to the original audience). • Measure the width of the river that separates the biblical context from today. • Cross the “Principalizing Bridge” by identifying the timeless theological principles. • Grasp the text in “Our Town.” While the science of solid biblical interpretation is essential to effective preaching, it must be married to the art of contemporary communication in order to bring the message home. Preaching God’s Word also shows you how to understand your audience, develop powerful applications, use illustrations well, and deliver the sermon effectively. The concluding chapters discuss the unique preaching challenges presented by the various biblical genres, providing interpretive keys, things to avoid, and numerous examples. “Carter, Duvall, and Hays have given us a basic and worthy manual of how-to’s for preaching. Now since Haddon Robinson’s classic text has a book taken such a practical and understandable, step-by-step approach to the sermon.” -Calvin Miller, Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School “In a day when the church-world is lulled into complacency by sermons that are little more than entertaining homilies on good values and fix-it paradigms, here is a guide to proclamation the way it was meant to be…biblical, understandable, and transforming.” -Joseph M. Stowell, Teaching Pastor, Harvest Bible Church; Former President, Moody Bible Institute.
Preaching God's Word: A Hands-on Approach to Preparing, Developing and Delivering the Sermon
by J. Daniel Hays J. Scott Duvall Terry G. CarterPeople in churches today are hungry for a word from God. Preachers need to prepare and deliver sound biblical sermons that connect with their audience in a meaningful way. Whether you are a student new to preaching or a veteran looking to brush up your preaching skills, here is a valuable resource.
Preaching Hebrews: Preaching Hebrews (The\rochester College Lectures On Preaching Ser. #4)
by David Fleer Dave BlandThe Rochester College Sermon Seminar and the series of books it has inspired have been built on the conviction that Christian preaching today needs revision. Such reforming begins with a close and faithful reading of Scripture, an engagement so serious that the world of Scripture ultimately sets agendas and invents expectations for meaningful life...In this present volume, too, we wish to grant the book of Hebrews the opportunity to pull all of us into the world it envisions, allowing it the power to judge, convict, and form us into a community God desires. This is not an easy task for several reasons, most notably the fact that the world of Hebrews is quite alien from our own...Like previous volumes in the Rochester Lectures on Preaching, the current work is divided into two parts. The first is a collection of four related essays meant to orient the reader to the world clearly conceived in Hebrews. The second half appropriates this orientation with sermons for particular Christian congregations.- Excerpts from David Fleer's Introduction
Preaching Islamic Renewal
by Jacquelene G. BrintonPreaching Islamic Renewal examines the life and work of Muhammad Mitwalli Sha'rawi, one of Egypt's most beloved and successful Islamic preachers. His wildly popular TV program aired every Friday for years until his death in 1998. At the height of his career, it was estimated that up to 30 million people tuned in to his show each week. Yet despite his pervasive and continued influence in Egypt and the wider Muslim world, Sha'rawi was for a long time neglected by academics. While much of the academic literature that focuses on Islam in modern Egypt repeats the claim that traditionally trained Muslim scholars suffered the loss of religious authority, Sha'rawi is instead an example of a well-trained Sunni scholar who became a national media sensation. As an advisor to the rulers of Egypt as well as the first Arab television preacher, he was one of the most important and controversial religious figures in late-twentieth-century Egypt. Thanks to the repurposing of his videos on television and on the Internet, Sha'rawi's performances are still regularly viewed. Jacquelene Brinton uses Sha'rawi and his work as a lens to explore how traditional Muslim authorities have used various media to put forth a unique vision of how Islam can be renewed and revived in the contemporary world. Through his weekly television appearances he popularized long held theological and ethical beliefs and became a scholar-celebrity who impacted social and political life in Egypt.
Preaching Justice: Ethnic and Cultural Perspectives
by Christine Marie SmithPreaching Justice brings together eight very diverse voices from eight distinct cultural/ethnic communities, challenging them to articulate the specific justice concerns, issues, and passions that give rise to a preaching ministry within the their own community and beyond. Theological analyses are offered by theses persons representing their particular communities: Kathy Black - persons with disabilities Martin Brokenieg - Native Americans Teresa Fry Brown - African Americans Eleazar Fernandez - Filipino Americans Justo Gonzalez - Hispanics Eunjoo Mary Kim - Korean Americans Stacy Offner - Jews Christine Marie Smith - lesbians and gays This volume offers a rare vision of what transforms preaching might sound and look like, and urges that all preaching - whatever community it comes from, whatever community it hopes to reach - be grounded in the sacred acts of listening and knowing. Christine Marie Smith is professor of preaching and worship at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, New Brighton, Minnesota. Her Previous books include Weaving a Sermon and Preaching as Weeping, Confession, and Resistance.
Preaching Life-Changing Sermons: Six Steps to Developing and Delivering Biblical Messages
by Jesse L. NelsonA how-to guide for preparing and delivering Spiritfilled, biblical messages that make an impactBeing called to preach is a tremendous commission. In Preaching Life-Changing Sermons, Jesse L. Nelson shares a simple process for effective expository sermon preparation and delivery, flavored with insights from his life in ministry and academic work. Those with teaching and preaching responsibilities with little to no seminary training will learn practical steps they can use today in their ministry.Nelson outlines the six foundations of life-changing preaching and shows how each looks in the everyday life of a pastor: • Seek the Spirit• Select the Scripture• Study the Scripture• Structure the Sermon• Speak in the Spirit• Share the SaviorHandling God's Word rightly through prayer, sermon preparation, and sermon delivery sets the stage for people to absorb the message. When the Spirit moves as Scripture speaks, souls are changed--and the call to preach becomes an exciting, transformative adventure.
Preaching Old Testament Narratives
by Benjamin H. WaltonThere's no question that the Old Testament is foundational for the New Testament church. But foundational or not, it can be difficult for preachers to pin down useful resources for narrative texts within the Old Testament, much less to skillfully preach those passages to their congregations.Benjamin Walton provides the practical insight pastors need. In one volume, he demonstrates both the interpretive and homiletical skills necessary to preach Old Testament narratives well. Walton guides the preacher through selecting a text which is a complete unit of thought; describing the scene in a coherent way; determining the theological message of the text; and carefully crafting a meaningful take-home truth. He doesn't stop with discovering the core message—-the majority of the book focuses on delivering the message drawn from these narrative texts.Walton's approach is not just theoretical. It has been read and tested anonymously by groups of pastors, and their feedback has been incorporated into the book. This valuable resource will help preachers put all the pieces together, have confidence in what they're imparting, and maximize their preaching potential for Old Testament narratives.
Preaching Paul
by Brad R. BraxtonHelpful and insightful strategies for preaching from the writings of Paul.Few biblical figures are more compelling to preachers than the apostle Paul. The story of his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus is a favorite example of the way that God turns lives around. His writings contain the earliest witness we have to the Christian gospel. His message of God's offer of grace in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ is deeply appealing. So why is it that when it comes time to choose a text for this Sunday's sermon, preachers so often choose something other than Paul? When Brad Braxton asked himself that question, he realized that preachers are often daunted by the size and complexity of the Pauline corpus. Drawing on his expertise as a New Testament scholar and homiletics professor, as well as on his experience as a pastor, Braxton offers the reader tools with which to wrestle more effectively with the complex, yet essential, message of Paul. Eschewing either a solely historical approach or a completely spiritual one, the author brings the two together to explore the meaning of Paul's message in its original context, as well as its contemporary application. Written with imagination and depth of understanding, this book is for anyone who wishes to know Paul better and to preach from his letters more effectively.
Preaching Romans: Four Perspectives
by Scot McKnight Joseph B. ModicaFirst-rate scholars and preachers on four interpretive approaches to Paul and RomansPauline scholarship is a minefield of differing schools of thought. Those who teach or preach on Paul can quickly get lost in the weeds of the various perspectives. How, then, can pastors today best preach Paul’s message?Scot McKnight and Joseph B. Modica have assembled this stellar one-stop guide exploring four major interpretive perspectives on the apostle Paul: Reformational, New, Apocalyptic, and Participationist. First elucidated by a scholarly essay, each perspective is then illuminated by three sermons expositing various passages from Paul’s magisterial letter to the Romans.Coming from such leading figures as Richard Hays, James Dunn, Fleming Rutledge, and Tom Schreiner, these essays and sermons splendidly demonstrate how each perspective on Paul brings valuable insights for preaching on Romans. [Table of Contents]IntroductionInterpretive Perspectives on the Apostle Paul1. Romans and the “Lutheran” Paul: Stephen Westerholm2. Romans and the New Perspective: Scot McKnight3. Romans and the Apocalyptic Reading of Paul: Douglas A. Campbell4. Romans and the Participationist Perspective: Michael J. GormanPreaching Romans: SermonsReformational Perspective5. Romans as Ecclesial Theology: Building Multiethnic Missional Churches: Michael F. Bird6. God Justifies the Ungodly: Romans 4:1–8: Thomas R. Schreiner7. The Transforming Reality of Justification by Faith: Romans 5:1–5: Carl R. TruemanNew Perspective8. The Balance of Already/Not Yet: Romans 8:1–17: James D. G. Dunn9. This Changes Everything: Romans 5:12–21: Tara Beth Leach10. Pass the Peace by Faith: Romans 4:1–4, 13–17: Scot McKnightApocalyptic Perspective11. Immortal Combat: Romans 1:16–17 and 5:12–14: Jason Micheli12. In Celebration of Full Communion: Romans 3:21–24: Fleming Rutledge13. Old Adam, New Adam; Old World, New World; Old You, New You: Romans 5:12–21: William H. WillimonParticipationist Perspective14. Death Becomes Her: Romans 6:1–14: Timothy G. Gombis15. Made New by One Man’s Obedience: Romans 5:12–19: Richard B. Hays16. Breathing Well: Romans 8:12–30: Suzanne Watts HendersonConclusion17. Implications: Joseph B. Modica
Preaching That Connects: Using Techniques of Journalists to Add Impact
by Haddon W. Robinson Mark GalliMaster the craft of effective communication that grabs attention and wins hearts. Like everyone else, preachers long to be understood. Unfortunately, the rules first learned in seminary, if misapplied, can quickly turn homiletic precision into listener boredom. To capture heart and mind, Mark Galli and Craig Larsen suggest preachers turn to the lessons of journalism. In Preaching That Connects, they show how the same keys used to create effective, captivating communication in the media can transform a sermon. Amply illustrated from some of today’s best preachers, Preaching That Connects walks through the entire sermon, from the critical introduction to the bridge to illustrations and final application. Key points include the five techniques for generating creative ideas, your six options for illustrations, and the ten rules for great storytelling—and why the transition sentence is the hardest sentence you’ll write. Preaching That Connects is for all who seek to hone their craft to communicate the truth of the gospel effectively.
Preaching To Convert: Evangelical Outreach And Performance Activism In A Secular Age
by John FletcherPreaching to Convert offers an intriguing new perspective on the outreach strategies of U. S. evangelicals, framing them as examples of activist performance, broadly defined as acts performed before an audience in the hopes of changing hearts and minds. Most writing about activist performance has focused on left-progressive causes, events, and actors. Preaching to Convert argues against such a constricted view of activism and for a more nuanced understanding of U. S. evangelicalism as a movement defined by its desire to win converts and spread the gospel. The book positions evangelicals as a diverse, complicated group confronting the loss of conservative Christianity's default status in 21st-century U. S. culture. In the face of an increasingly secular age, evangelicals have been reassessing models of outreach. In acts like handing out Bible tracts to strangers on the street or going door-to-door with a Bible in hand, in elaborately staged horror-themed morality plays or multimillion-dollar creationist discovery centers, in megachurch services beamed to dozens of satellite campuses, and in controversial "ex-gay" ministries striving to return gays and lesbians to the straight and narrow, evangelicals are redefining what it means to be deeply committed in a pluralist world. The book's engaging style and careful argumentation make it accessible and appealing to scholars and students across a range of fields.
Preaching Truth in the Age of Alternative Facts
by William BrosendWhile comedian Stephen Colbert was remarkably prescient some years ago when he introduced the word “truthiness” to our vocabulary, it was presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway who told us that there are “alternative facts” abroad in the land. Rarely has such an offhand comment so captured the imagination while also aptly summarizing the spirit of the age. The late Daniel Patrick Moynihan famously said that while everyone is entitled to his (or her) opinion they are not entitled to their own facts. Until now. Good preaching has always been a challenge, a combination of exegesis, insight and craft in witness to the Gospel and in service of the Church. Cultural forces, in particular the proliferation of media outlets and the explosion of available entertainment sources, have only made the challenge greater. And that was when most agreed on a common set of facts. Those days are now past and gone, and preachers may be forgiven if at times it feels as if the task is impossible: The pulpit is like a tightrope, stretched between red and blue, Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals. And there is no net. I read the Beatitudes last Sunday and the tension in the church was palpable. Who knew “Blessed are the peacemakers” were fighting words? Everything I say is being interpreted and analyzed for things I never even thought about. Joshua and the Battle of Jericho has become a commentary on whether or not we should build a wall on the border. I cannot believe how angry people are. I’m old enough to remember when the big difference was whether you got your news from Walter Cronkite on CBS or Huntley/Brinkley on NBC. Now no one agrees on what constitutes news. Or facts. Truth in the Age of Alternative Facts offers a way forward. This is a book for preachers, teachers, and other leaders, along with students of preaching. It demonstrates how to proclaim honest, faithful, candid sermons, in spite of social and political disagreements. It teaches how to preach in a way that allows the Church to be its best self—a place of commitment, engagement, acceptance and compassion for all God’s children.
Preaching Without Contempt: Overcoming Unintended Anti-Judaism
by Marilyn J. SalmonMarilyn Salmon's persuasive and practical work helps preachers to identify the ways that Christian preachers perpetuate the long tradition of Christian anti-Judaism. She situates the Gospels precisely as Jewish literature then addresses specific thorny issues that arise in preaching: supersession ism; portrayals of the Law; the Pharisees; the relationship between the Testaments; preaching the Passion; and misrepresentations of Judaism. Using examples from many sermons, she shows how to avoid the pitfalls of mis-portraying the people of Jesus.
Preaching Without Notes
by Joseph M. WebbIn this important book, Webb makes two central claims. First, that effective preaching without a manuscript is not a matter of talent as much as it is a matter of preparation. Preachers can learn the practices and disciplines that make it possible to deliver articulate, thoughtfully crafted sermons, not from a written page, but as a natural, spontaneous act of oral communication. Throughout the book, the author offers specific examples including a transcript of a sermon preached without manuscript or notes. Second, that the payoff of learning to preach without a manuscript is nothing less than sermons that more effectively and engagingly give witness to the good news.
Preaching and Preachers
by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones"Some may object to my dogmatic assertions; but I do not apologize for them. Every preacher should believe strongly in his own method; and if I cannot persuade all of the rightness of mine, I can at least stimulate them to think and to consider other possibilities. I can say quite honestly that I would not cross the road to listen to myself preaching, and the preachers whom I have enjoyed most have been very different indeed in their method and style. But my business is not to describe them but to state what I believe to be right, however imperfectly I have put my own precepts into practice. I can only hope that the result will be of some help, and especially to young preachers called to this greatest of all tasks, and especially in these sad and evil times. With many others I pray that 'The Lord of the harvest may thrust forth' many mighty preachers to proclaim 'the unsearchable riches of Christ!'"
Preaching and Preachers
by Martyn Lloyd-JonesSome may object to my dogmatic assertions; but I do not apologise for them. Every preacher should believe strongly in his own method; and if I cannot persuade all of the rightness of mine, I can at least stimulate them to think and to consider other possibilities. I can say quite honestly that I would not cross the road to listen to myself preaching, and the preachers whom I have enjoyed most have been very different indeed in their method and style. But my business is not to describe them but to state what I believe to be right, however imperfectly I have put my own precepts into practice. I can only hope that the result will be of some help, and especially to young preachers called to this greatest of all tasks, and especially in these sad and evil times. With many others I pray that "The Lord of the harvest may thrust forth" many mighty preachers to proclaim 'the unsearchable riches of Christ!'
Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England: Ælfric and Wulfstan
by Milton Mcc. GatchIn Preaching and Theology in Anglo-Saxon England, Professor Gatch deals with two aspects of the writings of Ælfric and Wulfstan that have been hitherto ignored by scholars of the period. First, he investigates the uses for which the two homilists prepared their sermons, analysing the homiliaries of the Carolingian church and its legislation concerning preaching and teaching, and showing that one should look not to the model of patristic preaching but to the development, in the place of exegetical preaching, of a vernacular catechetical office, the Prone. He also considers the evidence from England in the time of Ælfric and Wulfstan, distinguishing a number of uses which Ælfric intended for his homiletic materials, but questioning whether users of Ælfric's work (Wulfstan perhaps among them) understood or accepted the basic homiletic practices that the abbot had in mind. Second, Gatch investigates the eschatological teaching of the homilists as specimen of the over-all content of their sermons and as indicator of their theological method. By throwing their work into relief against the background of the anonymous Old English homilists, he gives a more accurate picture than exists in textbook stereotypes of the beliefs of Ælfric and Wulfstan, and also of the general theological scene in England at the turn of the tenth and eleventh centuries. The first complete edition of Ælfric's Latin epitome of Julian of Toledo's Prognosticon futuri saeculi, one of the most important of Ælfric's theological sources, is appended to the text. This interdisciplinary study is an important addition to our knowledge of Anglo-Saxon culture and medieval church history, and a major contribution to the study of Old English homilies. For the uninitiated, it is an excellent introduction to Old English preaching; for the initiated, it opens a new field for investigation.
Preaching and Worshiping in Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany - eBook [ePub]: Years A, B, and C
by AbingdonThis helpful one-volume commentary resource provides brief preaching commentaries and prayers for worship for the first Sunday in Advent through Epiphany of the Lord (Years A, B, and C). This book includes: lectionary readings for each Sunday and Holy Day in the season; three sermon briefs for each Sunday in Advent and the Sunday after Christmas; sermon briefs for Christmas, Christmas Eve, and the Day of Epiphany; creative prayers for each Sunday and Holy Day in the season; scripture index.
Preaching and the Human Condition: Loving God, Self, & Others
by O. Wesley Allen Jr.In the wake of Enlightenment emphasis on the individual and confidence in human progress/ability, sermons often suffer from a lack of adequate analysis and presentation of the human condition. The result is that preachers either 1. (intentionally or unintentionally) offer self-help type messages or 2. fail to help hearers experience the breadth of the good news of Jesus Christ because the "bad news" of the world is not presented with weight. In this work, the author proposes to use the pericope in which Jesus is asked about the greatest commandment (Mk 12:28-31) as a lens for preachers exploring the human condition cumulatively from three different perspectives across the course of their preaching week in and week out. "Love God" suggests a perspective in which the human condition is seen in relation to a broken relationship between humanity and God (vertical). "Love neighbor" suggests a perspective in which the broken relationship is between humans and others (horizontal). And "as yourself" suggests a brokenness in relationship to one's self (inner). While different theological schools have emphasized these perspectives differently as the starting points for their anthropology, views of sin,etc., all schools include all three perspectives. In individual chapters, the author will unpack these three perspectives theologically, move to suggest practical homiletical approaches to preaching in relation to each perspective, and provide a sample sermon dealing with that perspective.
Preaching and the Other: Studies Of Postmodern Insights
by Ronald J. AllenPreaching and the Other introduces the reader to six major themes characteristic of the postmodern era that are important for preaching and explains their implications.
Preaching as Local Theology and Folk Art
by Leonora TisdaleIllustrated throughout by cases of the author and others, this book tells how to analyze a congregation so that the preacher's sermon really fits his audience. The book then gives practical help for preparing and delivering sermons that are meaningful and appropriate. Tisdale draws from contextual theology and congregational studies.
Preaching as Poetry: Beauty, Goodness, and Truth in Every Sermon (The Artistry of Preaching Series)
by Paul Scott WilsonIt is tempting for preachers in this digital age of plurality and diversity to offer quick sound bites and PowerPoint-style presentations. These tend to invite a yes or no response, as in mathematical equations. But if we are to reach Christians across the theological spectrumandinvite non-Christians to seriously consider our faith, we must take a different approach. What is needed is greater attention to poetry and images meant to communicate the beauty of the faith and the wonder and mystery of God in everyday life. We must communicate the unity of our message of faith, the divine as truth, and justice and healing as expressions of God. Preaching as poetry (theopoetic preaching) allows for the bold imagery of scripture and the gentle invitation of art. Sermons can no longer always be neatly tied up, perfectly linear, with complete answers to every question. In Preaching as Poetry Paul Scott Wilson teaches why this new approach is necessary today, and demonstrates with multiple examples how it works in real sermons. He skillfully guides the reader to incorporate the classical values of beauty, goodness and truth in every sermon, and in ways that connect with congregants and listeners today.
Preaching as Reminding: Stirring Memory in an Age of Forgetfulness
by Jeffrey D. ArthursWe know of the preacher’s roles as both teacher and proclaimer, but Jeffrey Arthurs adds another assignment: the Lord’s remembrancer. With decades of preaching experience, he explains how to stir the memory of Christ-followers, fanning the flames of faith through vivid language, story, delivery, and ceremony. When knowledge fades and conviction cools, the church needs to be reminded of the great truths of the faith.