In Proclaiming the Parables, noted preacher and scholar Thomas G. Long moves away from past treatment of the parables primarily as literary devices and moves toward an emphasis on their theological impact as pointers to the kingdom of God.While the parables are indeed significant poetic literary creations that have enchanted readers over the centuries, their main power, he claims, lies in their disclosure of the kingdom of God, which is not merely an idea, nor even just a complex symbol with gen...
Homiletics textbooks often discourage the use of humor in preaching, regarding it as trivializing or distracting. The result is that many preachers have failed to understand humor’s positive power, demoting it to the opening joke to get a guaranteed guffaw to warm up the crowd. Humor Us!, the second volume in the “Preaching and… series,” is a collaborative effort by homiletician Alyce M. McKenzie and humor scholar Owen Hanley Lynch that promotes humor, a force capable of great good, to its right...
The question of what to do with the biblical text in the sermon is perennial. Biblical scholarship constantly evolves and grows, making it hard even for biblical scholars themselves to apply the latest insights in their preaching. The average pastor doesn’t have time to keep up with the changes in biblical studies and, as a result, often defaults to interpretive methods learned in (increasingly distant) seminary years. Preaching the Word addresses those needs by surveying recent developments in ...
Mass trauma is an unavoidable reality in the United States. Trauma from violence, natural disasters, and disease has become all too familiar in the American experience, inevitably raising questions about where God is to be found in the midst of such tragedies. In every case, the aftermath leaves communities’ sense of well-being broken and capacity to imagine a way forward thwarted. Though language often fails us in the midst of trauma, preachers and religious leaders are nevertheless called on t...
Discussions of racial difference always embody a story. The dominant story told in our society about race has many components, but two stand out: (1) racial difference is an essential characteristic, fully determining individual and group identity; and (2) racial difference means that some bodies are less human than others. The church knows another story, says Luke Powery, if it would remember it. That story says that the diversity of human bodies is one of the gifts of the Spirit. That story’s ...
Through its shocking incongruities and transgressive forms, the grotesque offers an intriguing lens for exploring the scandal of the gospel and the challenges of Christian preaching. Drawing on diverse sources—from Swedish crime fiction and contemporary poetry to James Cone, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Pussy Riot—this book will examine the theological, homiletical, and social implications of a grotesque gospel for contemporary preachers. The book focuses on three aspects of preaching and the grot...
This is a newly revised edition of one of the standard introductory preaching textbooks on the market today. Beginning with a solid theological basis, veteran preacher and best-selling author Thomas G. Long offers a practical, step-by-step guide to writing a sermon. Long centers his approach around the biblical concept of witness. To be a preacher, Long posits, is to be a witness to God's work in the world—one who sees before speaking, one whose task is to "tell the truth, th...
"How do we preach in a way that affirms Christian theology while also honoring the insights of other faith traditions?" "How do we preach about and help create genuine Christian community in a social networking culture?" Questions Preachers Ask examines many questions that are on the minds of preachers today, questions that focus on how to preach the gospel in a culture where biblical knowledge cannot be presumed and where the Bible is often viewed as untrustworthy. Well-known preac...
"This book is a clarion call for African American preachers to think more deeply about the aims and ends of their preaching—namely to stop putting so much emphasis on celebratory endings to our sermons and focus more on the substantive content in our sermons. Our so-called celebratory preaching, designed to excite the congregation into action through a highly emotional closing of the sermon, has had the opposite effect. Rather than inducing action, it has lulled generations o...
"Can preaching recover a Blues sensibility and dare speak with authority in the midst of tragedy? America is living stormy Monday, but the pulpit is preaching happy Sunday. The world is experiencing the Blues, and pulpiteers are dispensing excessive doses of non-prescribed prosaic sermons with severe ecclesiastical and theological side effects." —from chapter 1Uniquely gifted preacher Otis Moss III helps preachers effectively communicate hope in a desperate and difficult w...
Election is a strange word when used in theology. It brings to mind old debates about what God might or might not have done before the foundation of the world. But viewed apart from that historical baggage, the word 'election' is about a central gospel idea: that in Jesus not only does God choose to be God for us but chooses us to be for God. The calling of the disciples in the Gospels is a story of election, of how God chooses to transform the world by choosing us to be messenger...
Our world and our churches are neither sinful nor lost, they are dead. This dead world is the one that God engages and into which Jesus invaded with a radically different vision of life.In this groundbreaking work, based on his 2011 Yale Beecher lectures, Brian K. Blount helps preachers effectively proclaim resurrection in a world consumed by death. Recognizing that both popular culture and popular Christianity are mesmerized by death and dying, Blount offers an alternative apocalyptic vision fo...
Feasting on the Gospels is an all-new, seven-volume preaching series that focuses on the most prominent and preached-on New Testament books, the four Gospels. Featuring never- before-published essays from a diverse and respected group of scholars and pastors, Feasting on the Gospels covers every single passage in the Gospels, making it a valuable resource for developing sermons. For each Gospel text, preachers will find four essays on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homi...
Feasting on the Gospels is an all-new, seven-volume preaching series that focuses on the most prominent and preached-on New Testament books, the four Gospels. Featuring never- before-published essays from a diverse and respected group of scholars and pastors, Feasting on the Gospels covers every single passage in the Gospels, making it a valuable resource for developing sermons. For each Gospel text, preachers will find four essays on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homi...
"Before long I began to understand that showing up, being there, helping in an otherwise helpless situation was made heroic by the same gravity I had sensed when I first stood in that embalming room as a boy—the presence of the dead made the presence of the living more meaningful somehow, as if it involved a basic and intuitively human duty to witness." —from Chapter 1, "How We Come to Be the Ones We Are"Two of the most authoritative voices on the funeral industry come together ...
While most books on biblical rhetoric focus primarily on the epistles, this volume from prominent scholar C. Clifton Black considers the variety of rhetorical critical approaches now being applied to the Gospels (including Luke-Acts). This updated edition takes into account recent research since the first volume was published in 2001 and features two brand new chapters. Black provides an overview of the different forms of rhetorical criticism, with examples from the Gospel of Joh...
Now available in paperback is Thomas Long's best-selling study on the Christian funeral. Long begins by describing how the Christian funeral developed historically, theologically, and liturgically, and then discusses recent cultural trends in funeral practices, including the rise in both cremations and memorial services. He describes the basic pattern for a funeral service, details options in funeral planning, identifies characteristics of a "good funeral," and provides thoughtful...
John C. Holbert and Alyce M. McKenzie have provided a humorous and helpful guide for avoiding common pitfalls in preaching. Their practical advice abounds with wit and wisdom for students, preachers, and teachers who seek to understand and execute the privilege of preaching while avoiding all-too-familiar snares. A free video companion is available, making this book excellent for group or classroom discussion.Introduction: Chapter 3: Chapter 4: Chapter 5: Chapter 6: Chapter 7:...
There is no doubt that the task of preaching can sometimes be overwhelming. Combining veteran wisdom, practicality, and a contagious reverence for the beauty of God's Word, veteran pastor James C. Howell leads pastors and teachers through the joyful and perplexing craft and practice of preaching. Drawing on a wide range of resources, Howell provides discussions on the "Subject Matters of Preaching," "Where Sermons Happen," "When Sermons Happen," and the "Life of the Body." The concl...
This unique commentary, the first of three in a new series, helps the preacher identify and reflect on the social implications of the Revised Common Lectionary readings. 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 the many ways that call comes to the church and world today. The days include Martin Luther...
LaRue is one of the best-loved preachers and writers about preaching. In past volumes, he's brought together great collections of African American preaching to showcase the best preaching from across the country. Here he offers his own insights into what makes for great preaching.Filled with telling anecdotes, LaRue's book recognizes that while great preaching comes from somewhere, it also must go somewhere, so preachers need to use the most artful language to send the Word o...
With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day.For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays—one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text...
With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day.For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays—one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text...
< ADVENTLEA DER>This commentary for preaching Matthew, a companion to WJK's successful Preaching the Gospel of Luke, Preaching the Gospel of John, and Preaching the Gospel of Mark, works through every passage of Matthew's Gospel with exegetical insight and a keen sensitivity to the demands of preaching. Stanley P. Saunders' commentary follows the biblical text, divided into passages. After each passage, a number of possibilities are presented for how to preach that text. He i...
Where have all the prophets gone? And why do preachers seem to shy away from prophetic witness? Astute preacher Leonora Tisdale considers these vexing questions while providing guidance and encouragement to pastors who want to recommit themselves to the task of prophetic witness. With a keen sensitivity to pastoral contexts, Tisdale's work is full of helpful suggestions and examples to help pastors structure and preach prophetic sermons, considered by many to be one of the most...
Feasting on the Gospels–Matthew, Volume 2
Author(s):Cynthia JarvisE. Johnson
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