Preaching
Showing 76–150 of 241 results
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Year Of The Lords Favour
$24.95Add to cartThis Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible’s main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together.
The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace that is given by Christ as the Head. So, precisely as a fruit of grace, preaching is necessarily related to ecclesial awareness. Doctrine ensures that preaching does not fall short of its true dimensions-expressing the biblical revelation, the faith of the Church. The second, third, and fourth volumes of Year of the Lord’s Favour cover between them the Temporal Cycle of the Church of the Roman rite: this third volume furnishes texts for Sundays through the Year; the second for the Privileged Seasons-Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide; the fourth for Weekdays through the Year. Preaching about the lives of the saints provides the subject matter of the first volume of the Homiliary.
Aidan Nichols, a Dominican of Blackfriars Cambridge, is surely the most prolific Catholic theologian writing in English today. Other titles from Gracewing include and, co-authored, His new commentary on the Holy Rosary, is also published by Gracewing.
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Year Of The Lords Favour
$24.95Add to cartThis Homiliary provides a comprehensive guide to doctrinally based preaching for the entire Church year, presented in the Dominican tradition: a preaching of Scripture which takes doctrine as guide to the clarification of the Bible’s main themes. Doctrine is necessary to preachers because in its absence the Scriptural claims and themes do not easily hang together.
The grace the Word imparts always has a reference to the Mystical Body which mediates all the grace, preaching is necessarily related to ecclesial awareness. Doctrine ensures that preaching does not fall short of its true dimensions-expressing the biblical revelation, the faith of the Church. The second, third, and fourth volumes of Year of the Lord’s Favour cover between them the Temporal Cycle of the Church of the Roman rite: this second volume furnishes texts for the Privileged Seasons-Advent, Christmastide, Lent and Eastertide; the third for Sundays through the Year; the fourth for Weekdays through the Year. Preaching about the lives of the saints provides the subject matter of the first volume of the Homiliary.
Aidan Nichols, a Dominican of Blackfriars Cambridge, is surely the most prolific Catholic theologian writing in English today. Other titles from Gracewing include and, co-authored, His new commentary on the Holy Rosary, is also published by Gracewing.
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Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle C
$19.95Add to cartEveryone loves a good story. Storytellers who excel at their craft have the ability to draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to both entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables — short stories that conveyed a spiritual truth. By drawing his listeners into his story, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was trying to relate to them.
This compilation of stories for the entire church year taken from StoryShare follows in that same tradition. StoryShare, a part of SermonSuite.com, is written by various authors brought together to meditate on scriptures in the Revised Common Lectionary for Cycle B and create stories that flesh out these passages, allowing readers to see these words in a new way. These stories can be whimsical and light-hearted or poignant and reflective, even tragic. But they all strive to bring us to a deeper understanding of both the scriptures and the God who inspired them. Some of the stories are even based on actual events experienced by the authors, events that influenced their perspective on Christianity.
Useful as sermon illustrations, stand alone sermons, teaching aides, personal devotions, or even just for entertaining reading, Lectionary Tales will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process.
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Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle C
$12.95Add to cartEveryone loves a good story. Storytellers who excel at their craft have the ability to draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables — short stories that conveyed a spiritual truth. By drawing his listeners into his story, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was trying to relate to them.
This compilation of stories for the seasons of Lent and Easter taken from StoryShare follows in that same tradition. StoryShare, a part of SermonSuite.com, is written by various authors brought together to meditate on scriptures in the Revised Common Lectionary for Cycle C and create stories that flesh out these passages, allowing readers to see these words in a new way. These stories can be whimsical and light-hearted or poignant and reflective, even tragic. But they all strive to bring us to a deeper understanding of the scriptures and the God who inspired them. Some of the stories are even based on actual events experienced by the authors, events that influenced their perspective on Christianity.
Useful as sermon illustrations, stand alone sermons, teaching aides, personal devotions, or even just for entertaining reading, “Stories for Teaching and Preaching “will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle C
$19.95Add to cart“I am very impressed with the way Dr. Ellingsen outlines this” Lectionary Preaching Workbook… “Here is a splendid workbook. It is rich in detail and theological insight. Ellingsen writes clearly, is sensitive to context, and widens [our] horizons… This book should be required reading for all pastors, seminary students, and other lay people who are involved in ministry with adults and youth. It should be regarded as a textbook to enhance one’s knowledge about the meaning of the seasons or major festivals of the [church] year.”
Reverend Jesse Averett Jr.
Presiding Elder, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
“If a preacher is looking for quick and easy sermons, this tool is not what s/he is seeking. But if a preacher is looking for solid biblical scholarship, thoughtful exegesis, a possible preaching theme for each of the appointed lessons for each Sunday in the lectionary year accompanied by a variety of ideas for how that theme might be developed, then CSS’ latest “Lectionary Preaching Workbook” will be a valuable resource. Built around the Revised Common Lectionary and the Christian church year, Pr. Mark Ellingsen has put together a highly useful resource.
Ellingsen’s passion for justice and equality as applied to the social issues of the day comes through clearly in some of his “sermon moves” as well as the socio-economic and political illustrative connections he offers. Incorporating insights and quotations from a variety of sources — everything from modern brain research to Luther, Calvin, Liberation Theology, Bonhoeffer, Pascal, and Barth — Ellingsen strives to connect God’s word to our world in ways that the preacher will find stimulating and inspirational.”
Glenn L. Simmons
Assistant to the Bishop
Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
When it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the “Lectionary Preaching Workbook “series and this special edition for Lent and Easter. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastors everywher -
6 Deadly Sins Of Preaching
$17.99Add to cartThis ethics of preaching text identifies vices of irresponsible preaching practices. Preachers who fail to develop deep respect for their listeners or drift into a lack faithfulness to the Gospel can end up becoming:
* The Pretender (The Problem of In-authenticity)
* The Egoist (The Problem of Self-absorption)
* The Manipulator (The Problem of Greediness)
* The Panderer (The Problem of Trendiness)
* The Crusader (The Problem of Exploitation)
* The Demagogue (The Problem of Self-righteousness)Just as the church historically derived its Seven Holy Virtues (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, & humility) by naming Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, & pride), Reid and Hogan call preachers to turn away from pulpit vices and strive to realize the homiletic virtues of becoming:
* Authentic (The Call to Be Genuine)
* Altruistic (The Call to Be Selfless)
* Careful (The Call to Exercise Self-Control)
* Passionate (The Call to Be Honest to God)
* Courteous (The Call to Woo a Reasoned Reception)
* A ‘Namer’ of God (The Call to Reveal an Ineffable God)The Six Deadly Sins of Preaching explores the difference between the irresponsible practices, unfortunate missteps, and mere unthinking mistakes in preaching. A chapter is devoted to Preaching Missteps (problems that do not rise to the level of being irresponsible) that includes:
* Short Changing the Process
* Waving a Red Flag
* Thou Shall Not Bore the Congregation
* Through the Looking Glass Darkly
* The Mumbler
* TMI-Too Much Information
* Your Cup Do Runneth Over
* Where’s This Sermon Going, Anyway? -
What Not To Say
$28.00Add to cartJohn 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.
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Collected Sermons Of Walter Brueggemann
$44.00Add to cartIn addition to being one of the world’s leading interpreters of the Old Testament, Walter Brueggemann is a skilled and beloved preacher. This collection of sermons demonstrates Brueggemann’s fidelity to biblical texts, which come alive with meaning in our contemporary world. Throughout, Brueggemann also reflects on his preaching.
The book features a biblical index as well as a foreword by Samuel Wells of Duke University who writes: “Enjoy this volume from a master exegete, a master theologian, and a master preacher. They really are neat sermons. And they’re for you.”
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Navigating The Sermon Cycle B
$39.95Add to cartFor each Sunday in Cycle B, the writers and editors of “Charting the Course,” an integral part of Emphasis: A Lectionary Preaching Journal from CSS Publishing Company, delve into the heart of the lectionary readings, providing you, the pastor with in-depth lectionary-based commentary; relating several fresh, solid ideas — based squarely on the lectionary texts — for creating sermons that speak powerfully to your audience. The team of Navigating the Sermon looks for overall topics for the entire Cycle B church year that hold the readings together. Then, they zero in on the theme and the specific scripture links, suggesting directions for the sermon and worship service. Since a single application for each week may not provide what you are looking for at that particular time, Navigating the Sermon in most cases suggests several ideas, giving you the opportunity to select the one that matches your specific needs.
This book is like having a dedicated, thoroughly versed sermon research and sermon resource team right in your own study to help you create riveting sermons that are truly yours and that speak powerfully to your audience.
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Preach The Word
$25.00Add to cartFor more than forty years, pastor R. Kent Hughes has shared the gospel with thousands of people and raised the standard of expository preaching in North America and beyond.
To celebrate his legacy and pay tribute to his years of ministry, fifteen of Hughes’s friends and colleagues from across the globe, including J. I. Packer, Wayne Grudem, John MacArthur, Peter Jensen, and D. A. Carson, examine what it means to be an expository preacher. Among the contributors are professors, a university chaplain, a college president, and urban church planters-living testimonies to Hughes’s wide influence.
These contributors address an array of themes for the ministry-minded, such as interpretive principles and practices, biblical and historical paradigms, expository preaching’s contemporary aims and challenges, and the priority of training-all in the expectation that this one man’s passion to preach the Word faithfully will enhance the understanding and practice of expository preaching in churches and seminaries around the world.
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Future Of Preaching
$35.00Add to cartPreaching remains a central feature of almost all Christian worship. There are thousands of men and women in the UK who preach on a regular basis, clergy of all denominations, Readers, Local Preachers, Lay Preachers, Chaplains etc. This book, edited and contributed to by some of the leading authors in this field, seeks to make a substantial and authoritative contribution to the teaching and learning of preaching. The contributors offer reflections on subjects such as Preaching in a Communications Culture, Preaching and the Bible, Preaching and Personality Types, the Life of the Preacher and Educating Future Preachers.
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Preaching The Gospel Of Matthew
$44.00Add to cartThis 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.
Saunders’s commentary follows the biblical text, divided into passages. After each passage, a number of possibilities are presented for how to preach that text. He includes a wealth of creative and pertinent tips to help preachers apply Matthew’s narrative to the lives of today’s churchgoers. -
Prophetic Preaching : A Pastoral Approach
$28.00Add to cartWhere 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 difficult tasks pastors are called to undertake. -
Preaching Christ From Ecclesiastes (Reprinted)
$33.99Add to cartAs Sidney Greidanus points out here, Ecclesiastes is especially relevant for our culture – the Teacher confronts enticements like materialism, secularism, hedonism, human autonomy, and self-sufficiency. But how can preachers convey these important teachings to their congregations in a helpful way? / Sidney Greidanus here does preachers a great service by providing the foundations for one or more series of expository sermons on Ecclesiastes. He breaks the book down in several ways, including: the boundaries of each preaching text, the text’s theme and goal, various ways to move to Christ in the New Testament, detailed exposition of the fifteen literary units, and application for today
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Transforming Preaching
$25.95Add to cartAt once a “travel guide” and a vision for the future, this series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. It analyzes our present plight, sketch a positive way forward, and point to the seeds of change – those transformative practices already at work renewing the church. What church models can help point us toward transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey?
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Our Own Time
$58.99Add to cartThe End Of The Mainline
Billy Graham (1918-)
A “New Breed” Of Presbyterians
Protestant Preaching In Black Africa
Liberation Theology In Latin America
Vatican II And American Catholic Preaching
The Romanian Revolution And The Preaching Of Joan Alexandru
Black Preaching
The Charismatics
A New Age In Britain
The Megachurch
The Young Churches Of East Asia
Additional Info
This magisterial volume is the seventh and last of Hughes Oliphant Old’s history of preaching. Here Old takes up the story with the sixties and the Second Vatican Council and follows it all the way through to the house churches of China and the preaching of the Archbishop of Uganda, known as the “Billy Graham of Africa.” Along the way he looks at the engaging preaching found in Latin America, the rise of the modern megachurch, the role of Joan Alexandru’s preaching in bringing down the house of Ceausescu, and other historically significant moments in preaching. / Full of surprising details and inspiring stories of ministry, this book is a fitting work to round out Old’s monumental, comprehensive series written by a preacher for preachers on the history of preaching in the Christian church. -
Following Love Into Mystery Feasts Funerals Weddings
$29.95Add to cartWisdom, wit, and Sacred Writ are the outstanding interactive hallmarks of this fourth and final volume in The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers series. In the same style and format as the first three volumes, Shea presents evocative reflections to enhance Scripture-based preaching and teaching for liturgical feast days, funerals, and weddings. Christian preachers and teachers and anyone interested in the spiritual life will find Feasts, Funerals, and Weddings an insightful and relevant resource.
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Finding Language And Imagery
$18.00Add to cartSermons use words. And though it appears obvious that preachers should be careful and exacting in word choice, novice preachers often set aside this aspect of preaching in favor of exegetical work and sermonic focus. Nonetheless preachers subscribe to preaching aids, peruse preaching websites, and purchase annuals of sermon illustrations in order to adorn their sermons with apt imagery. Preachers look for others’ words to amplify their own. The weekly work with language is daunting: Preachers must be disciplined to find fresh phrases for sermons and to make good choices about their own words and those borrowed from others as language shapes faith. This volume introduces the power of language to determine reality, the intricacies of language issues for preaching, and the custodial task of preachers for this work.
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Homilies For Weekdays
$19.95Add to cartHomilies for Weekdays: Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials is a requested and welcome addition to the first two volumes of weekday homilies by Father Don Talafous, OSB. Here, he offers creative homily suggestions for solemnities, feasts, and obligatory memorials that fall on weekdays. Readers will deeply appreciate the faithful representation of the Scripture readings and their practical applications for Christian living.
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Serving The Word
$18.00Add to cartThis book invites the reader to see how God’s word can become the crux not only of the sermon but of the worship service as a whole. Over the past half-century, worship scholars have found a substantial ecumenical worship pattern in Luke’s story of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearance on the road and at the table in Emmaus. In that word-and-meal structure, the relationship between preaching and worship as distinct aspects of liturgical experience breaks down. The preached word, then, and the liturgical event within which preaching is located become integral to each other. This book invites the reader to explore how-through God’s word-preaching informs and is, in turn, supported by the worship event as a whole.
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Word Is Very Near You Sundays
$31.99Add to cart“For the many thousands of clergy, readers and lay preachers who, week by week, seek inspiration as they prepare sermons on the set lectionary readings, here is an expert, wise and extremely down to earth guide. He may have a PhD and have taught at the University of Cambridge, but John Pridmore’s preaching skills were forged in a parish in one of the most notorious areas of London’s East End where there was absolutely no room for platitudes or escapist readings of the Scriptures. He quickly learned that in such a context, the Bible actually did have some real, gritty meaning for today or it had none at all. With this approach, and with his outstanding gifts as writer, he has written on the lectionary readings each week in the “”Church Times”” for the last three years. Wisdom, strongly tempered by reality, shines out from every paragraph as he skilfully explores, interprets and applies the set readings. Many such lectionary commentaries and companions exist already, but John Pridmore’s contribution to this genre will be widely welcomed.
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Kairos Preaching : Speaking Gospel To The Situation
$22.00Add to cartSometimes lectionary preachers struggle when situations present themselves in parish life. A congregational member dies, two lives are joined in marriage, a contentious social justice issue demands attention, or a public event like 9/11 shakes us to the core. Although lectionary and worship allow us to deepen our appreciation for the Bible and the themes and emphases of the Christian calendar, they sometimes fail to allow preachers to speak the gospel directly to the situations that occupy their congregations. This book is designed to help pastors and seminarians discover resources they already have to unpack situations and understand them theologically in light of their task of preaching the gospel.
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Unleashing The Word
$22.99Add to cart1. A Final Word To Preachers
2. Caring For The Flock
3. Developing A Preaching Plan
4. Fishing Expedition Sermons
5. Going Deeper
6. Ideas For Advent And Christmas
7. Preaching With Purpose
8. Preparing God’s People To Do The Work Of The Ministry
9. Rethinking “Prophetic” Preaching
10. Sermons To Strengthen The Church
11. The Worship Planning Team
12. Three Critical Ingredients
13. Using Video In Preaching And Worship
14. Weddings And Funerals
15. What Do Do If
16. Writing The SermonAdditional Info
Imagine announcing a new series of sermons and seeing worship attendance increase by 1,000 people on the first Sunday of the new series. Or consider a pastor developing sermon plans two to three years out. What kind of pastor sits in a bar with a notepad just looking for ideas for sermons? Or has as his aim to preach the best prepared, best researched sermons his congregation has ever heard? All of these and more explain part of the reason the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection has grown from four people to over 10,000 in just thirteen years.In Unleashing the Word, Adam Hamilton helps pastors and church leaders consider the purpose, planning, and execution of excellent preaching. He offers detailed descriptions of the sermon planning, writing and preaching process behind one of the fastest growing churches in the United States. He includes numerous personal anecdotes and enough sermon ideas to keep the average pastor busy for years! Finally, after you have read how sermons are planned and prepared at the Church of the Resurrection you can watch the included DVD which features four full-length sermons and other resources to help you apply what you’ve read in the book. If you only buy one book on preaching this year, this is the book you must buy!
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Collegeville Prayer Of The Faithful
$49.95Add to cart“Let us bring our prayers to the Lord.”
Each week when the community comes together for Mass, we gather to listen to the Word, to partake of the Eucharist, and to pray. The Prayer of the Faithful is marked by the same needs from week to week, but it is always an opportunity to approach God collectively in a way that reflects the richness of our particular celebration. This series of prayers by Father Michael Kwatera is rooted in the present moment: the liturgical season, lectionary readings, and the needs of the church. He draws on the readings, as well as the significance of feasts and of other celebrations. He is also attuned to the many ways we approach God, in language that is clear and attentive to the oral quality of the prayer.
“To place prayerful words on human lips and in human hearts is a most sacred work,” writes Father Kwatera in the introduction. The fruit of this work is a set of texts that invites the community to draw near to God each week in prayer.
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Interpreting The Bible
$18.00Add to cartThis volume provides preaching students and clergy with introductory knowledge of current approaches and methods in biblical studies, familiarity with the questions and aims that pertain to them, and facility with various methods of biblical exegesis. Approaches to biblical interpretation are then examined in light of the questions and concerns that arise specifically in the context of preaching. Methods of biblical interpretation are reviewed and explained in succinct fashion and related directly to the dynamics that give rise to the sermon and shape exegesis for sermon preparation, namely, the preacher’s engagement with the text, the author’s context, and the congregation. This volume enables preachers to approach the biblical text with greater clarity.
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Preaching The Atonement
$32.00Add to cartPreaching the Atonement is a unique teaching tool that offers a theological discussion of ten important Bible passages connected with the sacrifices of Christ. It brings historical and literary questions about the text into dialogue with Christian tradition in order to draw out the implications of the passage for preaching the doctrine today. In each chapter, a complete sermon on the passage in question is presented, followed by a commentary that sets the sermon in the context within which it was preached and highlights the strategy of the preacher in the theological interpretation of the text and its incorporation into the rhetoric of the sermon.
Sermons are provided by the authors as well as David Southall, Spurgeon’s College, London, UK; Kent Anderson, Northwest Baptist Seminary, British Columbia, Canada; A. Katherine Grieb, Virginia Theological Seminary; and David Schlafer, Episcopal priest and preaching consultant, Washington, D.C.
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More Power In The Pulpit
$28.00Add to cartIn this companion and sequel to the best-selling Power in the Pulpit (Westminster John Knox, 2002), which has sold over 11,000 copies, more of Americas best-known and most influential African American preachers describe how they prepare their sermons. Each preacher also presents a sermon that highlights his or her particular method of sermon preparation.
Contributors to this volume include: Willette Alyce Burgie-Bryant, William S. Epps, C. E. McLain, Otis Moss Jr., Otis Moss III, Veronica R. Goines, Cynthia L. Hale, Melvin V. Wade Sr., Raquel A. St. Clair, and Walter S. Thomas Sr.
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Preaching From Memory To Hope
$27.00Add to cartIn this compelling and hard-hitting book, respected preacher and teacher Tom Long identifies and responds to the most substantive theological forces and challenges facing preaching today. The issues, he says, are fourfold: the decline in the quality of narrative preaching and the need for its reinvigoration; the tendency of preachers to ignore Gods action and presence in our midst; the return of the churchs old nemesis, Gnosticism, evidenced in todays new spirituality; and the absence of eschatology in the pulpit.
Long once again has his finger on the pulse of American preaching, demonstrated by his creative responses to these challenges. Whether he is calling for theologically smarter and more ethically discerning preaching, providing a method of interpretation that will allow pastors to recover the emphasis on God in our midst, or encouraging a kind of interfaith dialogue with gnosticism, he demonstrates why he has long been considered one of the most thoughtful and intelligent preachers in America today.
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Write Stuff : Crafting Sermons That Capture And Convince
$28.00Add to cartIn this book, gifted preacher Sondra Willobee shows how to enliven sermons by using the techniques of great writers. With clarity and wit, Willobee explores the joyful process of crafting effective sermons. The book includes three sections: (1) hook, how good sermons begin with something that grabs listeners attention; (2) book, how to shape a sermon with narrative pulse and ascending emotional intensity so that listeners experience the gospel; and (3) stone, how good sermons use specific, concrete language. By explaining these techniques, offering many examples, and reflecting on her own successes and failures, Willobee has provided a resource that will rekindle the creativity of experienced preachers and help new preachers develop their own compelling voices.
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Sharper Than A Two Edged Sword
$19.99Add to cartKeen insight for preaching and teaching Scripture are to be found in these pages. Several respected scholars here discuss how to read and live the Bible theologically in our contemporary context. Editors Michael Root and James Buckley maintain that these essays, though varied, share at least three assumptions: (1) The word of God (not necessarily human preaching and teaching) is “sharper than any two-edged sword.” (2) Preaching, teaching, and living the Bible are firmly yet delicately intertwined in the communion of saints. (3) There are distinctive ministries of preaching and teaching in the church as well as other liturgical and diaconal ministries. With its complementary reflections from theologians, exegetes, and preachers, Sharper Than a Two-Edged Sword will appeal to any clergy or laypeople who find themselves uncertain about how to relevantly preach, teach, and live the Bible today.
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Preaching The Gospel Of Mark
$44.00Add to cartIn this engaging treatment of the Gospel of Mark, Dawn Ottoni Wilhelm combines biblical scholarship with a close reading of the Gospel text to meet the needs of preachers today. Swift and purposeful, the Gospel of Mark proclaims Gods reign and urges the participation of all Gods people in the witness of the good news that God has transformed human reality through Jesus Christ. This insightful commentary helps that message come alive while providing pertinent suggestions about how preachers can proclaim this message to todays churchgoers.
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Preaching The Story That Shapes Us
$19.99Add to cartForeword
Introduction
Part 1: The Theology And Narrative Of Biography:
The Calling And The Called
1. Before I Had A Thumb To Suck
2. The Love Of The Game
3. The Call
4. Spoking It
5. A Vulnerable God
6. Fleas In The Parsonage
7. IWish She’d Learn To Cuss
Part 2: The Bible: Where The Words Come From . . .
and What They Do
8. God Speaks
9. The Written Word
10. Reading . . . Or Being Read?
11. Hearing
12. Tribute To A Friend And Mentor
13. Theological Assumptions
Part 3: Getting Ready To Preach
14. Sensing And Attending
15. Inquisitiveness
16. Looking For Trouble
17. AWorld Of Images And Experiences
18. Pausing To Let The Text Do Me Good
19. Don Wardlaw Again
20. Consulting With The Scholars
21. Exegeting The Congregation
Excursus 1: On A Corporate Vs. Individual Theology Of Worship-
Invitation To The Dance
Excursus 2: On The Use Of Power-Siding With Power
22. The Shape Of The Sermon
23. Public Speaking For Pastors
24. Top 10 Don’ts
25. The Worship Plot
Part 4: Anthology Of Sermons
New Eyes-Luke 24:13-35
Touched-Luke 4:14-30
Seeing Past The Labels-Luke 7:36-50
Hollow Laughter, Holy Tears-Luke 6:17-26
Divine Backing-Luke 9:28-43
God’s Blog-Jeremiah 31:31-34
Neb’s Nightmare-Daniel 4
Deep In Our Bones-Exodus 2:1-25
Eternal Optimism-Romans 8:18-30
You Can’t Hide Family Resemblance-1 John 3:4-10
Enemies-Psalm 109
Dirty Hands, Pure Hearts-Matthew 5:8
Notes
BibliographyAdditional Info
In our world, stories matter. Methods and systems are beneficial because they provide structure and help keep us on the right road; but the motivation and courage to keep walking the road, come from the stories we hear and see and experience-stories that inspire hope and bring us face-to-face with God.For ministers, the call to preach is a call into a story that forms and shapes us. It’s about stumbling into revelation as life unwinds and scripture unfolds. It’s about listening to God’s voice and then sharing it with others. It’s about recognizing that when people gather to hear a sermon, God speaks. And it’s about understanding that when He speaks, He speaks through you.
Preaching the Story That Shapes Us is more than a textbook on preaching. It’s an empowering call for preachers to present a picture of the kingdom of God already at work among us, recognizing that the work of preaching is not just about arranging words-it’s about people. With elegant prose and crafted reason, Dan Boone weaves together scripture, personal narrative, structure, and theological reflection to provide a satisfying, efficient guide to narrative preaching. From exploring the importance of biography to walking readers through creative processes that shape the sermon, Boone shows preachers how to awaken lives and share the stories of God that reveal who we are and lead us to who we will be.
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Words Fitly Spoken
$11.95Add to cartFor every minister, from the time they step out of the seminary doors to the last time they step behind the pulpit, preaching the word can be one of the most daunting tasks they face on a week-to-week basis. What can I say that has not already been said? How can I make the scriptures come alive in the minds of my congregation? How can I relate events that happened thousands of years ago to what my congregation faces in their daily lives?
Illuminated by the scriptures themselves, Words Fitly Spoken explores in-depth the nuances of the homiletic craft. From the proper use of hyperbole and imagery to methods for how to elaborate imaginatively on the scriptures, this is a comprehensive resource for pastors struggling with delivering effective sermons. Sample sermons are included with each chapter, showing how each method can be applied in a typical Sunday morning service.
Every pastor is charged with speaking words of life to his or her congregation. Words Fitly Spoken is a beneficial tool to help pastors of all denominations to more powerfully deliver the wonderful, life-changing message of the gospel.
David von Schlichten is the pastor of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church in Youngstown, Pennsylvania. He is currently an adjunct lecturer in history at St. Vincent College (Latrobe, Pennsylvania) as well as the book review editor for Lutheran Partners magazine. He was educated at Drew University (Madison, New Jersey) (B.A.), Kutztown University (Kutztown, Pennsylvania) (M.A.), Lutheran Theological Seminary (Gettysburg, Pennsylvania) (M.Div.), and Lutheran Theological Seminary (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) (D.Min.). -
Knowing The Context
$18.00Add to cartWhile everyone might affirm that preaching needs to engage its listeners deeply, the initial move for novice preachers is to think this can be attained by livelier content and delivery of the sermon. All too quickly, however, one learns that there are many factors beyond what a preacher says and how she or he may say it that affect whether proclamation can actually be heard. Effective preaching requires the complex work of knowing the context in which preaching occurs, while avoiding the twin dangers of pandering to a situation’s particulars or generalizing them into stereotypes. Knowing the Context reveals how to engage contexts for preaching, especially ways to examine contexts more responsibly, so that the sermon might more amply bring the word of Scripture to bear on the worlds and lives of listeners.
In one of the initial titles in the Elements of Preaching series, James Nieman shows how preaching is oriented to specific locales, cultural situations, audiences, and occasions. Unlike other books that tell preachers how to preach to specific audiences, Knowing the Context helps readers analyze the situations in which they find themselves and shows how text and context are in a continuing dialogue and how to tailor sermons to their context. Keyed to online sermon samples and other Web-based features to enhance teaching.
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Preaching The Miracles Series 2 Cycle B (Revised)
$15.95Add to cartThis book offers an abundance of insightful information on each of the nine miracle stories in Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary – yet Brauninger intentionally avoids presenting a ready-made cloak of words for a morning sermon. Instead, she invites preachers and their audiences to discover hidden implications by exploring the gap between the “back then” and the “now.” Outlines of the action reveal the pivotal points in each story, and fictional interviews help readers get into the minds of the characters – thus connecting their human experiences with the daily struggles we encounter in faith and discipleship. Brauninger’s unique approach not only answers questions, it also generates them – which spurs the thinking process and allows the Word to come alive.
Five sections are devoted to each miracle story:
* Text – The entire scripture text is provided for easy access.
* What’s Happening? – A synopsis of points of action within each miracle story.
* Connecting Points–Conversations – Brauninger engages in imaginary exchanges with the main characters and an occasional bystander.
* Words – Significant terms are examined.
* Gospel Parallels – Similarities and differences with parallel passages are highlighted. -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 5 Cycle B (Revised)
$49.95Add to cartBigger, stronger, better! This newly revised edition of Russell Anderson’s best-selling Lectionary Preaching Workbook retains all of the great features that have made it an indispensable tool for busy pastors who need a helping hand with their weekly homiletic research and want to make the most of their limited preparation time. Combining concise but insightful textual notes with a wide range of creative preaching ideas, each chapter provides plenty of starting points for developing stimulating sermons that make the scriptures come alive for the people in the pews. In addition to a convenient sermon planning template plus overviews of Mark (the featured Gospel narrator in Cycle B) and each liturgical season, every week’s material includes:
* a listing of applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts
* a theme for the day
* brief commentary on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons
* a prayer for the day
* theological reflections exploring the relationships between the texts
* several possible preaching approaches, each with a suggested title and “sermon angle”
* additional illustrations to assist in fleshing out the message -
Guide To Preaching And Leading Worship
$24.00Add to cartOne of the world’s most admired preachers here offers his practical and sage advice for some of the most basic tasks of ministry: preparing, delivering, and evaluating sermons; planning, leading, and evaluating worship services; offering public prayers; and celebrating baptism and the Lord’s Supper. In addition, Willimon provides creative suggestions for involving laity in worship.
Ideal for beginning ministers and seasoned veterans alike, A Guide to Preaching and Leading Worship will assuredly become a standard must-have for mainline Protestant clergy.
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Preaching To A Post Everything World
$20.00Add to cartZack Eswine starts this unique pastoral resource with a captivating question: Could I now reach who I once was? Challenging the idea that today’s preachers must do away with biblical or expository preaching if they are to reach non-Christian people, Eswine offers a way of preaching that embraces biblical exposition in missional terms. Recognizing all of the different cultural situations in which the gospel must be preached, he gives preachers practical advice on preaching in a global context while remaining faithful to the Bible.
Pastors, seminarians, and church and ministry leaders who speak in various contexts will welcome this fresh, thoughtful examination of bringing the Word to today’s multi-everything, post-everything world.
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So That All Might Know
$20.99Add to cartMost preachers experience the conundrum of reaching some people in the congregation, and not others. Does this mean some people are more “tuned in” to the gospel than others?
*Argues that differences in responsive behavior results from diverse intelligences and learning styles represented throughout the congregation
*Draws from recent research indicating that people receive and process information and communication in widely different ways
*Shows preachers how to craft sermons to speak to each multiple learning style each time they step into the pulpit
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Stewardship Companion : Lectionary Resources For Preaching
$35.00Add to cartWith deep pastoral sensitivity and solid biblical knowledge, Mosser draws one passage from each week in the three-year lectionary cycle to provide a brief reflection on how that passage can be used to teach and preach about stewardship.
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Hearing A Film Seeing A Sermon
$28.00Add to cartNew Testament scholar and pastor Timothy Cargal offers preachers effective ways to help parishoners comprehend scripture and theology in sermons through the use of popular films. He offers the basics of interpreting films, and includes sample sermons.
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Telling Gods Story
$22.00Add to cartTable Of Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction1. Homiletics As Biblical Hermeneutics
2. Eclipsing The Biblical Narrative: The Narrative Contours Of North American Christianity
3. Weaving The Story: The Biblical Narrative And A Homiletic Rhetoric Of Turning
4. Weaving The Story: Sermonic Exhibits
5. Weaving The Story And The Rhetoric Of Pastoral Care
Conclusion
IndexAdditional Info
Presents a new model of preaching that aims to connect the biblical text with a congregation so that they are formed into a true Christian community. Wright critically surveys current theories of preaching and the variety of hermeneutical practices, providing clear guidance and practical direction for faithful preaching. -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 5 Cycle A (Revised)
$47.95Add to cartBigger, stronger, better! This newly revised edition of Russell Anderson’s best-selling Lectionary Preaching Workbook retains all of the great features that have made it an indispensable tool for busy pastors who need a helping hand with their weekly homiletic research and want to make the most of their limited preparation time. Combining concise but insightful textual notes with a wide range of creative preaching ideas, each chapter provides plenty of starting points for developing stimulating sermons that make the scriptures come alive for the people in the pews. In addition to a convenient sermon planning template plus overviews of Matthew (the featured Gospel narrator in Cycle A) and each liturgical season, every week’s material includes:
* a listing of applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts
* a theme for the day
* brief commentary on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons
* a prayer for the day
* theological reflections exploring the relationships between the texts
* several possible preaching approaches, each with a suggested title and “sermon angle”
* additional illustrations to assist in fleshing out the message -
Preaching The Parables Series 4 Cycle A
$14.95Add to cartRichard Sheffield preaches and writes with clarity and conviction. He has a rare gift of interpreting parables so they are accessible to his audience while retaining their heavenly truth for our lives. He has a heart for God, and that comes through in this book.
Rev. David E. Gray
Former Acting Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of Labor
Presbyterian Chaplain, American UniversityWhen Richard Sheffield sang “I Love to Tell the Story” as a child, he never dreamed that he would end up telling that age-old story for his life’s work. Yet “telling the story” is a vital form of communication for preachers and the most effective way to reach audiences with God’s powerful plan of salvation. People love to hear stories, sing about stories, and tell stories — but above all, they remember stories! Jesus knew this; indeed, he was a master storyteller himself. Jesus’ most powerful sermons — the parables — were simply earthly stories with heavenly meanings, using such common imagery as salt and light, sheep, a mustard seed, weeds, lamps with oil, and workers in a vineyard.
Preaching the Parables expands on 14 of Jesus’ parables appearing in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary and brings them into a more modern setting. In Sheffield’s hands, the stories he loves to tell are as varied as familiar songs in the hymnal: he uses the children’s song “The Wise Man Built His House upon the Rock” as a springboard for a vivid portrayal of the difference between wise and foolish builders; “This Little Light of Mine” provides further insight into Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5; and the plaintive wail of “The Ninety and Nine” reminds us — just like Luke 15 — that if we were the only wandering sheep, our wonderful shepherd would seek for us until we were found.
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Finding The Story
$19.95Add to cartIn Finding the Story, James Ayers examines the art of narrative preaching and shows how storytelling can help people in the pews hear God speaking to their hearts through scripture. Ayers analyzes ways to illuminate texts that are difficult to preach, and provides a wealth of creative approaches for making them accessible ? such as looking at Psalm 137 through the eyes of a slave who watched his child dashed against the rocks, or seeing Matthew and Luke’s Christmas narratives through the eyes of a bitter man whose only son was killed in Vietnam. Finding the Story offers a dynamic avenue into some of the very thorniest texts and topics of the Bible ? enabling readers to find and share unique opportunities for encounters with God!
Finding the Story is a must-have tool for all ministers who:
? long to connect with their congregations on a deeper level;
? struggle with how to preach doctrinally heavy passages without putting listeners to sleep;
? wonder how to relate the imprecatory psalms to modern-day situations; and
? want their people to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit rather than the droning of a shepherd who feels the same things they feel, but sometimes finds it difficult to share those feelings -
Forgiveness The Jesus Way
$15.95Add to cartFinding the Story, James Ayers examines the art of narrative preaching and shows how storytelling can help people in the pews hear God speaking to their hearts through scripture. Ayers analyzes ways to illuminate texts that are difficult to preach, and provides a wealth of creative approaches for making them accessible — such as looking at Psalm 137 through the eyes of a slave who watched his child dashed against the rocks, or seeing Matthew and Luke’s Christmas narratives through the eyes of a bitter man whose only son was killed in Vietnam. Finding the Story offers a dynamic avenue into some of the very thorniest texts and topics of the bible — enabling readers to find and share unique opportunities for encounters with God!
Finding the Story is a must-have tool for all ministers who:
long to connect with their congregations on a deeper level;
struggle with how to preach doctrinally heavy passages without putting listeners to sleep;
wonder how to relate the imprecatory psalms to modern-day situations; and
want their people to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit rather than the droning of a shepherd i 1/2 one who feels the same things they feel, but who sometimes finds it difficult to share those feelings. -
Preaching With Purpose And Passion
$9.99Add to cartThe authority to preach comes by divine appointment from God and is one of the most fulfilling aspects of a leader’s ministry and life. This book will empower and encourage all leaders to reach for a higher level of love and achievement in preaching.
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Conversations With Barth On Preaching
$30.99Add to cartReaders of William H. Willimon’s many books have long discovered the influence of Karl Barth, one of the most significant theologians of the twentieth century. In this new book, Willimon explores that relationship explicitly by engaging Barth’s work on the pitfalls and problems, glories and grandeur of preaching the Word of God. This Swiss theologian, says the author, expressed one of the highest theologies of preaching of any of the great theologians of the church. Yet too much of Garth’s understanding of preaching lies buried in other sources. Willimon brings this material to light, introducing readers to Barth’s thought on both the meaning and the practice of preaching.
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Empowering Your Preaching (Student/Study Guide)
$24.99Add to cartRevitalize your preaching ministry with “Empowering Your Preaching”. This one-day course is an intense spiritual, mental, and practical encounter. Find your spirit empowered as you work though each chapter and receive a fresh new hunger to preach the Word.
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Preach The Word
$14.99Add to cartPreach the Word gives a new slant to exposition that is Bible- and Christcentered. The reader is instructed in exposition from a textual or biographical perspective and working with a verse, paragraph, chapter, section of a book, or entire book in an interesting and prayerful manner. This makes for a wider view of exposition of the Bible with Christ’s life and work in the two testaments. “Having once taught homiletics in a Bible college, and having made a serious study of homiletics over the years, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Preach the Word. I appreciated the excellent definition of expository preaching. Earle Cairns gives a practical list of working tools which every seminary study ought to assimilate. His suggested helps in the exposition of biblical books is invaluable. Only a man of mature years could give the help he offers to the young would-be preacher.” -Dr. Wendell Hawley RETIRED VICE PRESIDENT TYNDALE HOUSE PUBLISHERS
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Your Faith Has Made You Well Cycle B
$15.95Add to cartThis is an admirable example of pastoral theology at its best. Aaron’s discussions of the historical background and theological significance of each text are thoroughly informed and articulate. Equally helpful are the insights he brings to the understanding of the pastoral implications of each text and the strategies appropriate to preaching the text. This book proves that some of the best biblical theology for pastors can be written by a pastor.
David Bartlett
Lantz Professor of Preaching
Yale University Divinity School
The moving accounts of Jesus’ astonishing power to cast out demons and heal physical ailments are singularly compelling preaching texts with rich possibilities for proclamation — they have much to teach us about God’s grace and the ministry of the church, as well as the spiritual dimension of evil. But these passages are also fraught with homiletic peril, presenting preachers with a tangle of problems and conflicting beliefs. In light of modern scientific knowledge and technological sophistication, some Christians question if these miracles really occurred. Others wonder why only some people experience such healings, and there is a temptation to simplistically equate lack of healing with lack of faith. Should we expect similar miracles today? What is the link between faith and wellness? And most important of all, what do these strange yet fascinating stories mean for us today?
Your Faith Has Made You Well helps preachers negotiate this minefield with a detailed exploration of eleven miracle narratives appearing in Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary. It’s packed with stimulating ideas and illustrations for developing dynamic sermons, including a supplemental chapter with numerous examples of contemporary miracles and healings. Each miracle is examined from several perspectives to produce a holistic understanding:
? historical background — What Old Testament narratives or ideas are reflected in the story? What do we know about the understanding of medicine and health in Jesus’ time?
? literary analysis — How does the plot unfold? How are the characters developed? What literary devices are employed?
? theological reflection — What does the text affirm or imply about God, creation, the ministry of Christ, salvation, and the meaning of evil? What does it teach us about faith, the Christian life, and the mission of the church?
? pastoral reading — What insight does the text give us about the human condition
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When God Speaks Through Change
$30.00Add to cartAnyone who has preached at a wedding and a funeral in the same week can attest to the power of the occasion to impact the preaching event. At times, a congregational transition looms so large in a sermon that it becomes the lens through which scripture is interpreted, the congregation is addressed, the preacher is heard, and God is experienced.
Homiletics professor and parish pastor Craig Satterlee reflects in this accessible, provocative volume on how to integrate such significant events in a congregation’s life into the preaching ministry of the church. Rather than offering a blueprint for preaching, however, he walks alongside pastors, seminarians, and other congregational leaders who want to make sure the gospel, not an agenda, is preached.
Issues considered include: (1) the benefits and risks of using preaching to address the transition, (2) how preaching collaborates with other congregational processes involved in the transition, (3) how scripture and the transition interpret one another, (4) how to incorporate the transition into the form, content, and delivery of the sermon so that the gospel and not a program or agenda is proclaimed and heard, and (5) how the transition affects the preacher’s ability to proclaim and the congregation’s ability to receive the message.
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More Alive Than Ever
$12.95Add to cartThe Gospel of John has a unique function – unlike the synoptic Gospels, which provide chronological accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, John weaves the story and words of Jesus around seven miracles that he calls “signs.” These signs are the visible evidence that Jesus is the source of true life. Through his spoken words and healing power, Jesus’ inspiring life force flows outwardly to all who believe in him.
This in-depth exploration of the miracle stories in John’s Gospel helps you discover how to tap in to this powerful life force and become more alive than ever. Each chapter studies the scripture text of a miracle to identify the quality associated with it, then offers numerous illustrative examples demonstrating how this “sign” or trait can positively influence daily living.
With thought-provoking discussion questions included, More Alive Than Ever is an excellent resource for small group Bible study or adult Sunday school classes. Its convenient illustration index also makes this a rich source of meaningful metaphors and stories for preaching. But even more, it’s stimulating reading for anyone who wants greater insight into these marvelous accounts of God’s power at work.
Chapters include:
? Joy Is Like The Rain
John 2:1-12? Trust Is An Umbrella
John 4:46-54? Hope Can Be Moving
John 5:1-9? Bread Is Always Needed
John 6:1-14? Peace Is Like A Flowing River
John 6:16-21? Seeing Is Getting The Mud Out Of Your Eyes
John 9:1-41? New Life Is Like A Grain Of Wheat
John 11:1-44 -
Retelling The Story
$12.95Add to cartIs the typical didactic sermon still an adequate vehicle for communicating essential biblical truth? In this provocative and enlightening volume, Larry Lange contends that story sermons are a far more effective way to proclaim the Good News in a modern world that largely communicates through narrative-driven multimedia spectacle.
The powerful stories in the Bible don’t need to be turned into morals or ideas to convey the gospel. But because they were composed in a radically different cultural context, they may require additional explanation or interpretation to make them relevant for contemporary audiences. So how can a preacher add narrative elements to these stories without diminishing their dramatic impact or changing their meaning?
Retelling The Story outlines an innovative process for retelling biblical stories that utilizes fictional elements and contexts yet remains faithful to the scriptural text. Several creative and homiletical issues are comprehensively examined, and six sample sermons are included to illustrate various aspects of this process at work. Inject exciting new life into the old, old story with this primer for developing dramatic sermons that touch hearts and minds and souls.
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Preaching The Parables Series 3 Cycle B
$18.95Add to cartesus used his parables to teach ordinary people with common problems; yet because these simple stories contain universal truths that transcend time and culture, they still strike a powerful chord and provide us with important lessons about God’s kingdom. Preaching The Parables offers a gold mine of informative background material on each of the seven parables appearing in Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Dallas Brauninger probes these familiar texts with a fresh, imaginative viewpoint, revealing what they tell us about God and inviting further reflection on what they mean for modern living.
Preaching The Parables is much more than just a sermon preparation resource — it’s also an excellent bible study tool, exploring questions like:
? What dimension of the soul that needs tending does the parable address?
? What is the parable’s surprise?
? What moves us into hope?
? How does its point become obvious?
? How do its characters relate to us today?
Brauninger identifies points of action, examines significant terms, and engages in imaginary exchanges with a variety of characters. The complete text of each parable is also included, along with an analysis highlighting similarities and differences in parallel passages. And there’s a convenient “word study” index for locating key concepts from parables in all three lectionary cycles.
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Preaching Parables To Postmoderns
$20.00Add to cartPreface
1.Postmodernity
The Nature Of Change
The Premodern And Modern Ages
The Postmodern Experiment
Characteristics Of Postmodernity
2.Parables: A Window Of Truth For Postmoderns
Definition Of Parable
Relationship Of Jesus’ Parables To The Hebrew Tradition
The Purpose Of The Parable
Characteristics Of The Parables Of Jesus
Interpreting The Parables For Preaching
Steps In Developing The Homiletical Text
Preaching Parables To A Postmodern Age
3.A Study Of Parables For Sermon Preparation
Parable One: The Sower (Matthew 13:1-23)
Parable Two: The Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35)
Parable Three: Laborers In The Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16)
Parable Four: Talents (Matthew 25:14-30)
Parable Five: The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Parable Six: The Friend At Midnight (Luke 11:1-13)
Parable Seven: The Rich Fool (Luke 12:13-14)
Parable Eight: The Prodigal Son (Luke 15:1-32)
Parable Nine: The Persistent Widow (Luke 18:1-8)
Parable Ten: The Pharisee And The Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14)
Conclusion
4.Four Sermons
Sermon One: The Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35)
Sermon Two: Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) Sermon Three: The Good Samritan (Luke 10:25-37)
Sermon Four: The Prodigal Son (Luke 15-11-32)Notes
Bibliography
IndexAdditional Info
Stiller argues that Jesus’ parables, through their narrative, personal, and oral dimensions and reversal of expectations, provide unique access to Christianity for those whose experience and hopes we label “postmodern.”Aligning contemporary scholarship with today’s cultural assumptions, Stiller offers preachers a working knowledge of postmodern sensibilities, an understanding of the parable genre, an analysis of ten parables, and a sample of how one might preach them effectively.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 8 Cycle B
$49.95Add to cartThe challenge of creating a fresh, incisive sermon every Sunday can sometimes seem overwhelming — but if you have the all-new edition of CSS’ acclaimed Lectionary Preaching Workbook at your fingertips, you’ll never feel that way again! With penetrating reflections on Cycle B lectionary passages and a thorough discussion of preaching themes plus a treasure trove of supporting illustrations, this comprehensive volume is the perfect starting point for your weekly homiletic research. Carlos Wilton combines a scholar’s deep insight into the biblical texts with a pastor’s practical understanding of how to make them come alive for the people in your pews, and his astute commentary is sure to stimulate your thought process and provide plenty of seeds for developing messages with maximum impact. A handy, easy-to-use sermon planning template is also included to facilitate the process of building your sermon. The Lectionary Preaching Workbook is an indispensable tool that helps you to powerfully proclaim God’s Word while getting the most out of your limited preparation time.
Each Sunday’s material includes:
? a listing of applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts
? a theme for the day
? commentary on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons
? possible preaching approaches
? a pastoral prayer
? numerous illustrations to flesh out the message
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Preaching Paul
$23.99Add to cartHelpful 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.
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More Profound Alleluia
$23.99Add to cartTwo questions lie at the heart of this rich, suggestive book: What are the theological implications of worship? and What are the liturgical implications of theology? Convinced that worship and theology are integrally related, the authors of A More Profound Alleluia show in practical terms how liturgy and doctrine fruitfully illuminate each other.
Each chapter pairs an element of the worship service with related Christian teachings, clearly demonstrating how the great doctrines of the faith find their natural expression in the drama of worship and how the liturgy in turn finds its corollary in doctrine. The interrelation of theology and worship is illustrated with anecdotes from congregational life, resources drawn from church history, and themes from novels and films. Each chapter also includes two hymn texts that exemplify orthodox doctrine communicated through song.
A More Profound Alleluia will be a valuable text for courses in theology or worship, will help worship leaders to plan services with greater theological depth, and will enhance worship for Christian believers generally.
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Without A Net
$16.95Add to cartDoes the idea of speaking without a manuscript in the pulpit make you feel like a trapeze artist trying to negotiate a high wire without a net? There you are, balancing delicately in the stratosphere and holding on for dear life with nothing but you and your ballet shoes, wondering “Why, oh why, didn’t I bring even a sliver of paper up here to catch me when I fall?”
For many pastors, preaching without notes is a terrifying prospect — yet reading verbatim from a manuscript prevents a sermon from being natural and spontaneous. This book shows how you can learn to preach freely without needing the net of written reminders, while still retaining full control over your material. It presents a concise and workable method for creating memorable sermons that connect with listeners. By focusing on delivery, Shepherd casts the entire sermon preparation process, including both study and composition, in a completely new light. Using this approach will make it easy to preach sermons without notes, because they were meant to be preached in the paperless pulpit.
Featuring a user-friendly design, Without A Net is a convenient, instructive text for both beginning and experienced preachers. In addition to a complete system for constructing and delivering a sermon from start to finish, there’s a brief outline of the entire process that allows you to quickly locate more details on specific topics. A concise “nutshell” summarizes each chapter’s highlights, and there are plenty of pithy “hints and tips” to help you with the essential steps. Several sample sermons are also included so you can see how this approach actually works.
Preaching without a net may seem like magic to congregations. But there’s no real secret; the answer is right here in this book. With a little practice, one day they’ll be asking you too, “How do you do that?”
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On Earth As It Is In Heaven Matthew Year A
$29.95Add to cartWith a goal of transcendent awareness, John Shea presents this commentary on the Sunday Gospel readings for those who are drawn to the spiritual wisdom of the Gospels. Ideal for Christian preachers and teachers, and Christians who meditate on the Gospels, Shea’s book takes a literary-spiritual approach. He analyzes the mindsets of characters and how Jesus complimented, critiqued, praised these mindsets, to inspire meditation, reflection, and spiritual development. On Earth as It Is in Heaven, Year A is the first book of a four-volume set, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers. This set is a Lectionary-based resource that references both Roman Catholic and Revised Common Lectionaries, making it useful and interesting to various Christian denominations. A Scripture index makes Shea’s insightful reflections accessible for personal reflection on the Gospel texts as well as other uses outside of liturgical preparation. With wisdom relevant to our contemporary world, The Spiritual Wisdom of the Gospels for Christian Preachers and Teachers: On Earth as It Is in Heaven will find its way to the top of your resource list.
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Visions And Healing In The Acts Of The Apostles
$14.95Add to cartTrances, visions, healing miracles: permeating the biblical records are these altered states of consciousness, through which some early Christians experienced God. Today’s rituals and liturgies are related to those experiences, which have become significant elements in the Christian tradition and mysticism. Pilch uses cultural anthropology, cognitive neuroscience, and medical anthropology to interpret these past events, and to explore the contemporary liturgical potential of this new understanding. Backed with solid, scientific insights, this interdisciplinary book will help the reader gain appreciation of our ancestors’ faith and the power of Scripture and liturgy.
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Hearing The Word Of God Year A
$15.95Add to cartThe commentaries on the Lectionary readings in Hearing the Word of God are an attempt not only to hear the Word of God in Scripture but also to suggest ways that the Sunday readings might continue to nurture faith and life. Inevitably they reflect the time in which they were first written-as a popular weekly column in America from November 2000 to Advent 2001.
Hearing the Word of God includes Scripture readings for the Sunday, followed by a reflection on the reading, and concludes with “Praying with Scripture,” a series of questions and meditations to guide readers in making a personal application of the reflection.
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Hunger For The Word Year A
$19.95Add to cartWe have all experienced hunger, whether it’s a need for spiritual guidance or physical nutrition. Our hunger for God’s Word can benefit those needing material sustenance. God’s Word calls us to nourish the physically hungry and poor, just as it nourishes our faith and sustains us in our struggle for justice.
Hunger for the Word explores the Lectionary with a focus on anti-hunger advocacy, social activism, and political issues affecting marginalized people. Using insights, images, and stories from pastors, professors and lay people who are active in anti-hunger campaigns, this ecumenical book offers devotional connections to inequality issues, as well as themes to help in our struggle to understand and eliminate injustice. Hunger for the Word, edited by Larry Hollar of Bread for the World, brings concern for hunger and fairness into our daily religious life.
With weekly sermon/homily reflections, Hunger for the Word is an invaluable resource for pastors, liturgical ministers and those interested in justice-oriented Bible study and spiritual growth. Also includes suggestions for musical worship, and ideas for children’s sermons to help spread God’s Word of activism, compassion, and integrity throughout the congregation.
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Preaching The Calendar
$25.00Add to cartPastors face a perennial challenge of knowing how to treat special days in the calendar. For days marked in the church year, the challenge is how to speak a fresh word about a familiar theme or story. For days marked in the civil calendar, the challenge is to discern within secular celebrations appropriate connections with the Christian gospel. In Preaching the Calendar, masterful preacher Ellsworth Kalas discusses the importance of embracing holidays and special days as occasions when sermons can enlarge and deepen spiritual yearnings. His words of wisdom demonstrate how this type of preaching can be done well and serve as valuable sources of stories and sermon illustrations for pastors eager to help people find new and renewed relationships with God.
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Preaching Hebrews
$15.95Add to cartThe 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.
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Preaching As Prophetic Calling
$20.95Add to cartPreaching as Prophetic Calling is the twelfth in a series of books devoted to presenting examples of preaching excellence from parishes throughout the Episcopal Church. This volume addresses the difficult and essential area of preaching a prophetic word. What does a prophetic sermon look like without being shrill, and without being filled with “musts,” “oughts,” and “shoulds”? This collection of sermons includes examples of prophetic preaching that are visionary and that speak in ways that offer radical comfort as well as radical challenge.
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Voicing The Vision
$26.95Add to cartFor more than a decade popular homiletics professor Linda Clader has been helping her students become attentive to how the Holy Spirit is speaking to them, and eventually through them to the congregation. In Voicing the Vision she shares her ideas about what preachers can do to be open and receptive to the Spirit once the exegesis is done.
Clader’s approach to inspired and prophetic preaching is a holistic one, filled with suggestions about how the preacher’s spiritual life and practice affect openness to the Spirit, as well as how various creative exercises can create spaces in which the Spirit can flourish. Her careful analysis of the biblical texts that illuminate how the Spirit works in those texts is supplemented by practical suggestions for noticing how the Spirit also works in the everyday life of preacher and congregation.
This book will be a welcome companion for the seminarian who is just learning to preach, as well as the seasoned preacher who is looking for new inspiration
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Preaching And Reading The Old Testament Lessons Cycle A
$23.95Add to cartProminent author and biblical scholar Elizabeth Achtemeier provides an outstanding preaching and study resource with this collection of brief expositions on all of the First Lesson texts contained in Cycle A of the Revised Common and Lutheran Lectionaries. Infused with her customary insight into the Hebrew scriptures, this compendium of Achtemeier’s stimulating contributions to the preaching journal Emphasis furnishes a plethora of fruitful starting points for preparing sermons solidly rooted in the Bible yet connected to modern life. But as the book’s title suggests, this volume isn’t just for preachers and homiletics students — it’s also a powerful commentary for study groups and personal devotional reading. Achtemeier’s unrelenting focus on the promises of God appearing in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament, combined with her outstanding scholarship, make these faith-filled essays an enriching resource for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of God’s Word contained in the scriptures.
