Preaching
Showing 151–225 of 248 results
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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.
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Preaching The Parables Series 3 Cycle A
$19.95Add to cartJesus used his parables to teach ordinary persons with ordinary quandaries; yet because these simple stories contain universal truths that transcend time and culture, they still provide us with powerful lessons. Preaching The Parables provides a gold mine of background material on each of the fourteen parables appearing in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Dallas Brauninger brings a fresh, imaginative approach to these familiar texts, probing them to reveal what they tell us about God and inviting further reflection on what they mean for modern living.
Much more than just a sermon preparation resource, Preaching The Parables explores 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. Modeled on the format of Brauninger’s popular Preaching The Miracles series, each chapter includes five sections:
* Text
* What’s Happening?
* Spadework
* Parallel Scripture
* Chat Room -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 3 Cycle C
$37.50Add to cartPractical preaching strategies to help the over-burdened parish pastor communicate God’s Word in vital, meaningful ways.
This is the third volume in CSS’s third series of popular preaching workbooks — Designed to help you get the most out of every moment you spend in sermon preparation.
Special Features Include:
Commentary on Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common Lectionary texts
Sermon Starters for First Lesson, Second Lesson, and Gospel texts for every Sunday in Cycle C
“Theological Clues” to help you explore the relationships among all the texts for each Sunday
Wide Margins and Stay-flat binding for ease of use
Overviews of preaching challenges and possibilities for each liturgical season
Extensive Bibliography of exegetical and homiletic resources for Cycle C preaching
And All-new Insights from one of CSS’s most well-respected and successful authorsThis workbook is an exercise in liturgical, as well as lectionary preaching. It springs from the rationale that most lectionary helps ignore the liturgical setting of the lessons assigned to the various Sundays. It is this author’s contention that the exegetical/homiletical process begins with the church year. The year, cycles, seasons, Sundays, and festivals establish the themes and provide theological clues for worship and, particularly, preaching, especially in the first half of the church year. This approach is the outgrowth of the author’s doctoral dissertation and four of his books, The Renewal Of Liturgical Preaching, The Song And The Story, and Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A and Cycle B. Each deals with preaching from the lectionary texts in the context of the worship, work, and lives of the people of God.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Cycle A (Revised)
$46.95Add to cartOne of the most comprehensive lectionary preaching resources available, the Lectionary Preaching Workbook is the one tool you will want to have close at hand to help you get the most out of every minute you spend preparing your Sunday sermon. This completely revised and updated volume provides you with a host of practical aids for effectively proclaiming God’s Word. In addition to theological reflections on the three lessons for each Sunday, each chapter also explores a theme for the day (including a prayer and a suggested hymn) and outlines numerous preaching options. You’ll also find a handy, easy-to-use Sermon Planner template to facilitate the process of building your sermon.
Special features include:
* an introduction to Matthew’s gospel
* overviews for each liturgical season that pinpoint preaching goals and possible sermon series — and examine the season’s customs, history, meaning, and message
* a listing of applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts
* commentary on each Sunday’s Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons
* theological reflections to help you explore the relationships among all the texts
* a variety of preaching options, complete with suggested outlines
* available in either paperback or 3-ring binder formats, with wide margins for convenient, easy use -
Bucket Full Of Miracles Cycle A
$18.95Add to cartThe stories of Jesus’ miracles challenge our jaded modern sensibilities — with today’s wealth of scientific and technological knowledge, the wonders of our world rarely amaze us anymore. It can be difficult for us to grasp the astounding effect of these events in Jesus’ time, especially when we are sidetracked in a search for logical explanations, but Jeff Wedge maintains that the key to fully understanding the miracles is recapturing our child-like sense of wonder about them. Underlying these familiar stories is the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world in which we live.
Packed with valuable idea starters and rich material for sermon development, A Bucket Full Of Miracles helps evoke that sense of wonder with a detailed exploration of the nine miracle stories appearing in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Each chapter includes the biblical text and examines the words, the people, and the action of the lesson, as well as providing several illustrations and possible preaching approaches. This volume provides plenty of homiletic material for the busy pastor with limited time — but it’s also stimulating reading for anyone who wants greater insight into these marvelous accounts of God’s power at work.
Chapter titles include:
* Nativity (Matthew 1:18-25)
* The Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
* Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:1-21)
* Walking On Water (Matthew 14:22-33)
* The Demon-Possessed Girl (Matthew 15:21-28)
… and four more! -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 6 Cycle C
$59.95Add to cartPreachers must understand the teaching techniques of parable and hyperbole, not to mention having a good background in systematic theology, in order to understand what the Bible’s writers really meant…. But our responsibility is also to reduce the complexities of Bible study to such simplicities that our many listeners, ranging from busy young professional people to aging men and women of failing health to youngsters facing a variety of new temptations, can take away a saving word. (from the Preface)
E. Carver McGriff provides the tools preachers need for their daunting task with some of the most timely and thought-provoking research on the lectionary texts ever made available.
Included for each scriptural lesson in the lectionary are:
A listing of the applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts.
A description of the Psalm of the day.
A prayer for the day.
Commentary that is more than academic exegesis — McGriff brings to the forefront those points in the lessons that relate most poignantly to our contemporary reality.
Suggested sermon titles for each of the three texts for each Sunday.
Themes and suggested directions for preaching on each text.
Several additional illustrations to enliven your preaching. -
Preaching The Miracles Series 2 Cycle C
$17.95Add to cartWhile this book offers information for the sermon writer, the design of its contents provides more than the ho-hum. It avoids presenting a ready-made cloak of words for a morning sermon. Instead it invites preachers and their audiences to explore the gap between the “back then” and the “now.” It not only helps answer questions, it generates them- a crucial element in understanding the miracles of Jesus.
Five sections are devoted to each of the nine miracles in cycle C:
Text — For Easy access the entire lectionary text is provided, preventing the need to flip back and forth to a Bible.
What’s Happening? — A synopsis of points of action within each miracle story. By reviewing the story action, readers define its movement, the conflict and the change or resolution.
Connecting Points -Conversations — This section offers the central material of each chapter. Here Brauninger engages the preacher in an imaginary exchange before the text is given its usual preparatory attention. Visits with main characters and an occasional bystander nudge the reader toward stepping into their sandals. This section invites the preacher and the listening audience to ask questions relevant for them, thus expanding their questioning, and therefore their understanding
Words — Here significant words are examined. While this work is not intended as a scholarly study, it assists in placing things in proper context.
Gospel Parallels — This section highlights similarities and differences among parallel stories in the other gospels.There is also a helpful bibliography included.
This new series from Brauninger promises to be a favorite among preachers. Through it audiences will become aware of how God speaks to them through the miracle stories and will enable them to hear their inner voice and more clearly understand it and themselves.
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Spirit Filled Teaching
$22.98Add to cartAcclaimed teacher Roy B. Zuck reveals how teachers can tap into the power of divine energy to fulfill their calling and use their gifts at a deeper level. By applying these timeless, spirit-focused principles, teachers will learn how to teach more effectively and inspire students spiritually.
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Whats Good About This News
$28.00Add to cartIn this study of the Gospels and the book of Galatians, David Bartlett explores how to reconcile the biblical text’s message to our contemporary context and a particular congregation’s character and need. While, as he shows, important continuities exist in the way the good news is understood throughout the New Testament, precisely what it looks like and how Christians respond to it differs between Mark, Paul, John, and the rest of the writers. Consequently, he demonstrates, preachers have options as they try to discern what news a congregation needs to hear on a particular Sunday. Including sample sermons, What’s Good about This News? shows how each of these biblical texts remains a redemptive word for today’s people.
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Practical Guide To Pulpit Ministry
$21.99Add to cartThere is a need within the leadership of the Church (the body of Christ) to place a particular emphasis on public speaking dynamics used in pulpit ministry. Many of God’s ministers have received or already accepted the call to publicly minister the Word of God directly from the pulpit, yet may not have the opportunity to receive any practical training or considered the dynamics needed to accomplish the will and purpose of God for their ministries. A Practical Guide to Pulpit Ministry (Public Speaking Dynamics) addresses: Pulpit ministry overview of goals and responsibilities Motivation techniques and instruction Principles of learning Effective communication Preparing outlines/lesson plans Outline/lesson plan personalization And much more! This offering to church leadership and current/prospective ministers embodies the true essence of giving God your best, while keeping Him as the absolute focus!
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Practical Guide To Pulpit Ministry
$13.49Add to cartThere is a need within the leadership of the Church (the body of Christ) to place a particular emphasis on public speaking dynamics used in pulpit ministry. Many of God’s ministers have received or already accepted the call to publicly minister the Word of God directly from the pulpit, yet may not have the opportunity to receive any practical training or considered the dynamics needed to accomplish the will and purpose of God for their ministries. A Practical Guide to Pulpit Ministry (Public Speaking Dynamics) addresses: Pulpit ministry overview of goals and responsibilities Motivation techniques and instruction Principles of learning Effective communication Preparing outlines/lesson plans Outline/lesson plan personalization And much more! This offering to church leadership and current/prospective ministers embodies the true essence of giving God your best, while keeping Him as the absolute focus!
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Preaching To Myself
$12.95Add to cartA compelling preacher shares her unique method for creating memorable sermons in this practical, down-to-earth manual that’s chock-full of excellent ideas for homiletical preparation. It’s an engaging look at what characterizes outstanding preaching as well as a humorous catalog of the hazards facing those who enter the pulpit. Schmitz relates numerous amusing and instructive anecdotes from her own preaching experience, and offers valuable advice on how to write and deliver messages with maximum impact. For example, Schmitz notes that compelling stories which resonate with hearers are a crucial ingredient of great sermons — and Preaching To Myself illustrates how to tap into this endlessly renewable resource. Simple, funny, field-tested in the trenches with real people — if you want to enjoy a chuckle while learning what makes top-notch sermons that change lives, then this is the book for you.
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Preaching Marks Gospel
$18.95Add to cartIn a classic case of failing to see the forest for the trees, Jensen, a homiletics professor and author of two works on narrative preaching, says that preachers tend to analyze biblical books to glean the slightest bits of exegetical data, yet miss the thrust of the overarching story they try to convey. Jensen contends that preachers get too caught up in an analytical, left-brained mentality that obscures the power and meaning of the good news story.
In these pages Jensen helps us approach Mark’s gospel with eyes wide open rather than with microscope in hand. He treats Mark’s gospel as a narrative whole and challenges preachers to tell the gospel’s story to their congregations. In doing so, Jensen emphasizes the strength of biblical stories. He says that these stories are powerful in and of themselves, that they work without much explanatory help. The problem is that listeners never hear the entire story, because it’s always told to them in bits and pieces.
Jensen’s adaptation of what Robert Alter (author of The Art of Biblical Narrative) calls narrative analogy assumes that “… parallel acts or situations are used to comment on each other in biblical narrative.” In other words, if Mark told story “B” to flesh out the reality of story “A,” then perhaps preachers today can do the same thing in their preaching. Students of Jensen have enthusiastically embraced this approach: “This is great, we never get to hear them (stories) whole!” How did it ever occur to us that we could improve on the story of the Prodigal Son, for example, by reducing it to ideas?
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Principios De Predicacion – (Spanish)
$22.99Add to cartSe requiere una habilidad poco usual en el manejo del idioma literario para combinar profundidad y sencillez para definir terminos profesionales en lenguaje laico y a la vez hacer un libro de texto y manual de inspiracion. Pablo Jimenez tiene esa capacidad. Su tratado sobre la predicacion esta redactado en lenguaje sencillo y ampliamente ilustrado. Es suficientemente ameno como para servir de material suplementario o de inspiracion a quienes solo quieren disfrutar un poco de buena lectura y de la cual sacar ideas para su uso personal. Sin embargo a la vez esta obra es suficientemente profunda como para convertirse en libro de texto para institutos teologicos, colegios o seminarios.
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Preaching From The Soul
$22.99Add to cartCareful biblical interpretation; insights into contemporary life; polished delivery; humorous anecdotes; these are the building blocks of preaching that genuinely reach people. Right? Wrong, says Ellsworth Kalas. We have all encountered preachers who seem to know all the fine points of exegesis and inflection, yet whose sermons leave us surprisingly unmoved, aware that we were in the presence of good speaking, but not great preaching.
The difference, Kalas reminds us, lies in that hard-to-describe, yet essential quality known as soul. Soul is the collection of those perspectives and convictions that matter most to the preacher. Soul preaching means offering one’s particular ideas, attitudes, and convictions fully to the congregation. When one preaches with soul, one engages the biblical text with the core of one’s values and beliefs. Soul preaching is, in other words, simply giving the whole self to the task of proclamation. While the concept may sound simple, the reality is anything but.In the clear, insightful style for which he is known, Kalas takes readers on a path of discovery, introducing them to the unique gifts that they can bring to preaching, and the best way to engage those gifts in preparing and delivering the sermon.
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Pastors Guide To Effective Preaching
$14.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
Pastors are judged by their preaching. How are you measuring up?
Every week, those 30 minutes you spend in front of the congregation impact their decisions about whether or not to attend your church.
Preaching changes lives when Christians answer the call to do what
God asks of them.
In The Pastors Guide To Effective Preaching, Billy Graham William Willimon, Eugene Peterson, and other well known church leaders will teach you to connect with the congregation through your preaching. Beyond the “how to’s” of preaching, The Pastors Guide provides a foundation for embodying God’s grace and holiness as a means of communicating His message.
You’ll learn to
Keep your congregation engaged in what you’re saying.
Plan an extended preaching schedule.
Relate the gospel to our secular and humanistic society
Understand the role of preaching in your overall ministry
Preach with authority and communicate the gospel with simplicity
And much more. -
Confessing Jesus Christ A Print On Demand Title
$32.99Add to cart264 Pages
Additional Info
Denying any realities beyond our own mental constructions, postmodernists relentlessly question the presuppositions of many disciplines—including homiletics. Confessing Jesus Christ: Preaching in a Postmodern World encourages pastors to treat sermons as public acts of “faith alone.” Offering a lively description of antifoundationalism—and its implications for Christianity—David Lose suggests concrete methods of countering the challenges it poses. Includes two sample sermons. -
Speaking Jesus : Homiletic Theology And The Sermon On The Mount
$36.00Add to cartOnce again, renowned homiletician David Buttrick has written a highly practical book that conveys and makes contagious his excitement for the theological task of preaching. In this book, he delineates the theological issues inherent in the Sermon on the Mount and presents a homiletical strategy for preaching its meaning an relevance. In Part One, Buttrick gives a general overview of the text and raises central theological issues imperative to its preaching, particularly the authenticity of Jesus’ words and the sermon’s relevance for today. In Part Two, he provides commentary on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, provides suggestions for preaching, and includes some of his own sermons as examples.
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Preaching Workbook Series 1 Year 1
$31.95Add to cartProviding a fresh, timely reflection every week can be a daunting task. So when time or inspiration is flagging and you need the jump-start of creative ideas, the “Preaching Workbook” from CSS is just what the doctor ordered! Prominent pastor, former seminary president, and prolific author Jerry Schmalenberger draws upon the experiences of a lifetime in the ministry to help readers effectively share God’s word with crisply written insights. This outstanding set of practical aids explores many homiletical approaches and is sure to help preachers prepare more vital, incisive sermons.
Each chapter includes:
– a listing of and commentary on selected scripture texts
– a theme for the day’s service
– suggestions on preaching possibilities
– an outline of possible sermon moves
– additional illustrations to help flesh out the message -
Age Of The Reformation
$55.99Add to cartHughes Oliphant Old’s survey of preaching throughout the history of the Christian church has been heralded as a monumental achievement. This fourth volume of Old’s history brings the story of preaching up through the Protestant Reformation to the end of the seventeenth century.
This is the pivotal volume in Old’s project because it covers not only what the Reformers preached but also their reform of preaching itself. Luther made a clear break with the preaching traditions of the Middle Ages, while figures like Bucer and Calvin developed a strong expository approach to preaching. Old traces the main events and people involved in the development of distinctly Protestant forms of preaching, giving due attention to how and in what sense preaching was itself an act of worship.
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Too Deep For Words
$32.00Add to cartExploring fundamental ways in which verbal expression in worship relates to aesthetic expression, Clayton Schmit provides a vitally important book for all homiletics students and scholars. Worship isn’t just a sequence of “holy” words. Schmit reflects theologically on the relationship between verbal and aesthetic expression and the aesthetic responsibility of those who preach, pray, and lead in public worship.
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Preaching John
$25.00Add to cartThe Gospel of John and 1 John exhibit a peculiar Christian language and thought that need to be understood and employed in the preaching ministry. The preacher’s task involves penetrating the thick and often confusing language of the Gospel and comprehending its frequently paradoxical theology. The preacher can find new and powerful resources for preaching in Johannine language and thought, as well as its use of narrative and discourse. These discoveries facilitate preaching John in ways that are consistent with recent trends in homiletic theory. The method of this book is to combine the practical (how to preach John) with proposals for understanding the Gospel and 1 John. The author offers a variety of sermon ideas and designs throughout each chapter based on numerous passages selected from the Revised Common Lectionary.
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Preaching To A TV Generation
$13.95Add to cartThe gospel has always been conveyed primarily by speaking it to people. The problem is that in today’s world of television people listen and hear differently than they listened and heard in the past.
“When preachers understand the dynamics of this new world, then the gospel can ring with new vigor and life in our preaching,” writes the author.
Preaching To A TV Generation explores the changes brought to our society by television. It suggests what preachers can do in the face of these changes — in terms of language, structure, creativity and delivery.
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Spirituality Of The Psalms
$29.95Add to cartThe psalms offer a harmony to life and a rhythm that keeps us peacefully in tune with the intense fervor of life. In The Spirituality of the Psalms, Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P., looks at the structure of the psalms to explain how they can have bearing in our lives today. He describes how we can apply the psalms to our spiritual lives and integrate the psalms in the Church’s prayer life and ministry.
The Spirituality of the Psalms is the last work of Stuhlmueller which was uncompleted upon his death in 1994. He had completed a first draft of all but two chapters, 12 and 13, which Timothy Lenchak, S.V.D., added from Stuhlmueller’s commentary Psalms 1 and 2. The completed text was then edited, revised, and updated by Carol Dempsey, O.P., who did so with care so as not to lose Stuhlmueller’s “voice” and “hand” in the text.
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Preachers Edge
$17.95Add to cartThe Preacher’s Edge puts to work the basic principles of oratory and persuasive speaking with creative pulpit techniques. It is written to be used by preachers for a revival and renewal of their preaching.
From this book one can learn how to reach and hold the attention of this “channel surfing” generation of congregational members.
This book is a celebration and affirmation of the role of preaching as the church moves into the 21st century. Reading it will modify the way in which the preacher delivers his message. And it will improve the attention span of those who hear the Good News in new and exciting ways.
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53 Stories For Preaching Series 1 Year 1
$13.95Add to cart“Emilio Lopez received a surprise phone call from his bishop one day. “Would you be interested in a call to a white congregation in a neighborhood that is becoming Hispanic? I think you’re just the kind of pastor they need in these days of transition.””
(excerpt from the story “Light in the Life of Eternity”)
Following Shakespeare’s philosophy that “brevity is the soul of wit,” this anthology offers readers 53 succinct, insightful stories based on scripture passages. Each narrative faithfully updates the biblical theme in a modern setting from everyday life that everyone can relate to. Many feature surprise endings that will rivet the attention while strengthening believers’ faith. The brief stories in this well-rounded collection make excellent starting points or centerpieces for a sermon, and they’re also ideal for uplifting devotional reading.
The contributors to “53 Stories for Preaching” represent pastors and ordinary Christians from many denominations across North America. The 16 storytellers include:
Constance Berg
Dallas A. Brauninger
Charles W. Byrd
B. Kathleen Fannin
Susan K. Hedahl
Richard A. Jensen
James E. Sargent
Betty Lynn Schwab
Robert Beringer
Steve Burt
Cynthia E. Cowen
Peter C. Garrison
Sandra Herrmann
Paul Lintern
Henry Scholberg
John E. Sumwalt -
Parables Of Jesus And Their Flip Side
$12.95Add to cartWritten as a companion volume to Schmalenberger’s acclaimed CSS title The Miracles Of Jesus And Their Flip Side, this book takes an imaginative look at twelve of Jesus’ parables by examining their traditional interpretation (the “hit” side), and then turning them on their ear to see the “other side of the story” — a different perspective with relevance for our modern-day lives (the “flip” side).
For example, in addition to warning about the dangers of building on sand instead of rock, Schmalenberger considers how to rebuild after a flood. In the parable of the wedding banquet, he discusses the people who were invited live together after the undeserved feast. And in the parable of the lost sheep, he talks about how the shepherd needs the support of the “ninety-nine never lost” in order for him to go after the one lost sheep.
Schmalenberger’s punch, contemporary language, and narrative style produce hard-hitting and inspirational messages that offer a unique new twist in the interpretation of some old and marvelous gospel teachings — his “flip side” approach is sure to add freshness and sparkle to your preaching.
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Who They Really Were
$15.95Add to cartWhen the problem of what to preach next Sunday raises its frowning head, solve it by calling on one of the hundreds of biblical characters standing in line at your study door, nearly beating it down with their clamorous “Take me! Take me!”.
Preaching on biblical personalities has an irresistible appeal, because audiences are more interested in people than in anything else. Jesus himself preached mainly about people (“a certain man had two sons …”); so there’s no excuse for making the Gospel dull — and with the help of Bodo’s book, preachers can add spice to the pulpit fare they serve up week after strenuous week. -
Preaching Matthews Gospel
$22.95Add to cartJensen’s research and insights provide a stimulating resource on Matthew’s Gospel. Jensen provides “Homiletical Directions” at the end of each chapter that will help the preacher find a focus and locate themes for preaching the text. Jensen points to the ways in which the biblical writers lock their stories together with other stories in order to give fuller meaning to their narratives. He covers material that is not included in the assigned lectionary texts and discusses the inter-relatedness of Matthew’s stories. These “narrative analogies” imply that preaching on Matthew’s Gospel may at times be a retelling of two or more Matthean stories.
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No Deed Greater Than A Word
$16.95Add to cartThis book is written for preachers who suspect that the way they were taught to preach (and for the most part are still being taught to preach) simply does not work.
The author’s objective is to bring the Bible to life in the sermon in all of its dimensions. To do that the preacher must understand his listeners as well as his message. Those who explore Shepherd’s message will find themselves thinking about the sermon and preaching in an entirely new way.Shepherd presents his position with a firm grounding in biblical studies, literary criticism, and theology.
The book is for those preachers who are dissatisfied with the way they were taught to preach, but are not sure why. Using practical examples from real sermons, the book uncovers many of the faults of traditional preaching styles and inspires a new approach to the sermon that unites preacher, congregation, and scripture under the powerful Word of God’s grace.
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Literary Companion To The Lectionary
$29.00Add to cartThis beautiful book offers poems and literary pieces for Sundays and principal feasts throughout the liturgical year. Each selection relates to an aspect of the Scripture readings for the Eucharist in the Revised Common Lectionary, the Roman Catholic lectionary, and the Book of Common Prayer. Drawn from many centuries and many countries including Britain, Ireland, North America, Africa, and Australia, these readings bridging literature and liturgy can prompt private prayer or public worship through imaginative engagement. A short note before each passage connects with an idea, image, or story found in one of the biblical readings or the seasonal theme. From Robert Herrick to Brendan Kennelly, from Christina Rossetti to Emily Dickinson, from Dante to Monica Furlong, the poets, novelists, and playwrights gathered here bring an added dimension that graces the life of the church.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 7 Cycle A (Workbook)
$41.95Add to cartProviding a fresh, timely reflection every week on assigned scripture passages can be one of a pastor’s most daunting tasks. But when time or inspiration is flagging and you need the jump-start of creative ideas, the latest edition of the classic CSS resource Lectionary Preaching Workbook is just what the doctor ordered! Prominent pastor, former seminary president, and prolific author Jerry Schmalenberger draws upon the experiences of a lifetime in the ministry to help readers effectively share God’s Word with crisply written insights. He’s created an outstanding set of practical aids to help preachers with their weekly sermons. Each chapter includes a listing of the applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts; a theme for the day’s service; commentary on the Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons; suggestions on preaching possibilities; an outline of possible sermon moves; and additional illustrations to flesh out the message.
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Preaching To Every Pew
$24.00Add to cartThe growing cultural diversity of American society is mirrored in the pews and parishes of mainline denominations and represents a dynamic challenge to the effective proclamation of the gospel on Sunday mornings. Preaching to Every Pew, based on extensive field research, takes on the challenge of preaching in such a context. The authors map an approach to culture from four signifigant perspectives: ethnicity, class, displacement, and religious beliefs. They describe the signifigant ways in which culture influences human beings, detail how cultural influences affect and complicate communication in general and preaching in particular, and then recommend practical strategies for improving communication in culturally diverse settings. Preaching to Every Pew is an invaluable aid to pastors and seminaries yearning for more effective ways to proclaim the gospel.
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Craddock Stories
$23.99Add to cart“Those who have heard Craddock preach know that the stories he weaves are a “secret weapon” of his preaching. Now Mike Graves and Richard Ward have complied Craddock Stories, a collection of more than 200 stories that Craddock tells, based on his own life and ministry. Even those who don’t follow Craddock’s preaching model will thoroughly enjoy the winsome and insightful stories in this collection.”
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Using Illustrations To Preach With Power
$22.50Add to cartPaul’s vivid metaphor of the “armor of God” still speaks to us today. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “dream” transformed an entire nation. Using illustrations in your sermon furthers your congregation’s understanding. Arguing that lively illustrations are vital to effective preaching, Chapell shows you how to choose, shape, and incorporate them into your sermons.
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Homiletical Plot : The Sermon As Narrative Art Form (Expanded)
$30.00Add to cartLowry argues that preachers should regard the sermon as a narrative art form, a sacred story of God’s dramatic encounter with humanity. He outlines five steps for preaching narrative sermons, even when dealing with non-narrative biblical texts. Because the plot of each sermon moves from a point of tension to a point of resolution, people willingly become involved in the sermon.
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Parables For Preachers Year C
$41.95Add to cartThe parables of Jesus are puzzling sayings and stories with world-transforming potential. Parables for Preachers offers an understanding of how parables work and a fresh variety of possible meanings not only for Jesus’ original audience and for the early Christians for whom Matthew, Mark, and Luke wrote but also for contemporary Christians as well. The Gospel parables are analyzed in the order in which they appear in the Lectionary, making this book an indispensable resource for preachers, teachers, catechists, liturgy planners, and Bible study groups.
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Apologetic Preaching : Proclaiming Christ To A Postmodern World
$26.00Add to cartWhile dealing with apologetic issues about relativism and faith was once reserved for non-Christians, today even regular churchgoers have questions that need to be addressed. But not only do the have questions, they often seem to have a totally different mindset of skepticism and doubt that resists authoritative presentations of spiritual truth.
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Speaking Parables : A Homiletic Guide
$36.00Add to cart1. The Parables Of Jesus
2. The Mysterious Kingdom Of God
3. Preaching Parables
4. Parables In Mark
5. Parables In Matthew
6. Parables In Thomas
7. Parables From Q In Matthew And Luke
8. Parables In LukeAdditional Info
From beginning to end these pages ask preachers to broaden and revise their understandings of parables and to abandon the ways they have proclaimed the parables. The preacher and congregation together can expect to find a mysterious God that will not be domesticated and a vision of a changed world that will both indict and inspire. Buttrick had developed a way of helping a preacher move from parable scenario to sermon. -
Evangelistic Preaching That Connects
$27.00Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Put more power into your evangelistic preaching by learning how to relate to a non-Christian audience. These sample sermons and practical directions will help you reach, challenge, and convert unchurched listeners who are ignorant about the Bible and steeped in pluralism and moral relativity.
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Heart Of Black Preaching
$45.00Add to cartCleophus LaRue argues that the extraordinary character of black preaching derives from a distinctive biblical hermeneutic that views God as involved in practical ways in the lives of African Americans. This hermeneutic, he believes, has remained constant since the days of slavery.
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Modern Preacher And The Ancient Text
$38.99Add to cartHow to choose and isolate a coherent section of Scripture, outline the main points, decide on a universal principle, choose alternate ways to preach the material (e.g., didactive, narrative, or textual), and deliver it in a creative, imaginative fashion.
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Praising God : The Trinity In Christian Worship
$26.00Add to cartExplores ways to enrich the language of Christian worship while remaining faithful to the church’s affirmation of God as Trinity. The authors encourage gender-inclusive language for the Trinity, and offer pastoral and theological suggestions about trinitarian language in the worship service.
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These Will Preach
$14.95Add to cartSchmalenberger shares this collection of 475 illustrations and narratives gathered from his own preaching journals. The material will be useful to any preacher and is organized by topic.
This book contains 475 illustrations, anecdotes, metaphors, and narratives useful to any preacher or public speaker. The contents are indexed according to 63 topics, ranging from Advent, Angels, Blessings, Church … to Prayer, Pentecost, Resurrection, Spiritual Life, Stewardship, Truth, TV Commercial, and Worship.
Schmalenberger, who has served as senior pastor in some of America’s largest Lutheran churches and who has taught preaching at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary, gathered this collection from his own preaching journals.
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Crisis Preaching : Personal And Public
$23.99Add to cartIt’s 6:30 Sunday morning and you’re feeling good about today’s sermon . . . until you learn a tornado has ravaged two neighborhoods overnight, leaving a quarter of your congregation homeless. With little preparation time, how do you revise your message to offer desperately needed encouragement? Jeter, a professor of homiletics, offers six practical strategies for effective “crisis preaching.”
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Speaking The Truth In Love
$36.00Add to cartPhilip Wogaman challenges preachers not to retreat from the world and to reconsider what they leave out of their sermons. In this helpful guide, he discusses the biblical and theological grounding of prophetic preaching, the pastoral and liturgical setting, Christian moral decision making, and appropriate issues for discussion from the pulpit. He also includes his most compelling sermons, identifying the setting and goals of each.
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Burdensome Joy Of Preaching
$20.99Add to cartIn this volume, James Earl Massey explores the sense of burden and the sense of joy that accompany the preaching task. He gives attention to the preacher’s sense of both the inward side of the task and the outward side of preaching. He then considers the togetherness that earnest preachers seek to experience with their hearers, followed by reflec- tions on the planning necessary for the eventfulness that preaching was ordained by God to offer. 102 page soft- cover from Abingdon Press.
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Biblical Period
$45.99Add to cart“The Reading and Preaching of the Scriptures in the Worship of the Christian Church” is a multivolume study by Hughes Oliphant Old that canvasses the history of preaching from the words of Moses at Mount Sinai through modern times. In Volume 1, “The Biblical Period,” Old begins his survey by discussing the roots of the Christian ministry of the Word in the Worship of Israel. He then examines the preaching of Christ and the Apostles. Finally, Old looks at the development and practice of Christian preaching in the second and third centuries, concluding with the ministry of Origen.
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Preaching From The Minor Prophets A Print On Demand Title
$19.99Add to cartDespite the authority and theological richness of the twelve books of the Minor Prophets, these Old Testament writings are perennially neglected by the church and the pulpit. This volume was written to provide clergy with the tools to once again preach from these important texts with confidence and relevancy.
For each of the twelve Minor Prophets, Elizabeth Achtemeier provides a wealth of information useful for preparing a sermon: recommended commentaries, historical context, theological context, and sections dealing with selected texts. These sections include (1) a brief treatment of linguistic and rhetorical features to note, (2) suggested sermon titles designed to arouse the interest of a congregation, and (3) homiletical exposition intended to stimulate preachers as they develop their sermons.
An excellent guide to the books of the Minor Prophets, this volume is unique for its theological depth, presented in clear and simple language for clergy and laity alike.
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Foolishness Of Preaching A Print On Demand Title
$21.99Add to cartWhat is the foundation of good preaching? How should preachers prepare themselves to faithfully and effectively address the church? And, just as importantly, what ought congregants, who come to church to hear a word from God, hope for from their preachers? These are often asked – and often answered – questions. But Robert Farrar Capon tackles them with a freshness and a frankness that make both the questions and the answers new.
In Part 1 of the book, “The Bedrock of Preaching,” Capon discusses how essential it is to have “a passion for the Passion” (to believe passionately in the Good News of salvation in Christ), how to overcome the stumbling blocks to genuinely accepting grace, and how to relinquish a false sense of control over our salvation. This part of the book also has important things to say to those of us who listen to sermons and who look to the pulpit for words of grace and hope that are truly meaningful to our lives today.
In Part 2, “The Practice of Preaching,” Capon concentrates on the mechanics of preaching in anything but a mechanical way. He begins by discussing the ingredients of preaching, emphasizing the importance of not just reading but really hearing the Word in the original Greek and Hebrew, and offers some pointed comments on the Common Lectionary. He then goes on to illustrate how to preach effectively from notes, giving specific, day-by-day suggestions for preparation. He also shows, using the full text of one of his sermons as an example, how to preach from a more fully written manuscript and explains how to move from first notes to final notes for a sermon, again using some of his own notes as an example.
In Capon’s creative hands these instructions are not just a nuts-and-bolts exercise; they are lively, challenging lessons in preaching that, for all their practical advice, never lose touch with the center of preaching and belief – the astonishing grace of Jesus Christ.
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Theology For Preaching
$28.99Add to cartThe heart of the postmodern mind-set is an awareness of the relativity of all human thought and action. In Theology for Preaching, three authors collaborate to discuss the implications for proclamation when the culture behaves as if all human thought and practices are relative. Tips for sermon composition and theme are proposed. Sample sermons are supplied to demonstrate awareness of the cultural shifts that make preaching a worthwhile challenge in a postmodern ethos.
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Graying Gracefully : Preaching To Older Adults
$26.00Add to cartWhen pastors look out over their congregations, there’s a good chance that they see a lot of gray hair. This book gives practical instruction and examples of biblical and theological sermons to this growing population, enabling the preacher to proclaim the gospel more clearly for older adults. Covering topics from biblical and historical views of age to older adults’ need for social justice, each chapter concentrates on the practical issues for preaching to this group and contains a sermon to illustrate the application of the principles discussed.
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Preaching From The Pew
$21.00Add to cartIn this deeply spiritual and prophetic collection of sermons, meditations, and prayers, Pat Brown takes the reader on a personal journey into and out of some of the most critical challenges facing the church in these turbulent and confusing times. She unveils her story of God’s handiwork in shaping her life as a child of the Reformed tradition and as the mother of a special needs son. In a time when the call for justice withers on the vine as the church struggles with itself, this book is required reading for every perplexed servant of Jesus Christ.
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Its A Matter Of Faith And Life 3
$21.95Add to cartThis book, one of a three-part series, is a narrative reflection on Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Its uses are many:
A companion guide for catechism classes.
A manual for new adult member classes.
A preaching resource.
Inspirational reading for those who want to know more about the faith-life of a Christian.The book began as a video series broadcast on the Michigan City, Indiana, cable system. The series was also used in the catechetical instruction of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Michigan City, where Dr. Albertin is pastor.
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Its A Matter Of Faith And Life 2
$29.95Add to cartThis book, one of a three-part series, is a narrative reflection on Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Its uses are many:
A companion guide for catechism classes.
A manual for new adult member classes.
A preaching resource.
Inspirational reading for those who want to know more about the faith-life of a Christian.The book began as a video series broadcast on the Michigan City, Indiana, cable system. The series was also used in the catechetical instruction of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Michigan City, where Dr. Albertin is pastor.
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Its A Matter Of Faith And Life 1
$23.95Add to cartThis book, one of a three-part series, is a narrative reflection on Dr. Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. Its uses are many:
A companion guide for catechism classes.
A manual for new adult member classes.
A preaching resource.
Inspirational reading for those who want to know more about the faith-life of a Christian.The book began as a video series broadcast on the Michigan City, Indiana, cable system. The series was also used in the catechetical instruction of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Michigan City, where Dr. Albertin is a pastor.
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Pitfalls In Preaching A Print On Demand Title
$21.99Add to cartThis is a print on demand book and is therefore non- returnable.
This informal yet substantive guidebook is designed to help clergy and pastors identify and avoid the major pitfalls that plague the preaching task. Richard Eslinger discusses with insight, humor, and concision what he sees as the most critical pitfalls in the various contexts of preaching and offers practical strategies for avoiding them. His book is also studded with highlighted quotations, pertinent references to a wide range of homiletical thinkers and concepts, boxed hints and suggestions, and brief bibliographies.
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Fundamentals Of Preaching (Reprinted)
$39.00Add to cartCompletely rewritten! “Absolutely superb, it is comprehensive, balanced, and substantive and will be helpful both to neophytes and veterans who wish to increase their effectiveness,”—Theology Today. Covers visualizing the listener, brainstorming, keeping the catnapper awake, and lots more.
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Preaching The Miracles Series 2 Cycle B
$15.95Add to cartWhile this book offers information for the sermon writer, the design of its contents provides more than the ho-hum. It avoids presenting a ready-made cloak of words for a morning sermon. Instead it invites preachers and their audiences to explore the gap between the “back then” and the “now.” It not only helps answer questions, it generates them — a crucial element in understanding the miracles of Jesus.
Five sections are devoted to each of the nine miracles in Cycle B (all from Mark):
Text — For easy access the entire lectionary text is provided, preventing the need to flip back and forth to the Bible.
What’s Happening? — This gives a synopsis of points of action within each miracle story. By reviewing the story action, readers define its movement, the conflict and the change or resolution.
Connecting Points – Conversations — This section offers the central material of each chapter. Here Brauninger engages the preacher in an imaginary exchange before the text is given its usual preparatory attention. A visit with main characters and an occasional bystander nudges readers toward stepping into their sandals. This section invites the preacher and listening audience. This section invites the preacher and the listening audience to ask questions relevant for them, thus expanding their questioning, and therefore their understanding.
Words — Here significant words are examined. While this work is not intended as a scholarly study, it assists in placing things in proper context.
Gospel Parallels — This section highlights similarities and differences among parallel stories and other gospels.There is also a helpful bibliography included.
This new series from Brauninger promises to be a favorite among preachers. Through it audiences will become aware of how God speaks to them through miracle stories and will enable them to hear their inner voice and more clearly understand it themselves.
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Prepare The Way Of The Lord
$12.95Add to cartThose looking for a resource that will deepen and enrich their spiritual life during the Advent/Christmas season will find that resource here. These reflections will strengthen the reader’s mental preparation and will serve as a starling point for prayer and meditation.
Pastors will be helped with themes and illustrations for Advent/Christmas preaching
Teachers will use this material in their classes to help renew the right spirit of Christmas among their students
Those who are seeking a deeper spiritual life will be uplifted and inspired by these daily meditations -
Hum : Call And Response In African America Preaching
$20.99Add to cartIn The Hum: Call and Response in African Preaching, Evans E. Crawford, with Thomas H. Troeger, relates his analysis of African American folk preaching by relying upon an indigenous scheme for evaluation. The call/response tension in black preaching (derived from a West African tradition) is what drives the musicality of speech in black churches. Crawford refers to this musicality as “hum thoughts” and one can imagine the choir responding with a low rumbling hum to the musical intonations of a motivated preacher.
Key features: a new volume in the Abingdon Preacher’s Library, edited by Thomas H. Troeger; a different approach to preaching, firmly rooted in the black experience; leads the reader to understand preaching as an oral event; uses the term “homiletical musicality” to describe the musical understanding of the way sermons are heard and the oral response they awaken in the listener; and, coins new phrases for describing the preaching event.
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Preaching The Parables Series 2 Cycle A
$20.95Add to cartParables provide insights and lessons which are timeless. When they are employed in preaching the hearer receives images which are easy to remember. Preaching the Parables provides a means of communicating the teachings of Jesus for modern Christians.
With each parable Keeney includes:
Scripture Text -so readers don’t have to refer to the Bible
Theme
Context:
of the church year
of the passage or verse
of the other lections for the day
of the scriptures
of the pericope
Contemplation
Homily Hints
“Point of Contact”
“Points to Ponder”
Illustrative Materials -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 5 Cycle A
$42.95Add to cartBigger, stronger, better! Russell Anderson has taken the most original and successful lectionary resource in history and improved on it. He has kept all of the traditional features that have made it a classic, such as: overviews of each liturgical season, commentaries compatible with the Revised Common and Roman Catholic lectionaries (plus Lutheran and Episcopal lections for those gradually converting to the Revised Common Lectionary), an introduction to the featured Gospel narrator (Matthew, in Cycle A), theological reflections for exploring the relationships between the texts, wide margins for note-taking and a stay-flat binding.
Instead of stopping there, though, he has added: a 7″ x 10″ one-size-fits-all format, a suggested sermon title for each week, a Sermon Angle which briefly explicates the theological theme for the day (sometimes providing two or three of them) and two to four illustrative stories per chapter.
