Preaching

blog / Planning / Preaching

Engaging the Society

Ben Bacon asks an interesting question in the comment section of the post “What’s Missing from Your Preaching.” He writes:

Great observations, Sherman. Our social structures and customs are not the same as when the biblical writers first penned the Bible. In a way, all preaching engages the culture because of the unique nature of the scriptures themselves. What principles would you encourage for engaging/critiquing your own culture in a sermon? What place does it hold in the sermon itself?

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blog / Feature Articles / Preaching / Homiletic Theory

Preaching an Old West Theology

William Willimon in The Intrusive Word writes that “We ought to preach as if we were opening a package that could be packed with dynamite.” By that he means that we should expect dislocation, surprises, and jolts. Too often we package our sermons in a neatly finished package where we know all the answers and God always acts the way we expect. We create a world in the sermon that is much unlike our own world.

Good Always Wins?

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blog / Preaching / Homiletic Theory

Our Great Temptation

One of the greatest temptations preachers face is not to teach hell fire and obedience. Neither is it necessarily to preach a grace that does not lead to and is devoid of obedience. Some might argue that it is to preach an individualistic gospel without any repurcutions for our corporate living. Others might say that it is to totally ignore individual piety as an important category for theological reflection.

Preaching What People Want to Hear

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blog / Black Preaching Style / Whooping / Preaching

Call and Response in the Whooping Celebrative Sermon Close

Last night while listening to sermons on youtube and other places, I found a preacher who was “whooping.” As we know, the whoop is one type of sermonic close used by some preachers in the African American preaching tradition. The preacher was summarizing and celebrating the truth of the message.

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Whooping / Preaching / blog

Becoming the Chief Celebrant in the Sermon

Celebration is an important component of preaching. This is the part of the sermon where the preacher raises up the truth of the sermon to be experienced by the people. There are many ways to do this tactically, but my study of sermons show that a very common technique is for the preacher to “celebrate the sermon.”

Preacher Should Show Enthusiasm

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