With the sensitivity born of time and experience, Charles Hoffacker presents an unusually warm and caring approach to preaching at a pivotal transition in human life, one which goes to the very heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ. Hoffacker teaches the reader, whether a seasoned preacher or a novice homilist, to find the key to unlocking the mystery of Jesus' promise of eternal life in a mortal life now ended.

No one has had more impact and influence on the craft of preaching in the last several decades than Fred Craddock. After his retirement from a distinguished teaching career, he became free to share his wisdom with a wider audience without the burdens of academic responsibilities. As a result he's given hundreds of lectures and workshops on preaching. The lectures and workshops show an ever-expanding scholarship beyond that of his published books. This book has gathered the "best of the bes...

“Reading of God's silence in the Bible gives me courage to explore the practice of restraint in preaching-not as a deliberate withholding of God's word nor, I hope, as a rationale for my own reticence, but as a sober reaching for more reverence in the act of public speaking about God.”In these 1997 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School, Barbara Brown Taylor focuses on the task of those who preach and those who hear sermons in a world where people thi...

Every pastor wants the sermon to be an important tool for maturing those listening in the pews. Having a preaching plan is an essential part of this process. If a preacher's messages are scattered, unrelated to one another, or haphazardly prepared, it can be difficult for those in the congregation to make connections to aid their spiritual growth.Preaching with a Plan encourages and equips pastors to develop a cohesive preaching plan to guide their choice of Scripture, topi...

Many pastors are just too busy to fellow the latest theories on preaching and sermon form. In The Shape of Preaching, Dennis M. Cahill seeks both to educate the working pastor on the current issues of sermon design and enable them to use this design in a way that can change their preaching.After first laying the theoretical groundwork with discussions of the theological, cultural, and literary roots of the new approaches to sermon design, Cahill expertly guides the preacher through ...

Sermon Outlines for Today's Busy PastorToday, pastors are busier than ever, with more time spent in ministry activities and less time spent in sermon preparation. Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Volume 1 gives the busy pastor a head start on sermon preparation. With 52 complete sermon outlines, pastors can save hundreds of hours a year, with the base research and layout for a year's worth of sermons already in place.Here's some advantages...

Many preachers ignore preaching from the Old Testament because they feel it is outdated in light of the New Testament and difficult to expound. On the other hand, some preachers will preach from the Old Testament frequently but fail to handle it correctly, turning it into moralistic rules or symbolic lessons for our spiritual life. In How to Preach and Teach the Old Testament for All Its Worth, Christopher J. H. Wright proclaims that preachers must not ignore the Old Testament. It...

We are all spread too thin, taking on more than we can handle, trying to do so much—almost as if we are afraid that if we were to take a moment of rest, we might discover that all our busyness is covering up an essential lack in our lives.But God never meant for us to be so busy. God desires for us to have rest and peace. Brady Boyd shows you how to live a life that embraces stillness and solitude, so you can find the peace that God wants for you.Brady Boyd...

Many pastors find it easier to preach on the New Testament than the Old Testament, with its powerful and often shocking narrative, prophetic warnings and calls to holiness. For many preachers seeking to make the Bible relevant, it's far easier--and safer--to stay out of the woods and plow the well-worn fields of the newer canon.Preaching the Old Testament equips pastors to journey into the forest and find a passion and confidence for preaching on the Old Testament. This bo...

Few Catholics leaders today have made use of new electronic media as effectively and engagingly as Fr. Robert Barron. In this essay, Fr. Barron offers important insights into the lessons he has learned and the secrets to his success, all within the context of explaining in fascinating detail exactly what the New Evangelization is (and is not) all about.

What if Charles Spurgeon helped you prepare next Sunday’s sermon?Or what if you could talk over your preaching with Joseph Parker, Richard Baxter, Henry Ward Beecher and H. P. Liddon. Do you think it would make a difference to get the input of some of the greatest preachers who ever lived?That’s precisely what Joseph Exell had in mind when he put together the massive series of volumes called The Biblical Illustrator. In what can only be called a Herculean feat, he spent yea...

“Unlike liturgical manuals of the past, which were intended specifically for the use of the clergy, this book is directed to a wider audience-to members of parish worship committees, priests, organists and directors of music, lectors, deacons, cantors and other singers, bishops, altar guild members, acolytes-in short, to all who bear responsability for the planning and conduct of public worship.”-from the PrefaceSo begins Howard Galley's classic guide to the Eucharistic litu...