A Vision For Preaching

This book by a well-respected teacher of preachers develops an integrated biblical and theological vision for preaching that addresses the essentials of this most important activity in the church. Drawing on influential voices from church history, Abraham Kuruvilla reclaims what has been lost through the centuries and offers fresh insights, showing preachers what they can aim for as an ideal in their preaching. He helps preachers have a better conception of what it means to preach, a fuller understanding of the divinely granted privilege of preaching, and a greater excitement for the preaching ministry. Concluding biblical reflections reinforce the teaching of each chapter.

Abraham Kuruvilla's A Vision for Preaching offered an integrated biblical and theological vision for preaching. A Manual for Preaching addresses the practical (and perennial) issue of how to move from the biblical text to an effective sermon. The author, a well-respected teacher of preachers, shows how to discern the text's theological meaning and let that meaning shape the development of the sermon. Clearly written and illustrated with Old Testament and New Testament examples, the book helps preachers negotiate larger swaths of Scripture and includes two annotated sermon manuscripts from Kuruvilla.

No one preaches in a cultural vacuum. The message of what God has done in Christ is good news to all, but to have the greatest impact on its hearers--or even to be understood at all--it must be culturally contextualized. Finding Our Voice speaks clearly to an issue that has largely been ignored: preaching to Asian North American (ANA) contexts. In addition to reworking hermeneutics, theology, and homiletics for these overlooked contexts, Kim and Wong include examples of culturally-specific sermons and instructive questions for contextualizing one's own sermons. Finding Our Voice is essential reading for all who preach and teach in ANA contexts. But by examining this kind of contextualization in action, all who preach in their own unique contexts will benefit from this approach.

Privilege the Text! spans the conceptual gap between biblical text and life application by providing a rigorous theological hermeneutic for preaching. Kuruvilla describes the theological entity that is the intermediary between ancient text and modern audience, and defines its crucial function in determining valid application. Based on this hermeneutic, he submits a new mode of reading Scripture for preaching: a Christiconic interpretation of the biblical text, a hermeneutically robust way to understand the depiction of the Second Person of the Trinity in Scripture. In addition, Kuruvilla’s work provides a substantive theology of spiritual formation through preaching: what it means to obey God, the Christian’s responsibility to undertake “faith-full” obedience to divine demand, and the incentives for such obedience—all integral to understanding the sermonic movement from text to application. Privilege the Text! promises to be useful not only for preachers, and students and teachers of homiletics, but for all who are interested in the exposition of Scripture that culminates in application for the glory of God.

While focusing on his core mission to preach the gospel worldwide, T.D. Jakes has seen many good people not spend enough quality time with family, friends, and God. They have gotten so swept up in the daily grind that they have failed to live the rich life that God desires for each of His people. In his new book, Jakes provides readers with strategies that will help them rejuvenate their life and turn their "busyness" into a "business." All readers-not just entrepreneurs-will benefit from Jakes' insightful advice so that they can use the days God has blessed them with wisely and finish each day strong!

Dominican Fr. Brendan Larnen and children's author Milton Lomask present the latest in the Vision Books series of saints' lives for youth. The story of St. Thomas Aquinas is one full of moving and dramatic scenes: the flaming destruction of Monte Cassino Abbey, the reception into the Dominican order of the quiet, determined young Thomas, the breath-taking escape from the donjon tower, and the striking instances of the saint's eloquence and brilliance.In this 26th volume of the acclaimed Vision Books series of saints lives, children from ages 9 to 15 will enjoy the exciting story of the man who wrote the masterful Summa Theologica, the advisor to popes who refused ecclesiastical honor, the simple friar who shook the medieval world with his intellect.

Like Annie Dillard's The Writing Life, Taylor emphasizes the holy dimensions of ordinary life and describes the essentials of faith with insight and humor, touching on the vocations, imagination, worship, sacraments, ministry and the Bible as they relate to the life of faith.

Judges: A Theological Commentary for Preachers engages hermeneutics for preaching, employing theological exegesis that enables the preacher to utilize all the units of the letter to craft effective sermons. This commentary unpacks the crucial link between Scripture and application: the theology of each preaching text (i.e., what the author is doing with what he is saying). Judges is divided into fourteen preaching units and the theological focus of each is delineated. The overall theological trajectory or theme of the book deals with the failure of leadership in the community of God's people. Since God's people are all called to be leaders in some arena, to some degree, in some fashion, the lessons of Judges are applicable to all Christians. The specific theological thrust of each unit is captured in this commentary, making possible a sequential homiletical movement through each pericope of Judges. While the primary goal of the commentary is to take the preacher from text to theology, it also provides two sermon outlines for each of the twelve preaching units of Judges. The unique approach of this work results in a theology-for-preaching commentary that promises to be useful for anyone teaching through Judges with an emphasis on application.