Metanoia And Other Sermons

The book is a collection of twenty-three sermons from the period of February through August, 2020. Each sermon is preceded - and thereby situated in the congregation - by that Sunday's greeting and, after the church moved to online-only worship due to the outbreak of COVID-19, by the day's "announcements." The author considers his preaching style to be more irenic than competitive in spirit. If, though, there is homiletic competition going on in what he is doing here, it is, he says, with preachers (and with himself when he numbers among them) who are bent as preachers on being conservative or evangelical or liberal or progressive or idiosyncratic or entertaining or otherwise situated above the word that preachers as preachers must strive to submit to and serve. He intends his sermons as exercises in openness for the truth of God's word - which word the church is ever on the verge of losing touch with and needing to learn anew to hear and heed. The sermons are neither feel-good nor finger-pointing. They are neither prosperity-promoting nor therapeutically oriented. They are not even an attempt to make the church sound relevant to the issues of the day. Rather, they simply aim at openness to the truth that sets us free for and in and through the faith and courage that Christ came bringing.

The book is a collection of twenty-three sermons from the period of February through August, 2020. Each sermon is preceded – and thereby situated in the congregation – by that Sunday’s greeting and, after the church moved to online-only worship due to the outbreak of COVID-19, by the day’s “announcements.” The author considers his preaching style to be more irenic than competitive in spirit. If, though, there is homiletic competition going on in what he is doing here, it is, he says, with preachers (and with himself when he numbers among them) who are bent as preachers on being conservative or evangelical or liberal or progressive or idiosyncratic or entertaining or otherwise situated above the word that preachers as preachers must strive to submit to and serve. He intends his sermons as exercises in openness for the truth of God’s word – which word the church is ever on the verge of losing touch with and needing to learn anew to hear and heed. The sermons are neither feel-good nor finger-pointing. They are neither prosperity-promoting nor therapeutically oriented. They are not even an attempt to make the church sound relevant to the issues of the day. Rather, they simply aim at openness to the truth that sets us free for and in and through the faith and courage that Christ came bringing.

Matthew describes the beginning of Jesus’s ministry with the summary words, “μετανοεῖτε (repent/turn), for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (3:2; 4:17). Why does Matthew use this command, μετανοεῖτε, at the beginning of his ministry, and how does it relate to the rest of the Gospel? What do μετανοέω and μετάνοια mean? Scholars have stated that μετανοέω in 4:17 has critical value for understanding Matthew because the verse functions as a summary statement (or key phrase) of Jesus’s public ministry and teaching. This book argues the thematic significance of μετάνοια (turning/repentance) in the Gospel of Matthew. The lexical idea of μετανοέω and μετάνοια involves a turning of mind (or heart, will, thinking) and behavior, and so in turn of one’s whole being and life. This opening commandment of turning (μετανοέω), especially the concept, the essence, and the contents is fully revealed throughout the body of Matthew in various ways. Discipleship, the language of righteousness, doing the will of God, changing one’s heart and mind, the Great Commission, and Matthean soteriological theme convey the essence of μετάνοια and the contents of the fruit worthy of μετάνοια(3:2, 8; 4:17). The five major teaching blocks (5–7; 10; 13; 18; 23–25) teach the theme and the content of μετάνοια.

In The Sermon on the Mount, the Twelve Steps, and the Royal Road, Dan Hazelwood presents a unique blend of early church Christianity and the twelve-step recovering program that explains how the Christian experience changed over the last four hundred years and how the twelve-step process reconnects a spiritually seeking person to a deeper Christ experience that many mainstream churches cannot duplicate. In preparation for this journey into studying the sermon, he takes the reader on a historical church odyssey and highlights significant philosophical, church, and secular events that not only affected Christian thought but also were significant in altering how current Christians view Christ. He also demonstrates why early Christians viewed Christ differently. By providing this background, he prepares the reader to study the sermon in a manner the early church did while simultaneously demonstrating why the twelve steps represent a reconnection to an almost lost and forgotten Christ experience. Complementing this journey is an exhaustive examination of biblical Greek so that the reader may gain a deeper understanding of the sermon in its original, majestic splendor. This challenging and thought-provoking book unlocks the deeper meanings of many biblical passages and greatly enhances a spiritual seekers walk.

In Rhetoric of the Protestant Sermon in America: Pulpit Discourse at the Turn of the Millennium, ten scholars analyze notable sermons from the fifty-year span between 1965 and 2015, during which the Protestant sermon has undergone significant change in the United States. Contributors examine how this turbulent time period witnessed a variety of important shifts in the arguments, evidences, and rhetorical strategies employed by contemporary preachers. Because religious practice is inextricably tangled in the culture, politics, and economy of its historical situation, the public expression of a faith is certain to move with the times. In their treatment of race, sex, gender, class, and citizenship, sermons apply ancient texts to current events and controversies, often to revealing effect. This collection, thoughtfully edited by Eric C. Miller and Jonathan J. Edwards, demonstrates how the genre of the Protestant sermon has evolved—or resisted evolution—across the years. Scholars of religion, rhetoric, communication, sociology, and cultural studies will find this book particularly useful.

This volume explores conversion experience in the ancient Mediterranean with attention to early Judaism, early Christianity, and philosophy in the Roman empire from an interdisciplinary perspective.

A collection of provocative, inspiring, and thoughtful essays about the place of politics in the pulpit. This book is the first collection of essays to explore the question: is there room for politics from the pulpit? In response to an increasingly polarized society, preachers grapple with the call to witness a unifying Truth in a world where truth appears subjective. While many congregations respond positively to social and political themes in sermons, others do not. Episcopalians in the conservative minority are often very uncomfortable with political-themed preaching, while liberal Episcopalians demand a political message from the pulpit. What is a preacher to do when the Episcopal Church is no more immune to the temptation of polarization than the secular world? Contributors to this volume serve in a variety of contexts and bring with them their own distinct styles and visions. Anyone with an interest in the practical implications addressing the current political climate from the pulpit will find these essays provocative, inspiring, and thoughtful.