Are you a new preacher who wants to build confidence in writing and delivering sermons? Or have you been preaching for a while and are looking for new ideas and techniques to keep your sermons fresh and your congregation engaged? These 62 creative sermons, written by New Zealand Methodist Lay Preacher Philip Garside, will provide just the input you need. Sermons work well when you are honest about your theology, draw meaning from the Bible readings for the day and relate them in a clear, logical way to your congregation. People will respond to personal stories in your sermons, and you will find that you develop your own style of preaching over time. Memorable sermons and services can be created by offering physical objects for the congregation to interact with, e.g. at prayer stations around the church, or waving flax leaves at the start of a Passion Sunday service and folding them into palm crosses later, during the sermon slot. If you read widely, listen to new music, look at new art, stay up-to-date with the politics of the day and generally take in what is happening in your local community, you will never be short of imaginative ideas to fill your sermons. Keep adding to your creative toolbox. Try something new. Your congregation will thank you. And always remember that your sermons need to tell the Good News of God’s love for us shown by the life, teaching and example of Jesus Christ. The book includes indexes of Scripture readings and of People & Themes, and a Bibliography of key books, recordings and other sources referred to in the sermons. The book is supported by free online PowerPoints, images & photos, video clips, and audio recordings of many of the sermons. Quotes from the sermons “He turned ‘Thou shalt not...’ into, ‘Do this in remembrance of me.’” From the sermon: The Tipping Point “This evolution of the story of Jesus death over a 30 to 35 year period was a deliberate choice by the gospel writers in each case.” From: Head, Heart and Hands “If you can learn to love your enemy, can they still be your enemy? No, because of your change of heart, they are now your neighbour.” From: Who is my enemy? “Jesus was a back to basics sort of guy. He put people before rules.” From: Good things come in threes... “This is a hopeful story. No matter how troubled we are by what we have done or not done, no matter how distant we feel from God or each other, no matter who we are, there is always a way back to redemption and wholeness.” From: Have mercy on us... Praise for Let Your Light Shine Through “Are you a preacher of long-standing, jaded, feeling your sermons no longer connect? Or a lay preacher, seeking innovative and fresh ways to tell the Jesus story? Then Let Your Light Shine Through, is for you. A little book of 62 creative sermons, fresh ideas and resources, there’s much in it to stimulate congregational thought, or personal reflection and transformation. Wellingtonian, Philip Garside, is a man of many parts – a Methodist Lay Preacher of over 15 years, a New Zealand distributor and publisher of stimulating theological resources, a musician and singing group leader, a widely read thoughtful theologian, and a married father of three. Philip invites you to share, his insights from scholars like N.T. Wright, Bart Ehrman, and Richard Rohr, Joy Cowley’s contemporary psalms, and use video clips from an Al-Jazeera documentary, musical CDs from his Festival Singers’ choral music, Bach, and Handel, and physical objects, to sheet home your points. I particularly warmed to some 2014 sermons where Philip unbundles the Trinity to make sense to modern ears, as: “Worship God – Follow Jesus – [Be] Spirit Filled.” And in, “Jesus, the Human Face of God,” his de-coupling of the Nativity story. This is a preachers' goldmine I highly commend.” Gary Clover, historian & retired Methodist presbyter, author of: Collision, Compromise and Conversion during the Wesleyan Hokianga Mission, 1827–1855. “Every Methodist preacher in Aotearoa-New Zealand should have this sermon collection by Philip Garside... Philip joins a short list of the old-style Methodists who found within themselves, the flame, the fire, to preach and publish and be damned - and some of them were! ... all power to PGPL and to Philip for this book which gets the evangel into the marketplace. I like it.” Rev Dr David Bell, former principal of Trinity Theological College, Auckland “I am impressed. I see this as an excellent collection of role-model sermons. Each is well researched, well-structured and thoughtfully spiritual. You display an innovative range of creative presentations. Every reflection delivers a meaningful and meaty message for our times. Thank you for sharing it with me.” Rosalie Sugrue, Author and Lay Preacher