Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels

Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels
Author: Elizabeth Michael Boyle
Publisher: Liturgical Press
Total Pages: 272
Release: 2003
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 9780814628911

Can an understanding of the poetics of the Gospels, together with a reading of poetry inspired by them, make the homily an art form as compelling as a poetry performance? In Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels, Elizabeth Michael Boyle, O.P., offers a preaching guide to the Sunday Lectionary using the insights of poets to enliven and elicit more powerful homilies. Preaching the Poetry of the Gospels demonstrates that not only the Fourth Gospel but also the Synoptics can be read with special understanding when they are interpreted as narrative poetry. For each Sunday, from the first Sunday in Advent through Trinity Sunday, the author offers a poet's reflection on the literary devices in the liturgical texts, and a gathering of poems about the gospel event. Chapters are "Incarnation: Advent to Epiphany, " "Redemption: Ash Wednesday through Holy Week, " "Resurrection: The Sundays of Easter, " "Transformation: Ascension to Trinity Sunday, " and "Reclaiming the Poetry of Ordinary Time."

The Scandal of the Gospel

The Scandal of the Gospel
Author: Charles L. Campbell
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 131
Release: 2021-10-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1646982207

Through its shocking incongruities and transgressive forms, the grotesque offers an intriguing lens for exploring the scandal of the gospel and the challenges of Christian preaching. Drawing on diverse sources—from Swedish crime fiction and contemporary poetry to James Cone, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Pussy Riot—this book will examine the theological, homiletical, and social implications of a grotesque gospel for contemporary preachers. The book focuses on three aspects of preaching and the grotesque: (1) the ways in which a grotesque gospel unsettles the preacher and challenges the "false patterns" that often shape Christian preaching; (2) the importance and challenges of resisting the weaponized grotesque, which dehumanizes people and furthers the power of dominant groups; (3) the incarnate Word as the carnivalesque, grotesque body of Jesus, which calls the church to become the porous and inclusive body of Christ. The Scandal of the Gospel is the written adaptation of Yale Divinity School's Beecher Lectures, given by Charles Campbell in 2018. The last chapter, "Preaching and the Environmental Grotesque," is a new addition.

A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible

A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible
Author: Leland Ryken
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2014-10-31
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433541173

To truly understand God's Word, we must know both what it says (content) and how it says it (form). This accessible guide features over 250 alphabetically arranged entries explaining common literary forms found in the Bible. Each entry contains a succinct definition, helpful illustrations, and a representative list of passages where that particular literary form is present. More than merely a dictionary, this indispensable resource will help Bible readers better understand the underlying structure of Scripture—giving a clearer shape and deeper meaning to each and every page of God's Word.

Enjoying the Bible

Enjoying the Bible
Author: Matthew Mullins
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2021-01-19
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1493421956

Many Christians view the Bible as an instruction manual. While the Bible does provide instruction, it can also captivate, comfort, delight, shock, and inspire. In short, it elicits emotion--just like poetry. By learning to read and love poetry, says literature professor Matthew Mullins, readers can increase their understanding of the biblical text and learn to love God's Word more. Each chapter includes exercises and questions designed to help readers put the book's principles and practices into action.

Poetry, My Bible, and Me

Poetry, My Bible, and Me
Author: Raymond K Huff
Publisher: iUniverse
Total Pages: 113
Release: 2009-12
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1440194548

"Poetry, My Bible and Me" is a unique written book of poetry, because many of the poems are Derived directly from scripture, love and life, and provides a new and fascinating way of being understood. The poems in this book, are not just words, but they have been inspired by the gifted author thru prayer, and spirit revelation, and lifetime experiences. Never will you see such a widely fashion of poetry combined in one book, that provides, knowledge, humor, and thought provoking conversations about the topics inside. The author has been preaching and teaching the gospel for years, and was led from within to put many scriptures, and experiences in a modern form of poetry, that has already inspired many who has heard his innovative style of writing. Trust me, it will be hard to pick a favorite, and hard to stop reading the same poems over and over again, as each line takes you on ride that will keep you enthused, intrigued and excited about what's coming next. A book, you will read more than once, and you will definitely share with others. "It's so hard to pick a favorite, because many of them reach you in different ways, and you just want to read them over and over again" -T. Fisher "His poems reach across race, religion and its content is suitable for all ages" -S. Conyers "There is a healing in his poetry, that reaches the very essence of your mind and soul..." -R. Trotter "Once you start to read a poem, you are fascinated, and intrigued by what's coming next" -E. Chatman "When I read one of the poems regarding scripture, I then want to go and read the passage of scripture he writes about" -D. Conyers

Reading for Preaching

Reading for Preaching
Author: Cornelius Plantinga, Jr.
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 147
Release: 2013-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802870775

In Reading for Preaching Cornelius Plantinga makes a striking claim: preachers who read widely will most likely become better preachers. Plantinga -- himself a master preacher -- shows how a wide reading program can benefit preachers. First, he says, good reading generates delight, and the preacher who enters the world of delight goes with God. Good reading can also help tune the preacher's ear for language -- his or her primary tool. General reading can enlarge the preacher's sympathies for people and situations that she or he had previously known nothing about. And, above all, the preacher who reads widely has the chance to become wise. This beautifully written book will benefit not just preachers but anyone interested in the wisdom to be derived from reading. Works that Plantinga interacts with in the book include The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini Enrique's Journey, by Sonia Nazario Silence, by Shusaku Endo "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" by Leo Tolstoy "Narcissus Leaves the Pool" by Joseph Epstein Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo . . . and many more!

Finally Comes the Poet

Finally Comes the Poet
Author: Walter Brueggemann
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 180
Release: 1989-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781451419610

The Christian gospel, says Brueggemann, is too easily preached and heard. Too often technical reason and excessive religious certitude reduce the gospel to coercive, debilitating pietisms that mask the text's meaning and freeze the hearers heart. With skill and imagination, Brueggemann demonstrates how the preacher can engage in daring speech?differently voiced and therefore differently heard. This speech, as suggested by the Bible itself, is "poetic" speech, enabling the preacher to forge communion in the midst of alienation, bring healing out of guilt, and empower the hearer for "missional imagination." As an alternative to theological/homiletical discourse that is moralistic, pietistic or scholastic, Brueggemann proposes preaching that is artistic, poetic, and dramatic. The basis for the 1989 Lyman Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School, Finally Comes the Poet is a unique and transforming guide for powerful preaching.

God's Trombones

God's Trombones
Author: James Weldon Johnson
Publisher: Penguin Group
Total Pages: 88
Release: 1927
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

The inspirational sermons of the old Negro preachers are set down as poetry in this collection -- a classic for more than forty years, frequently dramatized, recorded, and anthologized. Mr. Johnson tells in his preface of hearing these same themes treated by famous preachers in his youth; some of the sermons are still current, and like the spirituals they have taken a significant place in black folk art. In transmuting their essence into original and moving poetry, the author has also ensured the survival of a great oral tradition. Book jacket.

Let It Go

Let It Go
Author: T.D. Jakes
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 263
Release: 2013-01-29
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1416547339

Shares uplifting advice about the virtues of forgiveness, offering strategic and biblically based advice on how to achieve peace and personal fulfillment by letting go of past wrongs.

The Innkeeper

The Innkeeper
Author: John Piper
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 38
Release: 2011-09-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1433530287

Only two weeks from his crucifixion, Jesus has stopped in Bethlehem. He has returned to visit someone important—the innkeeper who made a place for Mary and Joseph the night he was born. But his greater purpose in coming is to pay a debt. What did it cost to house the Son of God? John Piper shares a tale of what might have been through the story-poem of an innkeeper whose life was forever altered by the arrival of the Son of God. Ponder the sacrifice that was made that night. Celebrate Jesus's birth and the power of his resurrection. And encounter the hope his life gives you for today—and for eternity. This imaginative story has been redesigned and makes a great gift for families.