Preaching hope in the contexts of HIV and Aids, hunger and poverty are but some of the issues that are looked at in the seventeen chapters of this insightful book.

In this compelling and hard-hitting book, respected preacher and teacher Thomas Long identifies and responds to what he sees as the most substantive theological forces and challenges facing preaching today. The issues, he says, are fourfold: the decline in the quality of narrative preaching and the need for its reinvigoration; the tendency of preachers to ignore God's action and presence in our midst; the return of the church's old nemesis, gnosticism--albeit in a milder form--evidenced in today's new "spirituality"; and the absence of eschatology in the pulpit. Long once again has his finger on the pulse of American preaching, demonstrated by his creative responses to these challenges. Whether he is calling for theologically smarter and more ethically discerning preaching, providing a method of interpretation that will allow pastors to recover the emphasis on God in our midst, or encouraging a kind of "interfaith dialogue" with gnosticism, he demonstrates why he has long been considered one of the most thoughtful and intelligent preachers in America today.

Paradoxes have become characteristic of the world we live in - poverty and privilege, empire and oppression, migration and enclaveseeking, war and peace, justice and injustice, reconciliation and revenge. During the 2016 Societas Homiletica annual conference held in South Africa, these paradoxes served as a rediscovery of the calling of preachers to deliver the promise that lies within life's contradictions. A divine promise brought forth by the grace of God and the gospel of Christ - embodied in and through us by the Spirit of Christ. This promise may take many forms and calls for discernment and often interrupts the status quos in surprising, shocking ways. It is a promise that interrupts, in order to comfort.

A Legacy of Preaching, Volume Two--Enlightenment to the Present Day explores the history and development of preaching through a biographical and theological examination of its most important preachers. Instead of teaching the history of preaching from the perspective of movements and eras, each contributor tells the story of a particular preacher in history, allowing these preachers from the past to come alive and instruct us through their lives, theologies, and methods of preaching. Each chapter introduces readers to a key figure in the history of preaching, followed by an analysis of the theological views that shaped their preaching, their methodology of sermon preparation and delivery, and an appraisal of the significant contributions they have made to the history of preaching. This diverse collection of familiar and lesser-known individuals provides a detailed and fascinating look at what it has meant to communicate the gospel over the past two thousand years. By looking at how the gospel has been communicated over time and across different cultures, pastors, scholars, and homiletics students can enrich their own understanding and practice of preaching for application today. Volume Two covers the period from the Enlightenment to the present day and profiles thirty-one preachers including: Charles Simeon by Darrell Young Robert Murray M’Cheyne by Jordan Mark Stone Alexander Maclaren by R. Scott Pace Catherine Booth by Roger J. Green Charles Haddon Spurgeon by Thomas J. Nettles Rodney “Gipsy” Smith by Bill Curtis George Liele by Terriel Byrd Charles Finney by Robert W. Caldwell III John Jasper by Alfonza W. Fulwood and Robert Smith Jr. Henry Ward Beecher by Michael Duduit John Albert Broadus by Hershael W. York Phillips Brooks by Charles W. Fuller D. L. Moody by Gregg L. Quiggle B. H. Carroll by Robert Matz and Jerry Sutton Billy Sunday by Kristopher K. Barnett Karl Barth by William H. Willimon Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Keith W. Clements D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones by Carl Trueman John Stott by Greg R. Scharf Harry Emerson Fosdick by Dwayne Milioni R. G. Lee by Charles A. Fowler Aimee Semple McPherson by Aaron Friesen W. A. Criswell by David L. Allen Gardner C. Taylor by Alfonza W. Fulwood and Robert Smith Jr. Billy Graham by John N. Akers Martin Luther King Jr. by Alfonza W. Fulwood, Dennis R. McDonald, and Anil Sook Deo Adrian Rogers by Daniel L. Akin and Bill Curtis E. V. Hill by Dante D. Wright I Jerry Falwell by Edward E. Hindson J. I. Packer by Leland Ryken and Benjamin Hernández Volume One, available separately, covers the period from the apostles to the Puritans and profiles thirty preachers including Paul, Origen of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Francis of Assisi, Martin Luther, Jonathan Edwards, John Wesley, George Whitefield, and more.

The Motif of Hope in African American Preaching during Slavery and the Post-Civil War Era: There's a Bright Side Somewhere explores the use of the motif of hope within African American preaching during slavery (1803–1865) and the post-Civil War era (1865–1896). It discusses the presentation of the motif of hope in African American preaching from an historical perspective and how this motif changed while in some instances remained the same with the changing of its historical context. Furthermore, this discussion illuminates a reality that hope has been a theme of importance throughout the history of African American preaching.

In this well-researched work, Dr Albín Masarik explores various features of funeral sermons arising from their unique context and homiletic process. While funeral sermons are an important element in pastoral care of churches and the wider community, theological reflection of this weighty responsibility can be hard to find. Addressing the definition of a funeral sermon, their categorization, purpose and context, this book brings clarity to inform the exercise of preaching a funeral sermon and help pastors and theologians grapple with how to best shepherd their flock and exalt our Saviour in the midst of bereavement.

In June of 2012, an astounding 360 people gathered at the University of Notre Dame for a major conference on Catholic preaching. With contributions by a wide variety of theologians and practitioners, We Preach Christ Crucified gathers the fruits of those days spent reflecting on the importance of the preaching ministry. Its release is timely, given the US bishops' promulgation of a new document on preaching, Preaching the Mystery of Faith: The Sunday Homily (January, 2013), and the renewed emphasis on preaching by both Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. The challenges facing Christian preachers in our time are many and formidable ones. The authors in this collection take a fresh look at the task, the resources at hand, the contemporary context, and the preacher. The result is a refreshing and stunningly hopeful reconsideration of an ancient ministry. We Preach Christ Crucified includes essays by: Robert Barron Archbishop Robert J. Carlson John C. CavadiniArchbishop Gustavo García-Siller, MSpS Mary Catherine Hilkert, OPJan Michael Joncas Barbara E. Reid, OP Michael E. Connors, CSC, ThD, is a pastoral theologian and teacher of homiletics on the faculty of the Theology Department at the University of Notre Dame, where he also directs the John S. Marten Program in Homiletics and Liturgics. He is the author of Inculturated Pastoral Planning: The U.S.Hispanic Experience (Gregorian University Press, 2001).

This book challenges Christian communities to engage in lament—a mode of existence characterized by impassioned expression, witnessing, and personal or social protest in the face of evil and injustice, reflecting a profound yearning for God’s saving presence. Divine lament responds to, and expresses solidarity with, human suffering, unveiling multiple facets of God’s image and demonstrating a profound sense of divine compassion. Drawing on the Book of Lamentations, Korean concepts related to suffering (han and hanpuri), the Paschal Triduum narratives, and recent homiletic discourses on suffering, the author investigates how complex issues related to grief and hope can be addressed in preaching without diminishing the harsh reality of affliction. Designed to assist preachers, this book encourages a more intentional approach to addressing suffering, specifically by advocating for lament as a transitional space between affliction and hope. Furthermore, readers are invited to contemplate the significance of the church, which, within a world in decline, embodies the body of Christ, manifesting both the demise and resurrection of God.