Exodus Preaching: Crafting Sermons about Justice and Hope

by Kenyatta R Gilbert

Overview

Exodus Preaching is the first of its kind. It is an exploration of the African American prophetic rhetorical traditions in a manner that makes features of these traditions relevant to a broad audience beyond the African American traditions. It provides readers a composite picture of the nature, meaning, and relevance of prophetic preaching as spoken Word of justice and hope in a society of growing pluralism and the world-shaping phenomenon of racial, economic and cultural diversity. African American preachers have distinctively invested great symbolic significance in the Exodus story, the messianic witness of Jesus, and the prophetic literature for developing and shaping prophetic sermons. Kenyatta Gilbert demonstrates how four distinctive features of discourse can shape sermon preparation, for effective preaching in a period of intense social change, racial unrest, and violence. Gilbert includes dozens of practical suggestions and five practical exercises to equip the reader for preaching in new ways and in new environments. He offers an holistic approach, fully equipping the reader with the theological and practical resources needed to preach prophetically.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781501832574
Publisher:	Abingdon Press
Publication date:	03/20/2018
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	156
Sales rank:	468,599
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Dr. Kenyatta R. Gilbert is Associate Professor of Homiletics at the Howard University School of Divinity in Washington, DC. He is author of The Journey and Promise of African American Preaching and A Pursued Justice: Black Preaching from the Great Migration to Civil Rights. Dr. Gilbert is an ordained Baptist minister and founder of The Preaching Project: Restoring Communities through Spoken Word. See more at www.thepreachingproject.org.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Chapter 1 Exodus Imagery and Sermonic Performancep 1

Crafting Strategy: Preaching the Exodus Narrative (or Preaching from the Old Testament)p 2

Crafting Strategy: Setting Up the Delayed Hook 9

Crafting Strategy: Using Metaphors (Think Poetry, Not Prose) 14

Exercise 16

Chapter 2 Unmasking Evil and Dethroning Idols 17

Crafting Strategy: Considering the Lectionary 18

Crafting Strategy: Preaching on the Prophets 35

Crafting Strategy: Preparing the Sermon Brief 36

Exercise 42

Chapter 3 Confronting Human Tragedy and Communal Despair 45

Crafting Strategy: Preaching from the New Testament 47

Texts for Confronting Human Tragedy and Communal Despair 59

Crafting Strategy: Decolonizing the Homiletical Mind 64

Exercise 66

Chapter 4 Naming Reality in a Tone-Deaf Culture 67

Crafting Strategy: Seeing the Bigger Picture 68

Crafting Strategy: Mapping the Message 85

Exercise 87

Chapter 5 Inventive Speech and Poetic Perceptions 89

Crafting Strategy: Using Poetry and Literature as Sermon Pre-text or Accent 90

Crafting Strategy: Delivering Prophetic Messaging in Melodic Meter 104

Exercise 109

Chapter 6 Preaching Jesus "of the Gospels" 111

Crafting Strategy: Moving from Exploration to Proclamation 112

Sermon Analysis Using Four Characteristics of Exodus Preaching Paradigm 124

Exercises 133