Real People, Real Faith: Preaching Biblical Characters

by Cindy Halvorson

Overview

The characters in Scripture are often portrayed as one-dimensional—as caricatures instead of human beings with real needs, authentic pain, and compelling fears. When their problems are viewed as one-dimensional, so is their faith. Approaching biblical characters in this way can inhibit listeners' ability to hear the biblical witness as relevant to their own lives and can minimize the impact of Scripture on their faith journey.

Real People, Real Faith provides practical tools to portray biblical characters as multidimensional human beings who encountered and journeyed with God. Placing high value on historical, cultural, and scriptural contexts, Cindy Halvorson demonstrates techniques for generating holistic characters, particularly by exploring archetypical human reactions and spiritual longings. She shows how the preacher can use this method to reimagine the biblical characters, present figures with whom listeners relate and empathize, and draw portraits of real people whose relationship with God is in many ways like listeners' own—people with whom they may sojourn and grow.

When listeners are touched by a biblical character's story and shown how their relationship with God was transformed, they too may experience the Divine's love and care for them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506469669
Publisher:	1517 Media
Publication date:	02/15/2022
Series:	Working Preacher , #9
Pages:	124
Sales rank:	989,647
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x (d)

About the Author

Cindy Halvorson earned an MDiv from Bethel Seminary and a DMin in biblical preaching from Luther Seminary. She has served as solo pastor of a small congregation and as associate pastor of a large congregation. She is a church consultant, workshop facilitator, and clergy coach with LeaderWise, where she focuses on leadership development and congregational health.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

1 Preaching for Mind and Heart 1

2 Honoring the Stories 17

3 Capturing the Contexts 39

4 Developing the Characters 53

5 Visualizing the Narrative 79

6 Encountering God 89

7 Feeding the Soul 101

Appendix: Sample Sermon 115

Notes 123