Fall 2012/Pasadena
PR500
L. Lamb

PR500: HOMILETICS. Lisa Lamb.


DESCRIPTION: The call to preach provokes a potent mix of terror and delight in those to whom it comes. Our goal will be to cut down the angst and to grow in boldness, passion, and joy as we explore the ministry of preaching the gospel. This course will build a biblical and theological foundation for preaching and attend to the nitty gritty aspects of sermon design and delivery. Students will develop their skills as they preach two sermons, hear and offer constructive feedback, evaluate their own sermons, and complete other written assignments.

SIGNIFICANCE FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY: The preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ is a central and essential means through which God grows God's church. Those who are called to pastoral and evangelistic leadership are called to develop their skills in biblical exegesis and their capacity to preach with genuine love, faithfulness, passion, and joy.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: As a result of this course students will demonstrate

  1. growth in both their conviction that the biblical text is the proper foundation for preaching and in their skill in unfolding the biblical text in a way that is compelling to hearers (through exegetical work, preaching of text-based sermons, and through class discussion and written feedback from professor and class);

  2. increased skills in articulating biblical truth in a coherent and interesting way, appreciating the need to preach out of genuine love for their listeners;

  3. improved delivery skills (through spoken exercises and two sermons, through reviewing recordings, class feedback, and written feedback from professor and class);

  4. ability in evaluating both their own preaching and that of others (through reading and hearing sermons, receiving feedback on their own preaching and through providing written and oral feedback to classmates).

COURSE FORMAT: The class will meet twice weekly for two-hour sessions. After the first two weeks, one of the two-hour sessions each week will be spent in a small group practicum setting, led by a teaching assistant. (Note: this may meet at a different time than the class hour.) In these groups students will preach twice; sermons will be recorded. Attendance is crucial due to the highly experiential and participatory nature of this course.

REQUIRED READING:
Long, Thomas. The Witness of Preaching. 2nd ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005. 200 pages. ISBN: 0804215715. List Price: $16.06.

Pitt-Watson, Ian. A Primer for Preachers. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1986. 100 pages. ISBN: 0801070961 (available through Fuller Bookstore, used copies can also be found online [but can be expensive]).

Lowry, Eugene. How to Preach a Parable: Designs for Narrative Sermons. Nashville: Abingdon, 1989. ISBN: 9780687179244. List Price: $21.

Taylor, Barbara Brown. Your choice of one of these three collections of her sermons:
Seeds of Heaven. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1993. ISBN: 0664228860. List Price $13.60.

Gospel Medicine. Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1995. ISBN: 156101110X. List Price: $10.95.

Bread of Angels. Cambridge: Cowley Publications, 1997. ISBN: 1561011428. List Price: $10.08.
Thirty pages of theological reflection on preaching from sources on reserve or on our Moodle page.

Commentary reading as needed to prepare two high-quality exegetical sermons with submitted notes.

Three other written sermons found online or on reserve, and five heard sermons.

One of the following:
Nieman, James, and Thomas Rogers. Preaching to Every Pew. Minneapolis: Fortress, 2001 (chapters 1 and 2 and pp. 100-111). ISBN: 0800632435. List Price: $18.00.

LaRue, Cleophus. The Heart of Black Preaching. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000 (chapters 1 and 4). ISBN: 0664258476. List Price: $21.48.

RECOMMENDED READING: List will be given in syllabus.

ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT:

PREREQUISITES: NE502.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Meets MDiv core requirement in Preaching and Communication (MIN2) and the Communication (COMM) requirement in MA programs.

This ECD is a reliable guide to the course design but is subject to modification. (July 2012)