This powerful collection of articles and sermons focuses on the new location of the church in contemporary North American society, a location that may be described by the metaphor "exile." Walter Brueggemann, Stanley Hauerwas, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Will Willimon here address the growing uneasiness of today's Christians about sustaining old patterns of faith and life in a context where their most treasured symbols of faith are often mocked, trivialized, or dismissed.

A powerful perspective about preaching, "Cadences of Home" suggests that sermons must speak to those who are lost and searching for their rightful home. Brueggemann argues for a dynamic transformation of preaching to proclaim to the world that there is a home for all people.

The aim of this study is to examine the speeches given to leading characters in the Books of Chronicles, including those which formed the basis of Gerhard von Rad's book The Levitical Sermon in the Books of Chronicles. These are compared with similar material in the Books of Ezra and Nehemiah and in the post-exilic prophets. It is Dr Mason's contention that recurring themes and homiletical devices suggest that these 'addresses' (while not to be classified as 'Sermons') do reveal something of the exegetical and teaching methods employed in the Second Temple period, which are here echoed. By studying the contents and aims of this preaching, the author tries to clarify the process by which pre-exilic Davidic Yahwism became the living faith of the post-exilic community in the challenging circumstances of the Persian and Greek periods through the careful reinterpretation of earlier scriptural material.

This book examines literary conventions in the psalms of communal lament and their reflection and modification in post-exilic penitential prayers. It analyzes elements of shared form and demonstrates the literary relationship between these psalms and prayers.

Doubts about the contribution of cult-prophetic speech to psalmody remain in debate. Psalms containing first-person divine speech exhibit numerous features and suggest life settings that conform to actual prophetic speech. Alternative explanations lack comparable examples external to psalms. On the other hand, Assyrian cultic prophecies parallel the characteristics of prophetic speech found in psalms. The Assyrian sources support possible composition and performance scenarios that overcome objections raised against the compatibility of genuine prophecy with psalmody. A model of cultic prophecy remains the best explanation for the origin of psalms containing first-person divine speech.

In this companion and sequel to the best-selling Power in the Pulpit (2002), which has sold over 11,000 copies, more of America's best-known and most influential African American preachers describe how they go about preparing their sermons. Each preacher also presents a sermon that highlights his or her particular method of sermon preparation. This book is an excellent how-to manual for pastors and students, presenting sage advice and wisdom on the art of preaching and an inspirational look at the work of some of the most prominent figures in the life of the black church.

This project addresses the influence and role of the Southern Baptist (SB) expository preaching methodology by examining the role of expository preaching, its innate characteristics, and its espousal by SB pastors and theologians in the twentieth century for influencing personal and social values and politics in the twenty-first century.