The preachers’ words are meant to connect, to resonate with and influence hearers. Too often, sermons fall short. Preaching in Pictures: Using Images for Sermons that Connect shows how to choose, use, and illustrate a controlling image in every sermon. Readers learn how one effective image can cause the proclaimed word to sink in and transform the listener. Peter Jonker helps readers to build skill and confidence, with practical instruction, examples, and straightforward teaching. “Good preaching isn’t just the dissemination of information; it is a conduit of Spirit-empowered formation. Such formative preaching doesn’t convince the intellect; it captures the imagination. A controlling image has the power to do just this—to capture the imagination. Peter Jonker invites preachers to understand and to effectively use controlling images for formation of the hearer. This great book is erudite and accessible, theoretically grounded and yet intensely practical, complete with exercises. I’ll be pointing preachers to it from now on.” --James K.A. Smith, author of Desiring the Kingdom: Worship, Worldview, and Cultural Formation “Preaching in Pictures opened eyes of my imagination. I can’t wait to write my next sermon.” --Heidi DeJonge Pastor, Westside Fellowship Christian Reformed Church, Kingston, Ontario “Peter Jonker offers preachers practical ways to connect the gospel in the hearts of listeners, with a wealth of helpful examples. This is a fresh and welcome perspective, just the book for preachers whose sermons have reached their shelf life and are in need of new energy.” --John Michael Rottman, Professor of Preaching Calvin Theological Seminary “Sane, balanced, assured--but also strikingly insightful--Peter Jonker's writing is a sheer gift to anyone interested in eventful preaching. Every page is worth pondering. Jonker writes with great verve and authority.” --Cornelius Plantinga, Jr., Author of Reading for Preaching: The Preacher in Conversation with Storytellers, Biographers, Poets, and Journalists

Founder of the phenomenon social media account PreachersNSneakers tackles how faith, capitalism, consumerism, and (wannabe) celebrity have collided and asks both believers and nonbelievers alike: how much is too much? What started as a joke account on Instagram has turned into a movement. Through this provocative project, the founder of PreachersNSneakers is helping thousands of Jesus followers wrestle with the inevitable dilemmas created by our Western culture obsessed with image and entertainment. In PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, Ben Kirby approaches many of the difficult questions plaguing countless Christians’ minds, presenting experiences and input from both sides of difficult questions, such as: Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and can their churches ever be too large? Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed? Is there space in Christendom for celebrities like Kanye and Bieber to exist without distorting the good news? What about this: Is it wrong for someone—even wrong for author Ben Kirby—to call out faith leaders online and leverage “cancel culture” to affect change? PreachersNSneakers will navigate these challenging questions and many more with humor, wit, candor, and a few never-before-published hijinks. Each chapter will explore the various sides of the debate, holding space for us to make up our own minds. This book is not about finding the perfect, “right” way to do something, but instead learning how to articulate what we believe, why we believe it, and what to do when we want to stand up against cultural norms. This book will doubtlessly become a staple for church small groups, college ministries, and book clubs, emboldening struggling believers who want to live a more genuine faith. After all, the Lord works in mysterious colorways.

Becoming a Living Sermon Beyond spoken words, what is it that really helps preachers get their message across? Seasoned pastor and preaching professor David Day explores the ways in which preachers may embody their messages in their own person; in the words they use; through the use of objects, pictures, literature, and drama; and in the response of their audience. An eloquent and compelling volume suitable for communicators from a broad range of Christian denominations, it offers a practical workbook of ideas that preachers can begin using in their very next sermon. FEATURES Contains many helpful examples, case studies, excerpts from real addresses and two or three exercises in each chapter Great as a classroom supplementary textbook Books on preaching are full of good advice (writes Day). This book is bursting with good ideas and inspiration, but I would not call it "advice." It is far too refreshing and amusing to be called advice. With a practical array of shalts and shalt nots, both the experienced preacher and the learner will be spurred to hone their art: not just that of delivering communication but of enabling transformation. When it comes to preaching, Day is keen to communicate propositions through pictures and theory through experience. "Embodying the Word" does not simply describe how to do it, it embodies the technique itself through countless examples and illustrations. The Revd Dr Jo Bailey Wells, Associate Professor of the Practice of Ministry and Bible, Director of Anglican Studies, Duke Divinity School"

This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1954.

As humans, we think in images and cannot do otherwise. Thus, metaphor and imagery, often viewed as complex literary devices, are in fact the very building blocks of human thought and essential components for understanding the nature of God. Exploring how the God of Scripture reveals himself through metaphor and imagery, Dr. Adam Szumorek utilizes Cognitive Linguistics to help students, teachers, and preachers understand how meaning is communicated in Scripture and conceptualized within the human brain. He provides a theological framework for applying Cognitive Linguistics in biblical exegesis, demonstrating its value in aiding our understanding of biblical texts and in communicating that understanding to others through sermons that speak to people’s minds, hearts, and imaginations. Both richly conceptual and deeply practical, this book equips readers to communicate the unseen, allowing others to taste, touch, and see the invisible yet incarnate God.

The Four Codes of Preaching, John McClure's first book-length treatment of homiletical theory, is a sophisticated and, at times, controversial contribution to the field of homiletics.