Designing the Sermon

Order and Movement in Preaching (Abingdon Preacher's Library Series)

Book - Paperback
Designing the Sermon
Paperback ISBN: 9780687104901
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E-Book ISBN: 9781426728976
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Published September 1980

Providing fundamental homiletical principles, this classic book gives readers all the tools they need to prepare a meaningful sermon.

"Sermon design"--James Massey's contemporary, creative approach to shaping specific classifications of sermons--focuses on order (What is the preacher's goal?) and on movement (What structure is he or she using to get there?). The discussion of his approach begins with an appraisal of the sermon in context--in relation to goals, design, basic forms, contemporary concerns, and the "why" of it all.

Dr. Massey's specific forms for designing sermons include the narrative/story sermon--a subject which is receiving renewed interest today; the textual-expository sermon; the doctrinal/topical sermon; and the special occasion sermon, for which he has chosen the topic of the funeral. Suggestions are included for studying the methods of master preachers as a resource for more effective preaching. And three of the author's own tested sermons are used as illustrations of sermon design possibilities.

About the Author

James Earl Massey

James Earl Massey is Dean Emeritus and Distinguished Professor-at-Large at the Anderson University School of Theology. He is also Pastor Emeritus and founding pastor of the Metropolitan Church of God in Detroit. The author of many articles and contributions to composite works, his several books include The Responsible Pulpit, Designing the Sermon, The Burdensome Joy of Preaching, and Sundays in the Tuskegee Chapel. Dr. Massey has preached and lectured at more than 100 colleges, universities, and seminaries in the United States and on four continents.