Unleashing the Word

Preaching is a strange business. The very word preach has come to mean something we wish someone else would not do to us (Don't preach to me! All I ever get from him is a sermon!) The idea of standing up and just talking for twenty minutes or more seems hopelessly outdated in a world fascinated by the dance of electronic images that flicker on a screen. Ours is a post-Christian society in which the church's voice—especially as heard from the pulpit—is increasingly drowned out by competing claims for our time and attention. And yet, has there ever been a time when people were more in search of meaning and purpose? In spite of living in a period of affluence and accomplishment, do we not yet feel vulnerable to forces beyond our control? In short, are we not still hungry for a word from God? Adam Hamilton is persuaded that there is a great need and desire for effective preaching today—and that those who learn how to preach effectively for 21st-century people have the potential to make a significant impact upon the lives of their hearers, and through them upon the culture in which they live. Preaching can transform people's lives, change the culture, and renew the church.In fact, it may very well be that no one has a greater potential to bring hope, healing, and light to the community than does the preacher. Key features: practical insights on effective preaching gained from the experience of one of today's most influential pastors; helpful guidance on the best ways to integrate sermon outlines and notes, as well as screen projection and audio, into sermons. Key benefit: will reinvigorate the reader's preaching with down-to-earth suggestions and inspiring stories of the difference effective preaching can make in the life of a congregation and a community.