For Every Matter under Heaven by Beverly Zink-Sawyer

For Every Matter under Heaven by Beverly Zink-Sawyer

"For everything there is a season," as the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us, and that includes preaching. Beyond ordinary Sunday morning worship, many other "seasons"--special occasions--arise for preaching in the life of the church, whether by virtue of the secular calendar or celebrations or circumstances in the congregation or community. For Every Matter under Heaven: Preaching on Special Occasionsoffers preachers a process for creating sermons that are biblically grounded and relevant to the occasion.

Two obvious occasions of this sort are weddings and funerals; however, church anniversaries, dedications of new buildings or furnishings, commitment of pledges in stewardship season, and ordination and installation services also call for preaching on a special theme or topic. In addition, some congregations acknowledge secular holidays, such as the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving Day, in worship. Pastors are often called on to preach at events outside the church. And all congregations face local or national tragedies and crises that call for a word from the Lord.

These occasions require a different kind of sermon--or at least a different process of preparation. Most preachers have been taught that sermons begin with a biblical text, usually a text prescribed by a standard lectionary. Beverly Zink-Sawyer and Donna Giver-Johnston offer preachers a process for finding appropriate sermon texts for special occasions by considering the occasion itself, the listeners who might be gathered, and the ways God is at work in that time and place. Through this process, preachers can offer a word for every matter under heaven.

Zink-Sawyer, Beverly: - 2006 Beverly Ann Zink-Sawyer is Professor of Preaching and Worship at Union Theological Seminary and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Prior to her faculty appointment, she served as supply pastor and associate pastor for Presbyterian churches in Tennessee and Pennsylvania for over 15 years. Beverly was a Lilly Faculty Fellow of the Association of Theological Schools for the 2000-2001 term. She is a member of the Academy of Homiletics and the American Society of Church History.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781506465791
ISBN 10	150646579X
Title	For Every Matter under Heaven
Author	Donna Giverjohnston
Series	Working Preacher
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Fortress Press
Year published	2022-12-08
Number of pages	228
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.