Preaching that Shows

by Margaret Cooling

Overview

• Presents a genuinely fresh approach to homiletics, relevant across traditions. • An important resource for those preparing and training for all kinds of preaching ministry. • Advocates for an approach that embraces ambiguity, and is comfortable with open-endedness - vital in a time of uncertainty and anxiety.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780334061847
Publisher:	Hymns Ancient & Modern
Publication date:	04/29/2022
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.37(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.00(d)

About the Author

Margaret Cooling is the author of over forty books. For many years her speciality has been on using the arts to communicate Christianity within the field of education and has done worked with both the National Gallery and the BBC on the topic. She has been a lay preacher for over thirty years, and recently completed a PhD in homiletics at Durham University.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements vii Illustrations viii Introduction 1 1. Show and Plot 3 2. A Constellation of Characteristics 17 3. Embodiment and the Language of Earth 33 4. Art and the Sermon 50 5. Every Picture Tells a Story? 64 6. Creating Sermons that Show 77 7. Issues, Beginnings and Endings 92 8. The Language of Showing 109 9. A Big Issue 124 10. Imagination 136 11. Interpretation 153 12. Knowing 164 13. Where is the Application? 178 14. Theological Foundations 196 15. Sermons and Commentary 207 Concluding Thoughts 236 Index of Bible References 237 Index of Names and Subjects 241

Editorial Reviews

"What if God is in this place – my messy and mundane existence where I live, work, and play – though I didn’t know it? Seeing the here and now as the house of God makes all the difference. And that’s the promise of Margaret Cooling’s epiphany, her book acting as a Jacob’s ladder of sorts. It guides preachers to dwell bodily in the details of Bible – its characters, settings, and revelatory plots – and emerge with good news to share that makes a difference right where Christ has called us to be. LICC has long sought Spirit-filled and art-full ways of engaging the Scriptures that dynamically bridge this ancient word and the contemporary Christian’s world. Thank God for Margaret’s insight, which on every level shows us the way."

Dr Dave Benson

"Theologically grounded, drawing widely from art and contemporary culture, Margaret Cooling offers preachers new inspiration with a plethora of rich practical examples. She takes the bible with the utmost seriousness, and equips preachers to speak into situations messy and unresolved. Eminently, readable and rich; this book is a must for every preacher’s bookshelf and every homiletic course reading list. Simply brilliant!"

Revd Dr Kate Bruce

"A wonderfully engaging book! Margaret Cooling unpacks the old saying ‘Don’t tell me, show me’, taking preachers into what may be largely uncharted territory. Fortunately she is a skilful guide, exploring the world of the revelatory sermon, where characters display all the ambiguity of real life, the Bible is handled with imagination, doctrines are embodied, art and poetry have a key role to play, faith is worked out in ordinary life and ‘the message’ is not always buttoned up tight. The reader will profit from her grasp of homiletical theory but may be encouraged even more by the dozens of ‘worked examples’ which she offers."

David Day

"Margaret Cooling is a gifted writer, teacher and preacher. She has an eye for words that paint pictures and an ear for the rhythms of a good story. She has brought these gifts together in an intriguing book which will stimulate any preacher to explore how they can develop their own creative approach to communication. It is filled with examples from the Bible, literature and film, as well as helpful exercises and demonstrations of how sermon language can come alive. With its supporting website this will be a rich resource for all preachers and teachers of preaching. I warmly commend it."

Stephen Wright