Designing The Sermon

Order and movement in preaching

Plot

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.