The Poetry of Faith

The Poetry of Faith

Author: Stephen F. Dill

Publisher: NewSouth Books

Published: 2013-01-01

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1603062785

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The ministry of the Rev. Stephen F. Dill was forged in the turbulent civil rights years when he stood for social justice and spoke against racial segregation. In this collection of sermons--many from his 20 years as pastor of Dauphin Way United Methodist Church in Mobile, Alabama--Dill reflects on the implications of his faith for the lives of individuals and for the life of the world. Robin Wilson, one of Dill's successors at Dauphin Way, praises "the bold humility" of his message, and author Frye Gaillard, in the book's introduction, offers this description of Dill and his sermons: "Almost inevitably, the poetry of his preaching caught the quick of my imagination and quietly, inevitably made me think." Appropriately, the publication of The Poetry of Faith coincides with the 100th anniversary of Dauphin Way. But these challenging and reassuring sermons resonate far beyond those walls. As Methodist educator Gorman Houston put it, this is the Christian faith at its finest, for Stephen Dill has always been "one of those ministers ... able to see the church as it should be and not as it was."


The Poetry of Sermons

The Poetry of Sermons

Author: Robert Granger

Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.

Published: 2020-01-09

Total Pages: 194

ISBN-13: 1645596737

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The title of this book is predicated on the probability that within each of us, perhaps hiding in secret, dwells a skeptic, a cynic, and a seeker. The skeptic within thinks it knows some truth but isn't quite sure which is real truth and which may not be quite so true. The cynic within is confused by the distance between the beliefs that some profess and the behaviors and attitudes exhibited in their daily life. And the seeker within likes to feel encouraged to ask questions and to explore the mysteries that the unfolding wonder of life continually sets before us. Bringing all of these to the reading of the sermons will enrich the experience, sometimes stimulating deeper questions and sometimes offering inspiring insights.


The Backwater Sermons

The Backwater Sermons

Author: Jay Hulme

Publisher: Canterbury Press

Published: 2021-09-30

Total Pages: 98

ISBN-13: 1786223953

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Jay Hulme is an award-winning transgender poet, performer, educator and speaker. In late 2019, his fascination with old church buildings turned into a life-changing encounter with the God he had never believed in, and he was baptised in the Anglican church. In this new poetry collection, Jay details his journey through faith and baptism during an unprecedented world-wide pandemic. As he finds God in the ruined factories and polluted canals of his home city, Jonah is heckled over etymology, angels appear in tube stations, and Jesus sits atop a multi-story car park. Cathedrals are trans, trans people are cathedrals, and amidst it all God reaches out to meet us exactly where we are. Jay’s poetry explores belief in the modern world and offers a perspective on queer faith that will appeal not only to Christians, but young members of the LGBT+ community who are interested in faith but unsure of where to start.


Preaching as Poetry

Preaching as Poetry

Author: Paul Scott Wilson

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: 2014-08-19

Total Pages: 201

ISBN-13: 1426796242

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It is tempting for preachers in this digital age of plurality and diversity to offer quick sound bites and PowerPoint-style presentations. These tend to invite a yes or no response, as in mathematical equations. But if we are to reach Christians across the theological spectrumandinvite non-Christians to seriously consider our faith, we must take a different approach. What is needed is greater attention to poetry and images meant to communicate the beauty of the faith and the wonder and mystery of God in everyday life. We must communicate the unity of our message of faith, the divine as truth, and justice and healing as expressions of God. Preaching as poetry (theopoetic preaching) allows for the bold imagery of scripture and the gentle invitation of art. Sermons can no longer always be neatly tied up, perfectly linear, with complete answers to every question. In Preaching as Poetry Paul Scott Wilson teaches why this new approach is necessary today, and demonstrates with multiple examples how it works in real sermons. He skillfully guides the reader to incorporate the classical values of beauty, goodness and truth in every sermon, and in ways that connect with congregants and listeners today.


Wonder Reborn

Wonder Reborn

Author: Thomas Troeger

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2010-07-27

Total Pages: 225

ISBN-13: 0199774498

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book explores an issue at the nerve of the long term health of all churches: how godly wonder can be reborn through renewed attention to the place of beauty in preaching and worship. The book opens with an exploration of the theological and cultural difficulties of defining beauty. It traces the church's historical ambivalence about beauty and art and describes how, in our own day, the concept of beauty has been commercialized and degraded. Troeger develops a theologically informed aesthetic that provides a counter-cultural vision of beauty flowing from the love of God. The book demonstrates how preachers can reclaim the place of beauty in preaching and worship. Chapter two employs the concept of midrash to mine the history of congregational song as a resource for sermons. Chapter three introduces methods from musicology for creating sermons on instrumental and choral works and for integrating word and music more effectively. Chapter four explores how the close relationship between poetry and prayer can stir the homiletical imagination. Each of these chapters includes a selection of the author's sermons illustrating how preachers can use these varied art forms to open a congregation to the beauty of God. A final chapter recounts the responses of congregation members to whom the sermons were delivered. It uses the insights gained from those experiences to affirm how the human heart hungers for a vision of wonder and beauty that empowers people to live more faithfully in the world.


God's Trombones

God's Trombones

Author: James Weldon Johnson

Publisher: Penguin Group

Published: 1927

Total Pages: 88

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The inspirational sermons of the old Negro preachers are set down as poetry in this collection -- a classic for more than forty years, frequently dramatized, recorded, and anthologized. Mr. Johnson tells in his preface of hearing these same themes treated by famous preachers in his youth; some of the sermons are still current, and like the spirituals they have taken a significant place in black folk art. In transmuting their essence into original and moving poetry, the author has also ensured the survival of a great oral tradition. Book jacket.


Parable and Paradox

Parable and Paradox

Author: Malcolm Guite

Publisher: Canterbury Press

Published: 2016-05-27

Total Pages: 96

ISBN-13: 1848258593

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since the publication of the bestselling Sounding the Seasons, Malcolm Guite has repeatedly been asked for more sonnets. This new collection offers a sequence of 50 sonnets that focus on many passages in the Gospels: the Beatitudes, parables and miracles, teachings on the Kingdom, and the ‘hard sayings’ - Jesus’ challenging demands with which we wrestle. In addition this collection includes: •A sequence of seven sonnets on 'The Wilderness', exploring mysterious stories of divine encounter such as Jacob’s wrestling with the angel. •Poetic reflections on music, hospitality and ecology. •Seven short poems celebrating the days of creation. •A biblical index pairing the poems with scripture readings for use in worship.


Travesty Generator

Travesty Generator

Author: Lillian-Yvonne Bertram

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781934819845

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

//Three_last_words -- //Counternarratives -- //Soldier Buffalos: anagrams in trees -- //Husband stories -- //@Code_Switching -- //Zombie nightmare -- //@Tubman's_Rock -- //A new sermon on the Warpland -- //Coming of age stories -- //"Incident".


Sermon Series

Sermon Series

Author: Stephanie Harper

Publisher:

Published: 2017-07-25

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781635343014

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In Sermon Series, her first full-length collection of poetry, writer Stephanie Harper focuses on moments that are explorations of the self and relationships with the exterior world, both known and unknown, through concrete and tangible expressions of language. Drawing direct inspiration from sermons and the worship experience, the writer has crafted a universally spiritual collection of poems that transcends religious tradition and instead focuses on the greater mysteries of living and experiencing the world around us, offering a new avenue for contemplative poetry.