PR 632 Preaching from the Gospels: Introduction to the Theology and Practice of Preaching

COURSE DESCRIPTION ________________________________ The purpose of Preaching from the Gospels is to approach the study and practice of Christian proclamation through hermeneutical and theological engagement with the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Attention will be given to preaching from the teachings of Jesus, Jesus’ parables and miracles, as well as Jesus’ life (birth & infancy, baptism, temptation, transfiguration, passion, death and resurrection). This course encourages students to wed their skills in biblical interpretation with pastorally responsive and theologically reflective proclamation. The purpose of PR courses is to promote a partnership of teaching and learning that nurtures a vision of Christian preaching as a theological and pastoral activity of the Church in service to the Gospel. The core objectives of this course have been established to facilitate critical understanding of and competence in view of: 1) preaching as witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ revealed in Christian Scriptures and 2) preaching as both a gift of the Holy Spirit and a human vocation which serves the creation of a community called to worship the Triune God as revealed through the narrative of the whole biblical canon. This course approaches preaching as a theological practice and from a perspective shaped by the Wesleyan tradition; it is informed by a conscious integration of doctrinal and biblical exegesis and the practice of theological hermeneutics. Emphasis is placed on the life-long task of acquiring practical habits appropriate for cultivating judgment required for faithful communication of the biblical witness in service of the Word of God, as an act of Christian worship and within the context of personal, social and cultural challenge and change. This course will assume that proclamation of the Gospel by means of Scripture is the central (although not exclusive) activity by which the Church is continually created, sustained, corrected, and strengthened by God’s Word to worship and participate in the life of the Triune God. This course is therefore designed as an extended conversation that will exemplify and encourage pastoral competence in speaking the Word of God to form Christian conviction and character with a community what bears witness to the Kingdom that has arrived in Christ. Preaching will be regarded as an act of worship offered to the God of Israel and Jesus Christ who continues to speak and enact his gracious promises and saving purposes through the witness of the Prophets and Apostles in the power of the Holy Spirit. An important objective of this course will be to gain a vital and necessary understanding of preaching as a theological and ecclesial practice that requires: 1) the practices of daily prayer and obedience – pastoral discipline; 2) consistent reading, study, and appropriation of Scripture as the Word of God addressed to God’s people and for the world; 3) the testing of biblical interpretation by means of the central theological convictions of the Church Catholic, and in particular, the Wesleyan tradition, to insure faithful homiletic performance that glorifies God and produces Christian disciples who aspire to a shared life of holiness in Christ. To be consistent with the nature and purpose of preaching as a theological discipline, a strong emphasis will be placed upon the life-long task of acquiring practical wisdom appropriate to the pastoral vocation: the spiritual and moral attentiveness and insight necessary to call the Church to know, love, and serve the Triune God whose speech authors its life and secures its future.https://place.asburyseminary.edu/syllabi/1156/thumbnail.jp