Preaching for Special Services
Overview
A pastor must be able to step with ease into a number of different speaking venues. In addition to a regular preaching schedule, you, as a pastor, face an endless parade of special occasions at which you are asked to speak. Some occasions are planned, others are unexpected, but for all occasions you must be ready to communicate the Word of God in a way that complements the liturgy and worship.
Preaching for Special Services gives you practical guidance on how to develop and deliver clear, listener-sensitive sermons for special occasions such as weddings, baptisms, and funerals. Each chapter examines the history and theology of preaching for a particular occasion and then centers on the development of the sermon for that event. Scott M. Gibson’s approach to sermon construction is based on Haddon W. Robinson’s central-idea preaching described in his Biblical Preaching.
Preaching for Special Services also offers an extensive list of resources for each special occasion and specific exercises to help you put the principles in this book into practice.
The Logos edition of this work on preaching is fully searchable and easily accessible. Scripture passages link directly to your English translations and to the original language texts, and important theological concepts link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and the wealth of resources in your digital library.
- Offers guidance on how to write and deliver sermons for the most common special service types
- Presents the history and theology of preaching regarding each topic
- Utilizes elements of Haddon Robinson’s central-idea preaching
- Preaching for Special Services
- Wedding Sermons
- Funeral Sermons
- Baptism and Infant Presentation Sermons
- Preaching at the Celebration of the Lord’s Supper
- Speaking on Other Occasions
Top Highlights
“our task is to direct the couple to their commitment to God and each other” (Page 31)
“The funeral sermon and the eulogy are different, even opposed to each other. Simply put, eulogy means ‘good words’ and the eulogy focuses on the life of the person who has died.” (Page 49)
“Preaching at these times allows the preacher to speak the Word of God to those gathered, to round out the worship, to bring focus to the occasion.” (Page 17)
“The strongest argument for including a sermon in a wedding service is that the wedding ceremony is an act of worship” (Page 31)
“given encouragement to live by it. Our faith is not people centered but God centered and is rooted in the Scripture.” (Page 52)
Scott M. Gibson is the Haddon W. Robinson Professor of Preaching and Ministry, director of the Center for Preaching at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and one of the founders of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. He is the author or coauthor of several books on preaching and lives in Massachusetts.