Of Seeds And The People Of God [Hardcover]

Preachers mount the pulpit steps terribly burdened by the conviction that they are somehow responsible for the growth and spiritual well-being of their congregants. How, they ask themselves, can mere words communicate the reality of God, bring life to a congregation, or foster spiritual growth? This study argues that effective sermons function much like Jesus' parables--by bearing witness to divine power. Parables and preaching both testify to something beyond themselves: to a life-giving dynamic that far outstrips the force of words alone. Preachers are not go-betweens or gatekeepers for the kingdom of heaven: rather, they imitate Jesus by dying to themselves in the very act of proclamation, relying directly on God for their sermons to bear fruit. As well as offering a novel interpretation of Jesus' agricultural parables, Of Seeds and the People of God presents a Christ-shaped theology of preaching. Beyond exegesis or rhetoric alone, faithful proclamation is a question of spirituality, of preachers and listeners together yielding to God's gift of new life. Michael Knowles has written a stunning and demanding book on preaching. His central point is the life-giving power of God, which is exemplified in Jesus's agricultural parables. Over and against 'how to' books, Knowles advocates homiletical helplessness as a primary virtue, which involves putting to death our reliance upon rhetorical techniques. Preaching is testimony to what God does rather than to what the preacher does. The book is richly exegetical, theologically expansive, and ultimately deeply practical because everything is cast upon the practice of God. --Andrew Purves, Professor of Reformed Theology, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, Pittsburgh, PA Studies of homiletical method are legion. Michael Knowles offers us something finer, richer, and more honest: a deep consideration of the God of life, whose cruciform Spirit graces our inadequacy and failures in the pulpit to bear faithful witness to a polsÃ