David Heywood

2 The sermon as a learning event To change is to learn. A process of transformation is therefore a process of learning. In the previous chapter I suggested that the goal of preaching is transformation. Transformation involves people taking in new information, coming to see the wo…

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Transforming Preaching - Involving the congregation

by SPCK - David Heywood

4 Involving the congregation Interactive preaching Tim Stratford tells of the time he preached to a new congregation for the first time. To help give him confidence, he had chosen an existing sermon which had gone well on a previous occasion. But in the new church it met only gla…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Language to listen to

by SPCK - David Heywood

3 A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation Language to listen to A sermon is a spoken event. The ‘sermon’ is not the script, even where that script is available to take away and read, but the event in which the sermon is delivered and the congregation responds. That event takes…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Using visual images

by SPCK - David Heywood

3 A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation Using visual images The first two vital ingredients in any sermon are the message and the structure, deciding what God is calling you to say and planning how you want to say it. The third ingredient provides the vital spark that makes …

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - The varieties of structure

by SPCK - David Heywood

3 A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation The varieties of structure In the previous section we looked at the use of structure as the skeleton of your sermon, providing an outline that keeps all the component parts in their proper place without drawing attention to itself. We …

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - The elements of structure

by SPCK - David Heywood

3 A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation The elements of structure The first stage in sermon preparation is getting the message: knowing what you want to say. The next is deciding how best to say it: giving your sermon a structure. Once you reach the point of discerning the m…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation

by SPCK - David Heywood

3 A step-by-step guide to sermon preparation If you want to bake a cake, you need to include certain basic ingredients. You can vary the amounts and there is a huge variety of other things you can add to make cakes of many different kinds. But without the basics, you don’t have a…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Learning through reflection

by SPCK - David Heywood

2 The sermon as a learning event Preaching for learning If our ministry of preaching is to be effective we need to do at least two things: to understand the role of sermons in the context of the learning that is already taking place in our congregations through reflection; and to…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Learning

by SPCK - David Heywood

2 The sermon as a learning event Learning We have looked at two of the specific ‘components’ of the learning process, listening and remembering. We have seen that listening is an active process; it requires a decision to pay attention to some new information or situation, whether…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Remembering

by SPCK - David Heywood

2 The sermon as a learning event Remembering Since both listening and memory are elements in the way our minds work to take in, store and use information, remembering shares many characteristics with listening. Like listening, it is an active process, deeply affected by our value…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - The word of God

by SPCK - David Heywood

1 Why preach? The word of God Written words, spoken words Since the invention of the printing press over 500 years ago the printed word has been the world’s dominant form of communication. Once the privilege of a few, reading and writing have become a universal gateway to a world…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Preaching for transformation

by SPCK - David Heywood

1 Why preach? Preaching for transformation In the previous sections we have looked briefly at preaching in the contexts of contemporary culture and the Church’s life and worship. We saw that preaching is related to worship, teaching, pastoral care, leadership and evangelism. All …

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - A microcosm of ministry

by SPCK - David Heywood

1 Why preach? A microcosm of ministry At the heart of the Church’s worship and life is the expectation that people will encounter God, and preaching is the activity that focuses and expresses this expectation. Karl Barth called it the ‘representative event at the centre of the Ch…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - The Challenge of Preaching

by SPCK - David Heywood

1 Why preach? The challenge of preaching Preaching is characteristic of the life of the Church. An expectation that the worship of the gathered Christian congregation will include a sermon can be traced back at least to the second century in the writings of Justin Martyr. Before …

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - Introduction

by SPCK - David Heywood

Introduction I was never taught how to preach. My training included the opportunity to preach a sermon in front of a camera and review it, but little else. I have met many in a similar position. The only training we have received in preaching has come first through listening to o…

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1 credit

Transforming Preaching - About the author

by SPCK - David Heywood

About the author David Heywood is Director of Pastoral Studies at Ripon College Cuddesdon. He has served in parish ministry in Gloucestershire, south London and the Potteries. Before ordination, he trained as a teacher and taught for three years in Luton, Bedfordshire. He has a d…

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