Setting Words on Fire

A comprehensive introduction to preaching, emphasizing the encounter with God's grace as the goal and heart of the sermon. ""Many people outside the church take a dim view of preaching precisely because they regard it as an overly directive, overly confident . . . even chastising form of speech. Ironically, some of us inside the church know what Paul Scott Wilson knows . . . in recent years, preaching has often stopped well short of such bold speech. In this inspiring volume, Wilson invites preachers back to the sermon's first, best purpose: to proclaim the glorious reality of God's new world in Christ. Wilson mines the riches of the past to inspire preachers in this present time to engage proclamation in its many forms so that all preachers may become eager and exuberant proclaimers of the best news the world has ever heard."" -Scott Hoezee, Director for The Center for Excellence in Preaching, Calvin Theological Seminary ""With characteristic flair and scholarship, Wilson reconnects proclamation with teaching as the dual parts of preaching. Championing an urgent need for proclamation, he presents nine subgenres, drenching them with sermon examples drawn from the early church to the present. A rich sermon fare to savor in-depth. It challenges intellect and spirit."" -Michael Quicke, Koller Professor of Preaching and Communication, Northern Seminary ""Wilson weaves a conversation with a cast that spans nearly every century of the church's life. Mining sermons old and new, Wilson reflects on what they do well and how preachers can implement similar proclamatory practices in order to make their sermons more meaningful. Paul Wilson is one of our important cartographers, producing important and reliable maps for students, homileticians, and preachers. Yet, what drives his academic passion is his warm, personal faith and deep conviction in the reality of the gospel--the living, loving, redeeming, and saving God who continues to pursue a troubled and troubling creation."" -Andre Resner, Professor of Homiletics and Church Worship, Hood Theological Seminary ""Summoning as fellow guides a host of great homileticians from twenty centuries of Christian tradition, Wilson leads preachers on a kind of pilgrimage from teaching about God to proclaiming God's presence. His catalogue of genres of proclamation, illustrated with clips from such a rich assortment of voices, will offer practical encouragement to preachers and homileticians alike."" -Linda Lee Clader, Dean of Academic Affairs and Professor of Homiletics, Church Divinity School of the Pacific Paul Scott Wilson is Professor of Homiletics at Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto. He is one of the most respected and recognized teachers of homiletics in North America. He is the author of a number of books, including The Practice of Preaching, Imagination of the Heart, God Sense: Reading the Bible for Preaching, and The Four Pages of the Sermon, all published by Abingdon Press. He is the general editor of The New Interpreter's Handbook of Preaching.