"I read Walter Brueggemann and it makes me want to preach. If a text feels lifeless or heavy in my hands, I hear his scratchy, adamant voice and I listen anew for the voice of God. I defy you to read these words and not long to love God and God's people and God's world more profoundly."
Preaching from the Old Testament
In this new volume, prolific scholar Walter Brueggemann seeks to show Christian preachers how to consider the faith witnessed in several Old Testament traditions and to help them discover rich and suggestive connections to our contemporary faith challenges. The author also assumes that a wholesale sustained engagement with the Old Testament is worth the effort for the preacher. He recognizes what he calls the "sorry state" of Old Testament texts in the Revised Common Lectionary, which he claims often constitute a major disservice for the church and its preachers. The lectionary gerrymanders the Old Testament to make it serve other claims, most of the time not allowing it to have its own evangelical say. Brueggemann hopes that his exposition in this volume will evoke and energize fresh homiletical attention to the Old Testament, precisely because he believes the urgent work of the gospel in our society requires attentive listening to these ancient voices of bold insistent faith.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781506458557
- eBook ISBN 9781506458564
- Dimensions 5.5 x 8.5
- Pages 250
- Publication Date May 7, 2019
Endorsements
Jason Byassee, Vancouver School of Theology
"Christians often preach the Old Testament all too poorly. This book invites us to a better way for life, faithfulness, and well-being for the church and for all people."
Adam Nicholas Phillips, Christ Church Portland
"With a scholar's wisdom and a pastor's heart, Walter Brueggemann shares his magisterial reflections on the Old Testament in order to help preachers develop transformative sermons that are faithful to the text and the gospel. Pastors already familiar with his scholarship will appreciate his desire to show how it directly intersects with the task of preaching, while those encountering his work for the first time will quickly learn why he has long been regarded as one of the church's most important thinkers."
Phil Snider, Brentwood Community Church
"The Old Testament is often ignored by the church and those who preach from its pulpits. In Preaching from the Old Testament, Brueggemann challenges this disregard in his trademark fashion as the conscious of our time. His theological insight and practical tools for preaching are invaluable; after reading this book, there won't be any more excuses not to preach from the Old Testament."
Cynthia Shafer-Elliott, William Jessup University
Table of Contents
Foreword by Rolf Jacobson
Preface
1. Preaching from the Torah: Genesis
2. Preaching from the Torah: The Tale of Moses
3. Preaching from the Prophets
4. Preaching from the Psalms
5. Preaching from the Wisdom Traditions