Preaching

The Colossian World Today: Opportunities for Preaching

In the 2023 91 Symposium’s five main worship services we are looking at Colossians. In this session the five people preaching on Colossians will reflect together on how the situations facing the Colossian Christians long ago remain relevant today. Najla Kasab, Marshall E. Hatch Sr., Laura de Jong, Danny Román-Gloró, and Scott Hoezee will talk about what they observed in crafting their sermons for this year's symposium and on the larger opportunities all preachers have to bring forward Paul's words to address the many crises of our own time.

July 21, 2023 | 24 min video
Compelling Preaching: A Conversation with Neal Plantinga and Laura de Jong

Vivid imagery, compelling stories, perceptive exegesis, pastoral sensibilities, theological clarity, cultural fittingness--each of these gifts contributes immensely to compelling, transformative preaching. Compelling preaching features the dynamic interplay of each of these strengths. This conversation will explore how these dynamic interactions come about, how we cultivate them, and how the practice of polishing, and studying, exemplary sermons can stretch not only award-winning authors but also those of us struggling to shape compelling sermons for people who may not always seem to appreciate it.

July 19, 2023 | 78 min video

Preaching and Teaching in Low-Power and High-Power Distance Cultures

In this video series, María Eugenia Cornou defines the cultural value of power distance and the implications of low-power and high-power distance contexts for preaching and teaching.

May 8, 2023 | 10 min video
Power Distance and Preaching

María Eugenia Cornou invites reflection on how power distance impacts the role of the preacher, how scripture is viewed and interpreted, and the act of preaching.

May 8, 2023 | 8 min video

Artie Lindsay on Working as One Church in the Neighborhood

Artie Lindsay is the teaching pastor at Tabernacle Community Church, a multiracial congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan. In this edited conversation, he talks about the joys and challenges of serving the Alger Heights neighborhood.

March 20, 2023 | 4 min read
Metanarratives and Identity: The Challenge and Opportunity of Colossians

In this session Scott Hoezee talks with Marianne Meye Thompson about her Colossians commentary and most particularly about the sweeping claims Paul makes regarding Christ. How does Paul's metanarrative fit in a world that promotes not one, but a diversity of stories, and how does Paul's call to find our identity in the Christ of this grand narrative sound to people today? The session also explores how to preach and teach this message in our present context.

February 10, 2023 | 70 min video
Proclaiming and Responding to God's Word: Exegesis and Preaching

This fifth session is part of “Experiencing the Contours of Early Modern 91,” a series of five linked sessions bringing current-day participants into the world of Reformation Europe. What was it like to attend worship in Wittenberg in 1530, Geneva in 1550, London in 1570, or Venice in 1590? When people in different confessional contexts joined in worship and participated in the sacrament in this period, what differences and similarities were there? Join John Thompson [professor emeritus, Fuller Theological Seminary] and Karin Maag [Meeter Center] as they explore how pastors interpreted scripture and preached to their congregations.

February 10, 2023 | 81 min video

Rebecca Snippe on Zeteosearch.org

Preachers, worship leaders, teachers, and others who study the Bible often go online to find resources for their research. Sorting through search results is often frustrating. But Zeteosearch.org—a revamped curated search engine—offers thought-provoking results.

November 14, 2022 | 3 min read