Courses

Instructor: Jonathan Micheel

Description:
Preachers are very attentive to the content of sermons, and rightly so. But the form or structure of a sermon often just happens. Preachers order their thoughts and words intuitively, arranging things in a way that seems to make sense to them and, they hope, to their hearers. While an intuitive approach can work, preachers can grow in their craft by attending to the underlying structure of their sermons. By learning about ways that ideas and words progress through a sermon, they can discover what makes various sermon structures tick and utilize the strengths of each structure in their preaching.

This course will introduce participants to sermon structures and forms within several categories. Narrative forms let the biblical narrative give shape to the sermon to harness the power of story, and related structures like Lowry’s Loop and the Four Pages of the Sermon utilize narrative dynamics. A variety of thematic structures (beyond only “theme and parts”) continue to be valuable for clear presentation of the Word. As participants examine imagistic structures, they will learn how to tap into the power of images in a way that strengthens the proclamation of the Word rather than distracting from it. The concepts of inductive and deductive movement will appear as the class discusses each of these sermonic forms.

Course registration will be available in the Student Information System (SIS) beginning August 7, 2025, and close October 2, 2025. Use the "Login with Office 365 button" once you've received a student account and are logged in to Microsoft 365 with that student account. Need an account? Request one here.

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Area of Study: Preaching & Worship
Tuition: $400
Course Number: WR5009
Course Credits: 1.0