Patterns of Preaching: A Sermon Sampler

by Dr Ronald J Allen

This collection of sermons by noted homileticians illustrates thirty-four distinct styles of contemporary and traditional preaching.

Genres: School

264 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Patrick]

I loved the concept for this book: explore the different ways of forming a sermon, whether by genre, flow, or perspective. I was fairly pleased with the description of these "patterns" presented in the book. The sermons themselves, were, with a small handful of exceptions, disappointing. My own religious background is in conservative evangelical/restorationist churches, which tend to offer at least moderately insightful and in-depth Bible-based preaching (though not especially creative preaching). The sermons in this book--from mainline liberal churches like the Disciples of Christ and United Methodist Church--were fairly creative, but tasted like weak tea. They were vague and felt like they never quite got to the point they should have been making. What I would love to read (and what I aspire to in my own preaching) are sermons that are at once creative, moving, and theologically compelling (N.T. Wright's Following Jesus comes to mind). Verdict: good concepts, poor content.

[Susie]

Really good samples of many different styles of preaching. Inspiring and creative. Good for getting new ideas and seeing examples of them worked out.