1248 research outputs found
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Embracing Stewardship: How to Put Stewardship at the Heart of Your Congregation’s Life
Get PDFA book to help strengthen a congregation\u27s stewardship ministry. Mindful of generational perspectives and attuned to the world in which congregations live, this book provides eight pathways your congregation can follow to deepen your members\u27 understanding of themselves as stewards of the bounty of God
Mystagogical Preaching in the Episcopal Church: Connecting Sermon and Liturgy
Get PDFSeeks to determine the effectiveness of mystagogical preaching for communicating the theology of the Episcopal Church as it is presented in the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer. Mystagogy is a liturgical theology leading worshipers deeper into the mysteries of the faith as they are experienced in the liturgy. This study uses an action/reflection research method seeking to determine participants understanding of the liturgical rites in question prior to the sermon and if that understanding changes after hearing a mystagogical sermon. Surveys including both quantitative and qualitative questions are used to measure effectiveness of this style of preaching
Cultivating Biblical Imagination Through Preaching
Get PDFExplores the ways preaching can help increase familiarity and comfort with scripture so people are able to interpret their daily experiences and lifetime milestones with God’s story revealed in the Bible. The importance of narrative is explored, especially in relationship with competing narratives in today’s world. A variety of forms of interactive preaching are explored to evaluate the ability of the sermon to increase biblical imagination: biblical storytelling, people talking to one another, and writing down reflections to act on in the future. Sermons were preached in multiple ELCA congregation in a variety of contexts
Preaching Effectively to the Unchurched
Get PDFExplores the question of how to preach effectively today to the growing number of Americans who have never regularly attended church or long ago stopped attending. The current challenges of Biblical illiteracy in the population, an increasing cultural hostility toward Christians, and a growing perception by many (especially the millennial generation) of the irrelevancy of Christianity are addressed. Biblical preaching that has proven to be ineffective with the unchurched is noted with special focus given to preaching that has been proven to be effective
Wesleyan Missional Small Groups: Three Crucial Attributes
Get PDFMixed methods (simple exploratory and participatory action research) study explored ways congregations can draw upon both the United Methodist heritage and the missional approach to foster spiritual formation using small groups that make sense to the postmodern culture and lead to behavior changes.
Three crucial attributes of vital, faith-forming small groups are: creating authentic community (belonging – engaging one another), engaging the Holy Spirit (believing – engaging God), and helping participants make applications to their daily lives (behaving – engaging real life). Congregations must do the hard work of contextualizing these and hold all three together for small groups to empower spiritual growth
Sanctification in Adolescence: How Karl Barth’s Two-Fold Critique of the Church Could Influence Youth Ministry Practices Today
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Sabbath and Creation
Get PDFWork and rest, planting and letting lie fallow—these are the rhythms by which both we and the earth are sustained, as on creation’s first Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.…Six days you shall do your work, but on the seventh day you shall rest.” It is, of course, a word of law. For those who have ears to hear, however, it is also a word of promise