Sermon Analysis On September 25, 2016 a sermon was preached by Rev. Dr. Nathaniel Phillips at Red Clay Creek Presbyterian Church in Wilmington, DE where he serves as a co-pastor. His sermon titled There is a monster at the end of this sermon incorporated descriptive language to engage the listeners and encourage the congregation whom he serves to live out their missional goal to strengthen current community connections and to further new connections. His church is a “good sized” suburban church that has been around for 295 years. He describes the parishioners as having a “broad tent” of theological views. This congregation is open to new ideas and re-visiting the old. They appear to be carrying out intentional missional work in their community …show more content…
Using this method, he successfully engages the congregation through descriptive narratives and relating ideas to current times. As part of the narratives he includes descriptive biblical stories beginning with the story in his text, claiming it as a “scary story”. He further re-enforces this scary story concept by sharing two more biblical passages where a scary story exists. These biblical narratives are the beginning of what Wilson would call the second page of the sermon where the trouble in the text is given. This of course was preceded by his first page that discussed the idea of having scary stories in our lives today (trouble in the world) by using a vivid personal illustration. He continues to use vivid illustrations to hammer in his focus on the church needing to be friends to the downtrodden because God responds that way. He designs the third page to share the Gospel in the text reminding us that God responds to continual injustice by sending his son to be the friend that everyone needs. The one who stands up for injustice and never leaves your side. Finally, he concludes with the fourth page by demonstrating how churches can live the gospel in the world today. They do this through friendships with people in their surrounding community whose stories might be …show more content…
In his first opening story his use of descriptive words like lovable and furry helps the congregants envision the story in their mind as if they were watching it unfold. This opening story follows Wilson’s idea to open a sermon by “starting with a not-too-serious experience of the general theme.” The second story encountered in his sermon that reinforces his theme is also descriptive and is told like one was experience watching a scene in a
In these text, “The Minister’s Black Veil” and “The Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” the preachers are teaching their congregations a lesson.
In 1741, Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan preacher of that time, had one thing on his mind: to convert sinners, on the road to hell, to salvation. It just so happened to be, that his way of doing that was to preach the reality to them and scare them to the point of conversion. Sermons of this time were preached to persuade people to be converted and to me it seemed that Edwards just had a special way of doing it. Just as people are being influenced by rhetoric appeals today Edwards used the same method on his congregation. In “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” Jonathan Edwards positively affected his readers using pathos, logos, and ethos, while trying to convince the unconverted members of his sermon to be born again.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis1:1.) God’s perfect wisdom created everything. In Genesis 1 and 2 we can see that God has loving and gentile nature when He created the earth and heavens. God created man in his image and we are the only creation that God breathed in the breath of life for human beings (Genesis 2:7). God did not do this for any of other creations but only for humans. The Bible has many scriptures that tell us how creative God is. Genesis 1;26 states “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” God created all of this for us to have fellowship with him.
Hughes writing in this story is very visual and enriched with figurative language. “And the whole building rocked with prayer and song”(Hughes 229). Hughes personifies the building and depicts an overwhelming amount of prayer and song. Another example of figurative language is found when he pretends he has seen Jesus. “Suddenly the whole room broke into a sea of shouting as they saw me rise” (Hughes 232). This metaphor sheds light on the intensity of the church at that moment. Comparing the room to a sea, an immense untameable body, exaggerates the situation he was in and portrays him as almost drowning in his
The foundation of a Christian worldview is the belief in a personal God, creator and ruler of the universe. The Christian worldview views the world through God’s word, providing the framework for humanity to live by giving meaning and purpose to life. It defines who Jesus is, human nature, and how salvation is achieved. In essence it is the basis of which Christians behave, interact, interpret life and comprehend reality. A Christian worldview imparts confidence, answers to life’s problems, and hope for the future. In this paper I will discuss the essentials of a Christian worldview and an analysis of the influences, benefits, and difficulties sustaining the Christian faith.
Jonathan Edwards is able to use powerful scare tactics to convince his congregation to undergo an emotional conversion. Edwards is a Christian preacher and theologian who stimulated the “Great Awakening.” Edwards is known for using powerful language; he creates images of absolute horror and images of delight. Edwards uses specific wording that lingers in his listeners mind. In Jonathan Edwards’s sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Edwards’s use of negative imagery, negative diction, and positive imagery and diction is able to convince the congregation to undergo an emotional conversion.
In my paper I will talk about my visit to The Community Church at Murphy's Landing (CCML). I have chosen this particular Church because it is a family church type and my neighbor goes there and she encouraged me to go with her. I went there with my neighbor on April 6, 2014.This church is an appropriate for this assignment because the people there are welcoming me with an open heart and they are willing to help and provide me with information. When I visit the Church’s site I read these words “We know visiting a new church can be intimidating. But, we want to help you to be as comfortable as possible when and if you join us”. The people gather in the church weekly to glorify God in joyful worship. The expressions of worship on CCML take many forms a prayer, a hymn of reverent awe, a guitar ringing with a chorus of praise, or a warm handshake and a welcoming smile. Their weekly services begin at 9:30 each Sunday at church. Also, they have weekly podcast if anyone wants to listen online. They have many types of services for parents, kids and students. People at CCML were so friendly; they gather around me and start welcoming me, one by one. People there introducing themselves to me, one after another and provide me with their contact information and help. Then we start talking about the church services and Christianity in particular. The mission of CCML was knowing, growing and loving. They seek to live out our mission by worshipping together as a local community of believers, growing in spiritual maturity through discipleship, education, and small groups, caring for one another within the context of the larger church body and small groups, and Communicating the love of Christ to our world, both through local outreach and global mis...
Jonathan Edwards was a man who could petrify any eighteenth century Puritan. He was born in East Windsor, Connecticut and was raised in a household with strict religious beliefs. In 1727 he began his preaching career as an assistant to his grandfather, Solomon Stoddard, the pastor at the church at Northampton, Massachusetts. When his grandfather died two years later, Edwards became the pastor of the Church at Northampton and began preaching all over New England. He then emerged as one of the leaders of the Great Awakening with his determination to return to the orthodoxy of the Puritan faith. That is when he adopted his “fire and brimstone” emotional style of sermon. Although people often ran out of the church in hysterics, most stayed in the church captivated by his speeches. He had always purposely chose to address his congregation with a sermon, using all of the elements of an oratory. In Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, Jonathan Edwards displays all elements of an oratory by appealing to emotions, including expressive and rhythmic language, addressing the needs and concerns of his audience, and inspiring others to take action.
Literature has been a medium for getting messages across for centuries. Various authors from Aesop to Shakespeare have used writing as a vehicle to get a message across to their audiences. All of these authors are widely respected and admired for their works. One author who transcends her peers and breaks away from traditional secular teaching is Flannery O’Connor. She is widely known for her usage of Christian themes to get across a message of our worlds need for a savior in Jesus Christ. Her style of writing is unique in that she conveys spiritual messages in everyday, fun-to-read stories. This is important as it creates a medium in which she can spread the gospel in a clever manner. Image books stated, “Her expert craftsmanship, her uncanny ability for characterization, the depth and intensity of her morality-combined in strict discipline-make her one of this generation’s most respected authors” (Books, Image 1). Flannery O’Connor uses various themes to get across a religious message, but the two that have a large impact are grace and suffering. The themes of grace and suffering can be seen in her short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard To Find”, “The River”, and “The Lame Shall Enter First”. The themes of grace and suffering in Flannery O’Connor’s short stories are used to represent Jesus Christ dying on the cross for our sins.
...hing “bad” happened they found a way to rejoice in the suffering. The Puritan believers were selfish with sharing their faith. A plantation missionary stated that sharing the gospel to slaves would “promote our own mortality and religion.” However the gospel and religion the masters shared with their slaves did not remain the same. The slaves were able to apply their faith to their lives, their work, and their future. The faith the slaves possessed was rich in emotion and free from preexisting regulations. In this class we focus on the many faces and interoperations of Christ that change with the seasons of history. The slave faith represented in Jupiter Hammon’s poem shows a high level of integrity and selfless, personal application of faith. The emotion and need for Christ the slaves had during this time created a new realm of relationship in the evangelical era.
he Bible teaches us regarding the incredible mystery of Jesus Christ that arrived on earth to convey immense ‘beloved knowledge’ concerning God and among this conceivably exists our Godly sexual presence within humanity. The following occurs as an “attempt” to describe the greatest happening the world has ever experienced; appropriately, I profess this endeavor has instigated a humbling, for there are no words on earth that could ever come close to the power that Jesus Christ engulfed humanity with. Truthfully, it grieves me to think of how the majority of people, lack the intelligence and clarity (including myself) to accomplish such a feat; for no amount of terminology, vocabulary, or skills expressing His true existence could ever come
Henry Sacheverell’s sermon on November 5th 1709 caused shock and outrage throughout the country. Sacheverell was an otherwise undistinguished Anglican parson. He was arrested for printing and provocative an ( as described by those in power) treasonous sermon, which he had preached twice already, the second time he preached was in front of the London Mayor on November 5th 1709. November 5th was a day in which traditionally was a Whig Holiday. On this day preachers would give a sermon which outlined the dangers of popery in commemoration of the failed gunpowder plot and the successful landing of William III at Torbay. The reason Sacheverell’s ‘Perils of False Brethren’ was so controversial was that he quickly dismissed these at the beginning of his speech in order to focus on what he perceived as the more important issues. The main emphasis of Sacheverell’s sermon was on criticisms against ‘fanatics’ and the condemnation of the ‘false brethren in both church and state’ both of whom Sacheverell considered to be a much greater danger than the ‘acknowledged enemies’ as identified by the Whigs. The most offence message from the sermon was the impugning of the glorious revolution, as Sacheverell denied that It had involved resistance against King James II. As well as this Sacheverell challenged the religious settlement that had resulted from the Glorious Revolution, mainly the ‘toleration act’ which had provided freedom of worship to protestant dissenters; ‘disparaging the queen's ministers by insinuating that they were false brethren of the English church.’ Sacheverell was prosecuted for treason due to this speech, with the death sentence a very real possibility due to the nature of this sermon. However, he was given a relatively g...
Acknowledging his ability to counsel and help those in conflict, Bill decided to attend the campus, for the Southern California School of Theology, under Dr. Cynthia James, where graduated in 1985. Bill has been ministering over the last forty years to congregations, spending the last 10 years at the Evergreen Valley Church of San Jose. He’s also ministered to the Foursquare Church and the Church of God, in San Jose
It may seem a little bit strange, but my favorite place in town in none other than this beautiful Evangelic Church. However, it wasn’t always so.
According to Dr. King the proper role of the Christian Church should be seen as a force for social change and human betterment. He makes specific points about how the Christian Church should still follow the same organized religion as they once did in the early Christian times. In the early Christian times we saw people risk their lives and even persecution to help build the world into a better place and create justice within. King argues that the Christian Churches are becoming irrelevant as they seek to maintain their status quo rather than to help encourage their church members to transcend their weaknesses. King being a minister, sees how the Christian Churches are choosing to support a group mentality of injustice rather than justice. According to King, justice is something that upholds the dignity of the human spirit while injustice is working against it. By the Christian Churches choosing to support injustice they are no longer forcing individuals to confront their failures and change.