How Shall They Hear?

Professor Kraus said today that those who did not identify as Christian were able to give more effective sermons that persuaded the listeners to believe in the four points laid out by Proctor. I also think that this is true. I think that for Christians, our spirituality, our faith, and our understanding of the world is channeled through Jesus. Thus, for this assignment to have been an assignment in "Christian" sermon writing and performance, Jesus must be the focus. Four points of effective sermon writing do not lead to a sermon that is enherently Christian as Bailey mentioned in class. For those who do not believe in Jesus, following those four points was effectively applied through their own personal experience. I think that for Christians, Jesus is our personal experience. One of my favorite quotes comes from William Blake, "I accomplish nothing, the Holy Spirit accomplishes all through me." I think effective Christian preaching to audiences like our class can be found in Jesus' own ministry. Through his parables, Jesus first allowed his audience to personally relate to a situation they understood and were familiar with, and then revealed to them how this situation was really about a relationship with God. Just as Jesus was always concerned with who his audience was, modern Christians must do the same in order to spread the good news of Jesus to those who have not yet received it.