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To The Glory Of God Evaluating Origen’S Exposition Of The Scripture In His Leviticus Homilies, Andrew Johnson

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Johnson, Andrew M. “To the Glory of God: Evaluating Origen’s Exposition of the Scripture in His Leviticus Homilies”. Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary, 2022. 237 pp.

Origen has been called “Adamantine,” an impossibly hard metal. Many have found his work to be strong and powerful and equal in its density. Origen’s preaching is almost impenetrable to the Evangelical preacher. This dissertation seeks to offer an entry for modern evangelical preachers to engage with the historic practice of figural exposition in Origen’s Leviticus homilies. The dissertation investigates the interpretative, homiletical and rhetorical histories which intersect in Origen’s homilies. It unpacks Origen’s use …

Metaphorical Imagery In Colossians: The Narrative Of Christian Living, Paul Muther

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Muther, Paul D. “Metaphorical Imagery in Colossians: The Narratives of Christian Living.” STM thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2019. 114 pp.

Although many recent theologians employ conceptual metaphor theory to the Bible’s imagery surrounding the Gospel, few apply the same theory to the metaphors of Christian living. Although many theologians develop models to demonstrate the overall picture of Christian living, few tease out the implications of individual metaphors throughout a given work.

By applying conceptual metaphor theory and Justin Rossow’s narrative analysis tool of the actantial model to the text of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, this STM thesis examines three metaphors …

In Search Of Best Devotional Practices In Relation To The Practice Of Preaching, Jason Wagner

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

In Search of Best Devotional Practices in Relation to the Practice of Preaching. Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2018. pp.

Preachers are tasked with faithfully carrying the Word of God to their people on a weekly basis, yet preachers often struggle to be spiritually fed for their own sake as well as for the sake of their congregations. This project seeks to investigate the connection between personal prayer and devotional reading and proclamation. In seeking best devotional practices among pastors, this study reveals a number of benefits to the man who is tasked with regularly proclaiming the …

Expository Preaching At The Dawn Of The Reformation: An Evaluation Of Martin Luther As Preacher In Light Of Modern Expository Theory, Randall Rozelle

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This thesis examines Martin Luther as an expository preacher. Contemporary authors such as Ewald Plass, Peter Brooks, Fred Meuser, Sydney Greidanus, James MacKinnon, John MacArthur, and Hughes Oliphant Old describe Luther as an expository preacher, yet none of them clarifies how or in what way they reach that conclusion. To that end, chapter 1 introduces Luther as a preacher and the need for this study.

Chapter 2 defines modern expository theory and presents a four-fold method for creating faithful, expository sermons.

Chapter 3 tracks Luther’s change in hermeneutic from a medieval, allegorical approach to a Christ-centered, historical-grammatical method. Luther’s postils …

The Culture Of Life And Life’S Resources: A Study Of The Effects Of Intentional Whole Life Stewardship Education On The Stewardship Culture Of St. John Lutheran Church Of Plymouth, Wisconsin, Nathan Meador

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Meador, Nathan M. “The Culture of Life and Life’s Resources: A Study of the Effects of Intentional Whole Life Stewardship Education on the Stewardship Culture of St. John Lutheran Church of Plymouth, Wisconsin.” Doctor of Ministry. Major Applied Project, Concordia Seminary, 2017. 248 pp.

Stewardship is a concept that can bring confusion and consternation for those who teach it and learn it. Pastor Nathan Meador undertook a study of the effect of intentional whole life stewardship education on the adult Bible class at St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin. Using an initial questionnaire to assess the baseline culture of …

Shaped By The Spirit: Spirit Christology As A Framework For Preaching Sanctification, Jonathan Rusnak

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

Rusnak, Jonathan W. "Shaped by the Spirit: Spirit Christology as a Framework for Preaching Sanctification." S.T.M. Thesis, Concordia Seminary, 2014. 128 pp.

This thesis offers an account of preaching sanctification grounded broadly in the trinitarian economy of salvation and specifically in the person and work of Jesus Christ as receiver, bearer, and giver of the Holy Spirit. Grounded in atonement theory alone, other accounts of preaching sanctification are unable to address any number of concerns that arise in the sanctified life. In addition, atonement theory alone does not ground an account of preaching sanctification that maintains the nexus indivulsus of …

Humor In Preaching: Its Effects And Guidelines For Its Beneficial Use, Antonin Troup

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This project examined the effects that humor in sermons has on hearers, particularly how humor affects their understanding and retention of Biblical truths. After exploring humor's effects on listeners and which types of humor are more beneficial in the task of preaching through theoretical research, the data was investigated through the use of questionnaires, personal interviews with church members, and a focus group. After analyzing the participants' responses, the researcher developed a list of guidelines for the beneficial use of humor in his preaching. These guidelines offer suggestions that other preachers may find helpful in using humor in their sermons.

How A Hearer Listens To A Sermon: Setting The Presuppositions Of The "Second Text", Jeffery D. Nehrt

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of the project was to answer the question: Can preachers influence how a hearer listens to a sermon? To answer that question, 70 pastors of the Southern Illinois District, Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod were asked if they every used a pre-sermon Bible study to help the hearer listen to the sermon. A seven week pre-sermon Bible study was developed and taught based on four filters of hearing. Those filters were Logos, Ethos, Pathos, and community. A post sermon survey was given and separated into two categories, those who attended the pre-sermon Bible study and those who did …

The Use Of Eternal Life Metaphors In The Funeral Sermon As A Means Of Grace, Daniel A. Wonderly

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this Major Applied Project was to learn which eternal life metaphors were more comforting to the members of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, in Burton, Michigan. The researcher approached this research project believing that certain metaphors would be more comforting to his members than others. Therefore, the researcher sought to discover which eternal life metaphors were more comforting through the use of a research survey. He then held research group interviews to learn why these metaphors were more comforting than others. As a result, the researcher is able to apply the insights gained concerning certain Scriptural metaphors to be …

Preaching The Story Behind The Image A Narrative Approach To Metaphor For Preaching, Justin P. Rossow

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

Rossow, Justin P. “Preaching the Story behind the Image: A Narrative Approach to Metaphor for Preaching.” Ph.D. diss., Concordia Seminary,2008.296pp.

In response to an increasingly image-driven culture, preachers have focused more and more attention on the use of imagery and metaphor in the sermon. The homiletics of metaphor, however, currently lacks a sufficient hermeneutical foundation. This dissertation lays the groundwork for a fuller understanding of how interpreters fill in the blanks left by metaphors in the biblical text and in the sermon. While the appendix describes a range of different theories on what metaphor is and how it works, the …

Workshop In Narrative Preaching- An Added Approach For The Pulpits Of The Evangelical Lutheran Church Of Brazil, Ely Prieto

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project was to offer a new approach from the field of homiletics to the ministry of pastors in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brazil – IELB. The goal was to help a small group of seven pastors of Distrito Vale do Rio do Sinos, in South Brazil, to integrate a more narrative style of preaching into their ministry. The chief component of this project was to offer a workshop on narrative preaching to this group of pastors and to see how effective the workshop could be in helping them integrate the theory and practice of narrative …

Luther's Two Kinds Of Righteousness And His Wartbug Postil, Makito Masaki

Doctor of Philosophy Dissertation

This study discusses how Luther exhorted people to live the Christian life. Luther understood the Christian life as a life of the saved sinner in himself and in his community. He understood that Christians live lives defined by two kinds of righteousness; that is, righteousness that God bestows, and righteousness that they produce. This study will be carried out by reviewing this basic understanding of what the Christian life is, and by examining Luther's preaching material, specifically a set of sermonic writings called The Wartburg Postil. The thesis of this survey is that in The Wartburg Postil, Luther used the …

The Effectiveness Of Illustrations In Preaching: Understanding And Retaining Biblical Truths, Ronald Rall

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This project explored how illustrations function in sermons to facilitate the understanding and retention of Biblical truths. Personal interviews with members of the congregation and focus groups that evaluated sermons provided feedback and insights related to the effectiveness of illustrations in preaching. The researcher compiled responses from the interviews and the focus groups to draw some conclusions about how illustrations function most effectively in aiding comprehension and facilitating an effective hearing of the message. On the basis of this study the researcher offers recommendations that preachers may find helpful in using illustrations in their preaching.

Toward A More Helpful Preaching Technique In The Nursing Home, Keith Schweitzer

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Major Applied Project presents reminiscent preaching as a homiletical method to be used in a nursing home setting. As reminiscing is a common characteristic among the aged, applying it in the preaching ministry and worship activity among nursing home residents can serve the purpose of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in many helpful ways.

This MAP explains and presents examples of how reminiscing from the past in the lives of the residents draws forth vivid memories in their minds. Used as a method in preaching, these memories can also strengthen and deepen the faith of the aged individual who …

Biblical Storytelling And Preaching, Dennis J. Goff

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This Major Applied Project seeks to clarify the relationship between a Biblical text of Scripture being "read" or "told" and how that connects to the sermon preached on that text. It is believed that in many worship settings there is often a "disconnect" between the lectionary read (Old Testament, Epistle and Gospel readings) and the sermon text selected from one of those readings. By the time the preacher begins his sermon the hearer has often forgotten the Scripture read earlier. The use of Biblical storytelling can assist the listener in hearing, understanding, remembering and connecting the text of Scripture with …

Toward Better Hearing Of The Word In The Sermon, Darrell Zimmerman

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The purpose of this project was to equip some members of the congregation to be discerning receivers of the sermon by improving their active and intentional listening capabilities. The methodology of the project included the development and teaching of a course of instruction on the theology and practice of preaching, a period of participant implementation, and interviews of participants in the study toward an evaluation of the project. Participant response showed a greater or lesser benefit depending on willingness and ability to apply the learnings. Recommendations for enhanced future effectiveness of the course are included.

Know Thy Hearer!, William Mons

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

This seminar paper will support the thesis that in order to influence the heart of the hearer in the direction of true faith and a godly life, the preacher will need to know his hearers. This thesis will be supported through an exploration of four questions. The first question is "Why does the preacher need to know his hearers?" Under this section there will be a discussion of the preacher's call, the idea that sermons are to be appropriate to the hearers, preaching as pastoral care, the hearers as participants in the preaching task, the image of the preacher, and …

Killing And Making Alive As The Vital Work Of The Spirit In Preaching According To Martin Luther, Peter Kirby

Master of Sacred Theology Seminar Papers

The Protestant Reformation involved a recovery of just this distinction between primary and secondary discourse, and not only the distinction, but the priority of "primary" discourse, that is, the necessity of Gospel as the Word that forgives in the here and now.

Military Imagery In Preaching: An Effective Means Of Nurturing A Lutheran Identity In The Military, Mark Steiner

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

This major applied project consisted of two parts: a research component addressing the theoretical application of military imagery in preaching to a Lutheran military audience and an evaluative process, which tested the application of military imagery in preaching. The theoretical component, based upon the contributions of literature on cross cultural studies, leadership, strategic planning, rhetoric, and homiletics, recommended a homiletical strategy for preaching military imagery. The evaluative component validated the application of military imagery in preaching and recommended a strategy for promoting organic unity of military imagery with the other elements of the worship service.

John 6 And The Lord's Supper, Jon Bischof

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis ventures to reopen an old argument on ground which has been a "no man's land" for Lutherans for nearly 500 years. There is a tradition within Lutheranism of interpreting John 6:51-59 as having no reference whatsoever to the Eucharist. This tradition within Lutheranism can rightly claim the support of Luther who said, "it [the sixth chapter of John] does not refer to the sacrament in a single syllable". Naturally, no confessional Lutheran wants to find himself in disagreement with Luther. We would always rather defend his views when they are maligned. But Luther corrected his own views many …

Orality As The Key To Understanding Apostolic Proclamation In The Epistles, Thomas Winger

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Redaction criticism and its modern successors in the literary field, while they give more credit to the text and the author, have at the same time mired the academy again into a modern mud of sources and manipulation. There is promise in certain new paths—rhetoric, reader-response, speech-act theory, methods which we will note briefly in the first chapter. But finally we must move out of the "academy" and into the church. For the orality of Scripture is not just about its origin but also about its use and purpose. The Scriptures are a liturgical piece. They belong not on the …

Improving The Communication Of The Gospel Through Preaching: A Systematic Congregational Process, James Lamb

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

The message of Christian preaching, then, is unique because of the content of the message and who has revealed it. But the distinctiveness does not stop there. This particular form of rhetoric carries its own power to bring about change.

New Measures: An Analysis Of An Argument Among Lutherans In The United States During The Fourth And Fifth Decades Of The Nineteenth Century, John Fuchs

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This paper is a description and explanation of some aspects of the controversy over revivals and "new measures" which disturbed the Lutheran Church in the United States during the 1830s and early 1840s. Primarily, it is the story of an argument. Secondarily, it examines some of the theological assumptions implicit and explicit in the rhetoric of the controversy. The argument, however, was not about theology as much as it was about various practices in the life of the Church. Therefore this paper will of necessity describe some of those practices and attempt to evaluate them.

A Paracletic Homiletic, Charles Keogh

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The purpose of this study has been to address the question, What is the nature of parakaleo/paraklesis in proclamation? The thesis is that these terms, in part, define and describe proclamation.

Persuasion In The Art Of Preaching For The Church, William Matzat

Doctor of Ministry Major Applied Project

Throughout the following pages three major themes will be interwoven with the aspects of the preaching ministry mentioned above. The themes are pastoral in nature and have been formulated over many years in the parish ministry. In some ways, they are similar to the themes indicated in an isogogical study of a Scriptural text, as one studies (1) the addressees, (2) the content of the message, and (3) the approach or style of the writer. In a similar way, this paper will study the proclamation of the Word in relation to (1) the hearers, (2) the content of the message, …

The Proclamation Of The Gospel In Word And Sacraments, Clifford Frederich

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

The burden of this thesis is to demonstrate that when the Gospel is preached properly preaching functions as a means of divine grace. Furthermore, not only can preaching be a means of grace, but it should be.

The Preaching Of Clovis G Chappell- A Study Of The Published Sermons In Light Of The Proper Distinction Between Law And Gospel As Articulated By C. F. W. Walther, William Carpenter

Doctor of Theology Dissertation

Walther persistently asserted that the understanding and proper distinction between Law and Gospel is vital to correct or orthodox preaching even to the point of holding this understanding up as the "supreme art among Christians." If a person is to be a serious practitioner of the Word of God, he must aspire to this skill or ability.

The value of this study then is twofold: our hypothesis was that C. F. W. Walther's classic work could be distilled into a pithy corpus and from this digest a set of criteria could be drawn from which objective judgments could be made …

Two Early Church Homilies Compared, Russell Sommerfeld

Master of Divinity Thesis

Thus, it becomes the purpose of this paper to examine the two earliest extant homilies of the Early Church in order to glean from them an import of assistance in doing the homiletical task today. The two early sermons to be examined, compared and used as homiletical tools are the, so-called, second Epistle of Clement and Passion Homily of Melito . Bishop of Sardis.

The Significance Of Δei In The Lukan Writings, Robinson Radjagukguk

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This thesis represents an attempt to investigate the true meaning and significance of the notion of "necessity" (δετ), as it appears in the New Testament, particularly in the Lukan writings.

Preaching In The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod-To The Goal Of Stewardship Of Money, 1930 To 1970, George H. Rattelmuller

Master of Sacred Theology Thesis

This study is based on 40 sermons on the stewardship of money, taken from selected volumes of The Concordia Pulpit, from 1930 to 1970.