TEXT: the Preaching Life, by Barbara Brown Taylor

TEXT: the Preaching Life, by Barbara Brown Taylor

2018 Continuing Education Schedule of Classes
March 10-11, 2018 – Christian Preaching
June 8-10, 2018 – Worship & Sacrament
October 13-14, 2018 – Pastoral Care
October 13-14, 2018 – The Sermon on the Mount

March 10-11, 2018 - Christian Preaching
Rev. Will Shelburne, Associate Pastor, First Savannah

TEXT: The Preaching Life, by Barbara Brown Taylor

This class will focus on identifying gifts, exploring different styles of preaching, learning to approach Biblical texts with a creative and critical eye and how to move from the text to sermon. Participants will preach a 10-15-minute sermon which is to be prepared before class. Each participant should be prepared to listen attentively to their classmates preaching and provide feedback.

Objectives: In this course we will:

  • explore your gifts for preaching and seek to understand your voice as a preacher
  • experience the joy of preaching
  • explore how to read and preach the Word with passion, faithfulness and authenticity
  • work towards preparing sermons that have biblical, theological, and contextual integrity
  • identify and explore issues that will help you grow as preachers

June 8-10, 2018- Worship and Sacraments
Revs. Mary & Eric Beene

There are those who say that worship is the most important thing the Church does.The church could exist without any buildings, any money, any staff, or any programs, but we would not exist as a church if we did not worship together. It is a provocative idea. You may or may not agree with it.But it highlights the fact that worship is central to who we are.

In this class, we will look at worship, think about worship, and experience worship, all in order that we can worship more authentically in our own lives and in our congregations. In addition to some conversation about the history and theology of worship, we will spend a lot of time sharing resources for planning liturgy, music, prayers, and other elements of worship. Creativity will be encouraged and fostered.

If you have a chance, read one or more of the following publications. Unless otherwise noted, they can be ordered from Amazon, CBD.com, Cokesbury, or other online retailers.

  • Invitation to Christ: A Guide to Sacramental Practice (Louisville: Presbyterian Church (USA), 2006. This guide is available for download or can be ordered from the PC(USA) website at
  • Long, Thomas G. Beyond the Worship Wars: Building Vital and Faithful Worship (The Alban Institute, 2001)
  • MacDonald, Gordon. Who Stole My Church: What to Do When the Church You Love Tries to Enter the 21st Century (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2007)
  • Webber, Robert. Planning Blended Worship: The Creative Mixture of Old & New (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998)

October 13-14, 2018 - Pastoral Care
Rev. Rachel Greiner

October 13-14, 2018 - The Sermon on the Mount
Rev. Chris Noyes

The Sermon on the Mount is the central teaching of Jesus found in chapters 5, 6 and 7 of Matthew’s Gospel. As Christian who claim Jesus as foundational to our faith, it is important that one encounters Jesus’ radical countercultural message detailed in the Sermon.

The Sermon is our blueprint for living in the Kingdom. And more than anything else, the Kingdom was Jesus’ central theme in his ministry. The Sermon is not so much a list of what we must do, but a call of how we are to live as followers of Jesus set free from the bondage of this world, the power of sin and the evil of earthly empires.

The Sermon introduces a new way of living for Jesus followers to model their life upon. It is a discipleship manual not to improve one’s private spirituality, but a call to live as a community which behaves and believes that Jesus has really come and will return.

Much of what gets passed off as Christian faith reflects the values of the culture more so than the Kingdom. In our study of The Sermon on The Mount we will learn how to live as peculiar people, focusing on Jesus’ specific teaching. This is important, because for too long we Christians have focused too much on Jesus’ death apart from his teachings.

In this class we will closely examine the Sermon on The Mount and wrestle with its invitation to live a Kingdom life. And, I hope that like the crowds at the end of the Sermon (Mt. 7:28), we too will be astounded by the teachings of Jesus.

Required Text: Sermon on the Mount
(The Story of God Bible Commentary)

by Scot McKnight

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