Every Sunday all over the world people rise up and claim to speak in the name of God. It is an astonishing thing to do and an astonishing claim to make. It is small wonder that the sermon has been the focus of debate, discussion and investigation. It has been dismissed as irrelevant in today's culture and has become the butt of numerous jokes and caricatures. Yet the claim persists that these human words in some way can become God's message to these hearers. This collection of twenty-nine articles by international experts in the area of homiletics coincides with the revival of interest in preaching over the last twenty-five years. It is practical without being merely tips for preachers; and it offers the necessary theoretical discussion for anyone who wants to take the art of preaching seriously. No important issue has been omitted and, taken as a whole, the book constitutes a first class introduction to the principles, processes, context and theology of preaching. Contributors include: Walter Brueggemann, David Buttrick, Fred Craddock, Edward Farley, John Killinger, Richard Lischer, Thomas Long, Elaine Lawless, Jolyon Mitchell, Cheryl Sanders and Thomas Troeger.