How to Preach a Parable: Designs for Narrative Sermons

Eugene Lowry writes a most provocative teaching guide from his own experience. He uses as bonus the four sample sermons from Dennis Willis, Leander Keck, Academic Dean at Yale Divinity School, Fred Craddock, Retired Bandy Professor of Candler School of Theology at Emory and one of his own sermons. Dennis Willis preached the only Old Testament Story - "Noah was A Good Man." This was the first example of Lowry's design option of "running the story." Here we have the result of Biblical scholarship which marks-up the quality each sermon. He clearly illustrates Lowry's past emphasis of "every parable has to have a point." Yet recent Biblical studies suggest, "that a parable doesn't have a point..." It is a point!"Lowry's sermon, "Who Could Ask for Anything More" was an example of the design of "suspending the story." Leander Keck had once preached "Limited Resources - Unlimited Possibilities" at Chapel of the Emory - Candler School of Theology. This followed Lowry's design of "delaying the story." My favorite sermon is the last one by Fred Craddock, "Praying Through Clenched Teeth." He shows his typical gift of creatively "alternating the story." Sometimes he refers to that as "layered stories" - other times as "stories within a story." Which ever you choose, he expects the listener to interpret the stories for himself or herself. Lowry picks-up on this as "his listeners have come to experience his back!" All four men have moved up in this world or as Dennis Willis at forty years of age - into the next higher World!" One more real example of what it takes to re-create a Super How-To Book.