Praise for Sermons from Duke Chapel

“What a terrific idea—a Will Willimon idea!—to collect these sermons delivered at Duke Chapel over the last seventy years. Reading through the sermons is a delight, as they not only remind us of where we have been but also point in directions we need to go. Delightfully diverse, these selections often reveal a great deal about the preacher but just as often give us a glimpse of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That these sermons, moreover, were preached in a university chapel makes them all the more interesting, giving us a sense of the changing university. This book will be invaluable not only for people who love good preaching or who teach preaching, but for anyone wanting better to understand the last seventy years of Christianity. Each of the sermons is introduced by wonderful witty and insightful remarks by Rev. Willimon. These alone are worth the price of the book.” —Stanley Hauerwas, author of The Hauerwas Reader

“Probably the best advertisement for Sermons from Duke Chapel would simply be a list of the fifty-five preachers who delivered them. There is something here for everyone. Alumni, especially of the Divinity School, will hear again the voices of beloved teachers—and maybe even fellow students. Many of the most noted theologians and biblical scholars of the last half of the twentieth century are represented here, as well as some of our most prophetic voices. Those interested in homiletics can trace the way preaching developed in this period. Not only have fashions changed in how sermons are constructed, they have also changed in regard to those who deliver them. The voices of African Americans and women especially have improved the quality of preaching. Yet the most impressive thing about the collection is the way that the Word of God may be heard and experienced through it. Although I have studied preaching through the ages, I am amazed—and grateful—for the way the sermons in this book can grasp my heart and mind and make me want to be more faithful in my discipleship.” —O. C. Edwards Jr., author of A History of Preaching

“These sermons recapitulate the nature of mainline preaching in the twentieth century and ponder aloud the place of Christian faith in a major ‘secular’ university founded in part out of a strong Protestant faith.”—David L. Bartlett, author of What’s Good about This News?

“These sermons are as rich and diverse and striking as the deep colors of the stained glass in the towering church in which they were preached. They display the craft of preaching through which Light shines. You will cherish this collection of sermons faithfully shaped, imaginatively crafted, artfully expressed.”—Hope Morgan Ward, Resident Bishop, Mississippi Area of The United Methodist Church