Course Overview

Preaching, Preparation, and Presentation (3 credits)

Instructor: Bruce Ballast

Overview: This class cultivates the art and method of preparing and preaching effective sermons and/or formal Christian presentations. Drawing first upon the Bible and communion with the Spirit, students will deepen their calling as preachers, develop their skills in crafting and delivering powerful messages, and grapple with some practical challenges in preaching.

Course Outcomes:

1. Learn how to study the Bible in a way that will lead to sermons reflecting the truth that you learn. 
2. Develop a pattern of sermon making that uses the skills taught to prepare interesting and attention-getting introductions, organize the body of the sermon in a memorable way, and conclude your message with power. 
3. Embrace your role and calling as a preacher as you understand where and how we were called and the tremendous responsibility we preachers have. 
4. Recognize that the called preacher must relate effectively to the congregation where he/she preaches.  Several examples are given of how to do this. 
5. Reflect on some of the practical issues of preaching, like preaching through pain and preaching when people aren’t responding. 

Resources: This course includes references to a variety of written materials by well-known and effective preachers.  For more information, you can access Dr. Ballast’s blog on preaching at www.preachingacts.com.

Assignments: View all online lectures and read all the articles on each topic. CLI computer tracks whether you do this. After viewing all lectures for the unit, take the quiz based on the lectures (100% of grade). All reading materials must be of general domain or creative commons.

Grading Scale:

A 95-100%   A- 90-94%   B+ 87-89%   B 83-86%   B- 80-82%   C+ 77-79%   C 73-76%   C- 70-72%    D+ 67-69%   D 63-66%   D- 60-62%   F 0-59%

Your average for the course must be at least 60%. Otherwise, you will fail the class and will receive no credit.

Deadline: You have 180 days to finish the course. Complete all assignments before the final deadline, or you will be automatically unenrolled, and all coursework will be removed. You will have to start over and take the class again to receive credit.

Accessibility: All videos have slides available with them.