Homiletic: Moves and Structures Paperback – March 1, 1987

Good condition.Great book.

Anything David Buttrick writes on preaching is a must have! This work, although it can be a bit cerebral at times, is another great resource. If you want to preach beyond the typical mechanics and maneuvers, this is the book for you!

A must have for your library. The methods and concepts are on point and the way in which the author teaches and illustratrates the concepts are extremely well orchestrated. I would recommend this book to anyone who minsters or is thinking about ministering and/or entering the ministry.The author's use of actual scripture and texts helps to illustrate and drive home key points in the foundation, building blocks and structure of the sermon.

Great book

Good book as a text book. Lots of info and insight from an educated viewpoint. A good read for comparison and study.

The book arrived on time and is in advertised condition, however it has a sickeningly sweet odor that makes it not only distracting, but downright unpleasant to try and read. As one who has many airborne allergies I'm trying to decide if its worth trying to return. This is the first book I bought from this vendor, so I'm not sure if it is a common problem.

Buttrick's approach is a discipline every preacher should be aware of. His concern is twofold: 1) Conveying the gospel in a way that shapes congregation's communal consciousness and 2) doing it in a way where the congregation not only tracks, but remembers beyond Sunday's lunch. That is to say, the sermon now lives inside our communal ethos in a way that gives the sermon its transformational potential. His preaching tome, although thick, is easy to read, uses practical examples, and, best of all, is written in the way he preaches!This is a must have for anyone concerned with the discipline of preaching. While some of the techniques might seem past their "best by used date," I have not found a style more accessible to the discipline of preaching than this one. While Craddock, Lowry, Troeger, and others attempt to "teach" their style of preaching (mainly teaching us how to preach like them - which is difficult unless you are them!), often giving a philosophy without satisfying examples, Buttrick lays the ground work and lets you apply your own sense of creativity and style to the form. He provides the frame, while we still get to paint the picture. The frame is not one size fits all, but a structure which will keep the sermon grounded, focused, and attainable for your listeners (warning: when at its best whole outlines will be recited back to you). Simply put: your congregations will be grateful.

This book cost $5.98 on Amazon, used with shipping, even though the original listed price is $34. After reading this book, I am impressed that people have taken the time to read it, because it is dense and hard to understand. Buttrick uses quite a few different musical analogies and language to explain what he means, yet sometimes it only serves to muddy his thoughts further. Even though it it's first printing occurred in 1927, it still has practical use for the pulpit today, even though most preachers do not have the time to digest such a work, much less the desire.Buttrick has a command over structure and explanation that is fascinating, and the way that he explains different topics is thorough, sometimes exhaustively so. The first half of the book, Moves, is fairly orthodox in it's presentation, and he gives a lot of good advice on how to make a sermon flow. In the second half of the book, Structures, some of the ideas he presents have a low view of Scripture, and his talk of the Bible seems dangerous.I would not recommend this book because of the dangerous content, instead I advocate for 'Between Two Worlds' by John Stott or 'Biblical Preaching' by Haddon Robinson. Overall, this is a scholarly work designed for scholars who want to know more about preaching in exhaustive detail. The word 'encyclopedic' is a fair description of the scope of this work.

very good info and helpful for sermon prep

A preaching essential for inspiring, Christ-centred sermons.