Preaching Metaphor

A Resource Companion

These sermons are included in the book Preaching Metaphor: How to Shape Sermons that Shape People by Justin Rossow.

The running commentary in that book is best if you have experienced the sermon as a sermon first, before you start dissecting it to see what makes it tick. These videos enable you to see an early (and sometime rough) version of the example sermons in the book to facilitate your experience with Evoking the Source, Mapping to the Target, Testing the Limits, and Exploring Life Through a New Lens.

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“A pioneering and incredible piece of work. Rossow’s treatment of metaphor and culture is not only enjoyable, it makes you wonder how often we fill in the blanks of biblical images with our own cultural narratives without giving it a second much less passing thought. I know of no other work that offers such a well-developed theory of metaphor for preaching.”

—Len Sweet

best-selling author, professor, and owner of PreachTheStory.com

Sermon Videos

You can find all eight of the sermon examples included in Preaching Metaphor listed below.

You can also find these and other sermons referred to in the book along with other examples of metaphor preaching in the Preaching Metaphor Playlist of www.youtube.com/user/JustinRossow/.

Sermon 1, "The Potter and the Clay"

This sermon follows the Metaphorical Movement Design. The running commentary on this sermon is found in Section 2 of Preaching Metaphor.

Sermon 2, "The Anchor Cross"

This sermon follows the Metaphorical Movement Design. The running commentary on this sermon is found in Section 2 of Preaching Metaphor.

Sermon 3, "The Dead Sea and the River of Life"

This sermon follows Wilson's Four Pages structure, a Dynamic sermon design. he running commentary on this sermon is found in Section 3 of Preaching Metaphor.

Sermon 4, "Disciple the Nations"

This sermon follows another Dynamic sermon design, the Lowry Loop. You can find an expanded manuscript in Section 4 of Preaching Metaphor, but you should be able to manage the analysis on your own...

Sermon 5, "Bug Zapper, Unplugged Light, or Warm Fire: It Matters!"

This is a very rough version of the sermon preached by Pastor Steve Wiechman, founder of Breathe Life Ministries. It will be updated when a newer video is available. An improved manuscript is found in Section 4 of Preaching Metaphor and the running commentary in Section 3. This sermon uses a Thematic Design, structuring the sermon around the logic of Cause and Effect.

Sermon 6, "Passing on the Faith"

OK, the video quality on this one isn't great, but it's good enough to capture both the dynamics of metaphor and the sermon structure of Comparison/Contrast. Because the shape of the argument gives rise to the shape of the sermon, this design also falls in the category of Thematic Sermon Structures. The metaphor theory happens in the development of the sermon rather than in the structure. Find the verbatim in Section 4 of Preaching Metaphor: How to Shape Sermons that Shape People.

Sermon 7, "The Mustard Seed and Leaven"

Textual Designs use the shape of the Biblical text to shape the sermon. In this case, Sermon 7 uses a Text/Application design. You can find a running commentary on this sermon (along with some interesting stuff about parable and metaphor) in Section 3 or Preaching Metaphor. The complete manuscript without commentary is in Section 4.

Sermon 8, "God is on a Mission; an Unstoppable Mission."

This sermon follows the narrative of Mark's Easter account but inserts application along the way, giving this Textual Design an Alternating Story Structure. You can find a slightly modified sermon manuscript in Section 4 of Preaching Metaphor.