Anxieties of beginning preachers -- Why preaching is important -- The church as a context for preaching -- The larger world as a context for preaching -- The life of the preacher as a context for preaching -- Preaching as theological interpretation through conversation -- Theological criteria and interpretative relationships in the preaching conversation -- Starting points for sermon preparation -- Developing the direction of the sermon -- Engaging the congregation in the sermon -- A smorgasbord of patterns of movement for the sermon -- Stories, images, and experience in preaching -- Embodying the sermon -- Learning from the congregation, colleagues, and continuing education -- Miscellania -- An expository-deductive sermon / Ronald J. Allen -- An expository-inductive sermon / Mary Donovan Turner -- A topical-deductive sermon / René Rodgers Jensen -- Topical-inductive sermon / Reginald C. Holmes.