The Art of Prophesying

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Description

Look at any list of top books on homiletics, and you're likely to find this classic work by 16th-century Puritan preacher William Perkins. In it, Perkins lays out the principles for preparing and delivering effective, Bible-based sermons. This very readable English translation of the original Latin includes a brief biography of the author by Benjamin Brook.

From the Preface

The preparation of sermons is an everyday task in the church, but it is still a tremendous responsibility and by no means easy. In fact it is doubtful if there is a more difficult challenge in the theological disciplines than that of homiletics. Its subject matter is prophecy, which is a 'higher gift' indeed (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:31), whether we think about its dignity or its usefulness.

Preaching has a twofold value: (1) It is instrumental in gathering the church and bringing together all of the elect; (2) It drives away the wolves from the folds of the Lord. Preaching is the flexanima, the allurer of the soul, by which our self-willed minds are subdued and changed from an ungodly and pagan life-style to a life of Christian faith and repentance. It is also the weapon which has shaken the foundations of ancient heresies... If anyone asks which spiritual gift is the 'most excellent', undoubtedly the prize must be given to prophesying.

The better something is, the more it deserves to be carefully presented with a wide variety of rich and wise counsel. But this everyday task is frequently described in a scarcely adequate and even impoverished manner by comparison with the attention other disciplines receive. I have, therefore, carefully studied the writings of the theologians, composed a series of rules and principles from their teaching, and tried to explain them in a way that will be both useful and easily remembered.

About the Author(s)

William Perkins (1558–1602) was an influential English cleric and Cambridge theologian, receiving both a B.A. and M.A. from the university in 1581 and 1584 respectively, and also one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England during the Elizabethan era. Although not entirely accepting of the Church of England's ecclesiastical practices, Perkins conformed to many of the policies and procedures imposed by the Elizabethan Settlement. He did remain, however, sympathetic to the non-conformist puritans and even faced disciplinary action for his support.

Perkins was a prolific author who penned over forty works, many of which were published posthumously. In addition to writing, he also served as a fellow at Christ's College and as a lecturer at St Andrew's Church in Cambridge. He was a firm proponent of Reformed theology, particularly the supralapsarian theology of Theodore Beza and John Calvin. In addition, he was a staunch defender of Protestant ideals, specifically the five solae with a particular emphasis on solus Christus and sola Scriptura.

From the Wikipedia article William Perkins (theologian), which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.

System Requirements

Installed size (unless otherwise indicated): Approximately 168.375 KB. iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Requires iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad running latest version of iOS. Download size: 168.375 KB. Android Requires Android OS 4.4 or later. Download size: 168.375 KB. Windows Phone Requires Windows Phone 7.5 or later. Download size: 168.375 KB. Windows Store Requires Windows 8, 10, 11 or later. Download size: 168.375 KB. Windows Desktop Requires Windows 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8, 10, 11 or later. Download size: 1.375 MB. Mac OS Requires macOS 10.13 or later. Download size: 168.375 KB.