Sermons from Duke Chapel

Opening with the sermon preached in June 1935 at the dedication of the Chapel and closing with one by Willimon delivered at the beginning of the 2003–04 school year, this volume presents Protestant Christianity at its most eloquent and prophetic. Some sermons are pure meditations on biblical texts; others are period pieces in the best sense of the term, reflecting on such contemporary concerns as civil rights, the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy, and the wars in Europe, Vietnam, and Iraq. Willimon provides a brief introduction to each sermon, commenting on the work and thought of the preacher. Diverse in subject and style, the sermons collected in this volume are a treasure for those who love fine preaching, a resource for those studying the history of homiletics, and a light to rekindle the memories of those who have worshiped in the Chapel over the years.

William H. Willimon is Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church. From 1984 to 2004, he was Dean of the Chapel and Professor of Christian Ministry at Duke University. Willimon is the author of dozens of books, which together have sold more than one million copies. His book Worship as Pastoral Care was selected as one of the ten most useful books for pastors by the Academy of Parish Clergy in 1979. An international survey conducted by Baylor University in 1996 named him one of the twelve most effective preachers in the English-speaking world. Willimon lives in Birmingham, Alabama.