Sermons from Mind and Heart

"The Rodney Kennedy whose sermons I have heard on occasional visits to the First Baptist Church of Dayton is one of today's great preachers. His sermons are challenging: they provoke reexamination of one's own Christian faith and inspire heroic participation in God's work in all spheres of life. His sermons are also unfailingly educational: Kennedy's vast reading and analytical powers give them the power to make listeners think . . . The sermons in this collection, which Kennedy considers the best of the past eight years, should put no one to sleep--or leave any reader's life untouched."

-Jacob H. Dorn

Wright State University



"A compelling voice, with clear congregational accord. Kennedy's intellectual passion and homiletical prowess shine forth here for those seeking in Spirit, humble in heart. Prepare to be startled, as one should be in encounter with the Word preached. Kennedy offers nourishment for both preachers and those who make the 'preaching moment' their own in growing lives of discipleship."

-Lisa M. Hess

United Theological Seminary



"In 2003 the First Baptist Church of Dayton called Rodney Kennedy to be senior pastor . . . it was a masterstroke. A refugee from the fundamentalist-captured Southern Baptist Convention, with a PhD in rhetoric from Louisiana State University, Rod Kennedy fits very well the profile of a First Baptist Church senior pastor. As you will see in the sermons that are to come, he is a fabulous preacher who cannot be--and does not want to be--pegged as liberal or as conservative."

-from the Foreword by William Trollinger and Brad Kallenberg