Resonate
How to Preach for Deep Connection
Foreword by Mark A. Labberton
Imprint: Cascade Books
We need good news now more than ever. We are hungry to connect--with God and with each other. Whether you preach from a pulpit or simply want to communicate more effectively as a leader, this book will empower you to bring that good news with fresh boldness. It teaches a simple, practical method of testing the crucial connection points that too often go missing in our preaching. It invites you to pay attention to the verbs of your sermons, so that you will be better able to lament painful struggles with empathy, awaken joyful hope for the future, and catalyze faithful discipleship in the present.
Lisa Washington Lamb is affiliate faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary and at St. Paul’s Theological College in Malaysia. She is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and a mission associate with Paraclete Mission Group.
“Grounded in decades of honing her teaching craft, Resonate is not just a primer for preaching but also a paradigm for ministering to the heart. Lamb offers insightful strategies, powerful reflection, and practical application which come together to foster a deeper connection with one’s audience. A must-read for any Bible teacher!”
—Tom Lin, president and CEO, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship
“Resonate is a rare preaching book that shows, rather than simply tells, preachers how to write sermons that reverberate the Bible’s good news into the world. Lisa Lamb extracts the best insights from her years of analyzing the patterns of strong sermons as a preacher and teacher of homiletics and presents her findings as actionable goals that are sure to improve our sermons.”
—Ahmi Lee, chief partnerships officer, Resource Global
“Every native speaker knows, almost by instinct, how to use verb forms in their speech to express themselves with clarity. Those native skills are usually examined and reinforced in grammar school. Lisa Lamb paid closer attention to these matters than most of us, and because of that, has learned the power of language and its capacity to move us. This is what she now teaches us in Resonate.”
—Clayton J. Schmit, Emmanuel Academies
“Lamb makes here such a compelling case that within the preacher and the sermon lies one of the most important, if underappreciated, ingredients for deepest resonance: verbs. No doubt all the other elements contribute to strong preaching, but verbs resonate with our being and our doing in the presence of the Living God. Faith is a verb. Love is a verb. Obedience is a verb. Confession and lament are verbs. Thanks, praise, serve, and sacrifice—all verbs.”
—Mark Labberton, president, Fuller Theological Seminary