Parental Guidance Advised ― Adult Preaching from the Old Testament

When we learn Old Testament Bible stories as children, the stories are stripped of their complexity. But, as adults, hearing the entire stories-the stories of our past-reminds us who we are in God's plan. Parental Guidance Advised shows the Old Testament to be a creative, humorous, insightful, bawdy, dynamic, and enriching collection of sacred literature hammered out over centuries of wrestling with the divine-human relationship. It depicts the Old Testament not as a series of scenes of saints in action but rather as real-life stories of sinners who, somehow, despite themselves, become protagonists in God's plot of salvation. Parental Guidance Advised provides profound and provocative sermons that honor the depth and complexity of both Bible and everyday life. Each chapter includes a brief essay on its topic, followed by suggested texts for preaching. The book covers all three years of the lectionary cycle.

Charles L. Aaron Jr. is pastor of the First United Methodist Church in Terrell, Texas. Aside from authoring Preaching Hosea, Amos and Micah in the Preaching Classic Texts series, he has written Your Faith Has Made You Well from CSS Publishing.Alyce M. McKenzie is Le Van Professor of Preaching and Worship and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. Among her books published is What Not to Say: Avoiding the Common Mistakes That Can Sink Your Sermon, coauthored with John Holbert.