HM 5251 Research in Homiletics

Course Code: HM 5251
Course Title: Research in Homiletics
Units: 3 credit units
Level: Senior Undergraduate/Graduate / Advanced Elective / Research Course
Recommended Prerequisite: HM 1251 Homiletics: Expository Preaching and HM 2510 Advanced Homiletics, or permission of instructor.

HM 5251 Research in Homiletics is an advanced research course that equips students to investigate preaching as a biblical, theological, pastoral, rhetorical, and contextual ministry. Students will explore major issues in contemporary homiletics, including the theology of preaching, biblical interpretation for proclamation, sermon form, narrative and rhetorical strategies, contextual preaching, audience reception, and the preacher’s spiritual formation.

The course guides students through the process of designing and writing a homiletical research paper or ministry-based preaching project. Special attention is given to preaching in church, diaspora, intercultural, and wounded-community contexts. Students will learn to identify a focused research problem, review scholarly literature, develop a clear thesis, evaluate sermons or preaching practices, and propose faithful approaches to biblical proclamation for today’s church.

Course Rationale

Preaching is not only a practical ministry skill; it is also a field of serious theological reflection and research. This course helps students move beyond sermon preparation into scholarly and ministry-based inquiry about preaching. It prepares students to become reflective preachers, teachers of preaching, and researchers who can evaluate and strengthen the ministry of the Word in local and global contexts.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. Explain major theological, biblical, rhetorical, and pastoral foundations of homiletics.

2. Identify significant research issues in contemporary preaching and homiletical studies.

3. Evaluate selected sermons, preaching models, or homiletical theories with scholarly care.

4. Develop a focused research question and thesis for a homiletical research project.

5. Use appropriate research methods for studying preaching, sermon form, audience, context, or theology of proclamation.

6. Write a graduate-level research paper or ministry-based project that contributes to faithful preaching practice.

7. Reflect on the preacher’s character, spirituality, context, and responsibility in the ministry of the Word.

Major Topics

• The nature and theology of preaching

• Scripture, interpretation, and proclamation

• Homiletics as an academic and ministry discipline

• Sermon form, structure, movement, and rhetoric

• Narrative, image, metaphor, and imagination in preaching

• Expository preaching and theological preaching

• Contextual preaching in diaspora and intercultural settings

• Preaching to wounded communities

• Audience, reception, and congregational formation

• Preaching ethics and the character of the preacher

• Research methods for homiletics

• Writing a homiletical research paper or preaching project

Recommended Final Project Options

Students may choose one of the following:

1. Traditional Research Paper — a scholarly paper on a focused homiletical issue.

2. Sermon Analysis Project — critical study of selected sermons, preacher, or preaching tradition.

3. Contextual Preaching Project — a ministry-based project addressing preaching in a specific church, culture, or community.

4. Theology of Preaching Paper — a biblical-theological study of proclamation, preacher, Word, Spirit, church, and mission.

5. Pedagogical Project — a teaching resource for training lay preachers, Bible teachers, or ministry leaders.

This advanced homiletics course is a deep dive into the art and soul of biblical preaching. Grounded in exegetical rigor and theological depth, this course focuses on the pastoral formation of the preacher as much as the craft of the sermon. 

Students will explore how to honor the diverse literary genre of the Scripture through varied homiletical forms. They will wrestle with what it means to preach biblical faithful within a worship service and how to connect ancient truths to the diverse and real-world contexts of modern ministry. At its heart, this course focuses on the preacher's calling to be a faithful steward of the Word who strives for accuracy to the Biblical text and a clarity of though that makes the depth of biblical truth accessible.

This course emphasizes the cultivating a pastoral sensivity that speaks directly to the soul while refining the practical skills needed to communicate God's truth effectively to a local congregation.