A Bucket Full of Miracles: Preaching the Miracles -- Cycle a

The stories of Jesus' miracles challenge our jaded modern sensibilities -- with today's wealth of scientific and technological knowledge, the wonders of our world rarely amaze us anymore. It can be difficult for us to grasp the astounding effect of these events in Jesus' time, especially when we are sidetracked in a search for logical explanations, but Jeff Wedge maintains that the key to fully understanding the miracles is recapturing our child-like sense of wonder about them. Underlying these familiar stories is the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world in which we live.

Packed with valuable idea starters and rich material for sermon development, A Bucket Full Of Miracles helps evoke that sense of wonder with a detailed exploration of the nine miracle stories appearing in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Each chapter includes the biblical text and examines the words, the people, and the action of the lesson, as well as providing several illustrations and possible preaching approaches. This volume provides plenty of homiletic material for the busy pastor with limited time -- but it's also stimulating reading for anyone who wants greater insight into these marvelous accounts of God's power at work. Chapter titles include:

• Nativity (Matthew 1:18-25)
• The Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
• Spirit's Coming (Acts 2:1-21)
• Walking On Water (Matthew 14:22-33)
• The Demon-Possessed Girl (Matthew 15:21-28)
  ... and four more! Jeff Wedge is the author of eight books and numerous articles and church dramas, including Mrs. Johnson's Rummage Sale (CSS). A former parish pastor and Christian education director, he is the founder and vice president of his own company as well as a freelance writer of magazine articles and contract technical work with over 200 appearances in print. Wedge is an active member of Hope Lutheran Church in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he serves as a Lay Assisting Minister and Lay Preacher. He holds an M.Div. degree from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.