Hear the Word of the Lord
52 Lessons
by
Book Cover & Preview Text
The intent of this text is to take "Hear the Word of the Lord" and transform a document entitled Therapeutic Preaching on "Hear the Word of the Lord" into fifty-two lessons. The inspiration to develop these lessons came to life after celebrating the completion of a series of sermons that focused on following the concept of "Hear the Word of the Lord" through the Bible. I have been a Pastor for forty-five years and this journey has moved me from driving seventy-five miles to a rural Church that met two Sundays a month, through being a student assistant in a major Metropolitan Church in the Nation's Capital, to an eight year ministry in a suburban congregation and into retirement after thirty years as the senior pastor in an inner City parish. Within this context, I have discovered that a major task for ministry is to offer some tools to help parishioners with their struggles for victory and vision. Therefore, the objectives of these lessons can meet several possibilities such as a yearlong devotional text, a study tool for twelve months of Bible study, ideas for a year of weekly meditations or a guide for a year of Sunday school lessons. Consequently, we invite any reader to please receive this work as a guide and a gift for any faith journey.
Formats
Book Details
About the Book
This text is a theological reflection of the words, “Hear the Word of the Lord” in the Bible. The objective is to focus and provide a reflection on scriptures to help individuals in their spiritual growth and their capacity to respond to the struggles of life with more emotional and psychological victories.
About the Author
In January 1971, Earl L. Bledsoe entered ministry and was licensed at Cross Road Baptist Church as a Baptist minister. In June 1971, he was ordained as assistant to Pastor Dr. C. S. Peterson. In 1972, he was introduced to the Interfaith Metropolitan Ecumenical Theological Seminary (Inter/Met) where he matriculated on an undergraduate/graduate journey. Earl was granted a bachelor of arts in history and a master’s degree in management from the Open University System. In September 1977, he transferred to Lancaster Theological Seminary, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and graduated cum laude with a master’s of divinity degree in 1979. On the postgraduate path, Earl studied at Boston University and completed the doctor of ministry work at Lancaster Theological Seminary, where he was granted a doctor of ministry in 1997. His dissertation was “Therapeutic Preaching from the Perspective of an African-American Free Church Pastor”. Earl also followed the clinical education path and pursued pastoral education in different medical and mental institutions. Further, he participated in a certificate program in church management from Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and a certificate program from the Leadership Institute at Harvard University in Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Bledsoe has served as the pastor of Silver Hill Baptist Church in Morrisville, Virginia; Pilgrim Baptist Church in Wilderness, Virginia; and Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Prince William, Virginia. He retired after thirty-one years as senior pastor of Great Hope Baptist Church in Richmond, Virginia, where he is Pastor Emeritus. Dr. Bledsoe is currently serving as Interim Pastor at Quioccasin Baptist Church, Henrico, Virginia. Dr. Bledsoe is the Director of Field Education at the Samuel Dewitt Proctor School of Theology at Virginia Union University in Richmond, Virginia; former Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at the Richmond Virginia Seminary; and an Adjunct Professor in the Doctor of Ministry Program at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. Dr. Bledsoe is married, the father of four children, grandfather to thirteen, and great-grandfather to four.