This sermon was offered as part of Within Us, Among Us: A Preaching Workshop for Disciples Preachers held in January 2023. Rev. Eddie Anderson focuses on Luke 17:20-21, one of the focus texts for the 2023 General Assembly.

Luke 17:20-21 — in which Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ question about the coming of the kingdom by saying “the kingdom of God is among you” — is a text about presence, attention, and where the divine is already at work. It raises the fundamental homiletical question of how a preacher helps a congregation see what is already there, rather than reaching toward something not yet visible.

Rev. Anderson preaches this text as a model sermon for the Within Us, Among Us workshop, a gathering convened to help Disciples ministers engage the General Assembly focus texts across diverse voices and preaching styles. Watching this sermon alongside the other sermons from the workshop offers preachers both an encounter with the text and a range of interpretive and homiletical approaches to the same scriptural questions.

You might also find helpful:

• Within Us Among Us — The full six-week preaching series for the 2023 General Assembly, with worship suggestions and Disciples ministry connections.
• Sermon: Rev. Xosé Escamilla — Another sermon from the Within Us, Among Us workshop, preaching on 2 Peter 1:3.
• Sermon: Rev. Katie Hays — A sermon from the same workshop, preaching on Genesis 11:1-9 (Tower of Babel).
• Preaching These Days — A podcast-style resource for Disciples ministers on what preaching looks like in the current moment.