DESCRIPTION
Oliver O'Donovan has been preaching and teaching for over three decades, committed to the perpetual voyage that is the service of the Word of God. In
The Word in Small Boats O'Donovan offers thirty-two select sermons that he has preached over the course of some twenty years.
"The word [of God] travels in small boats, the thought and speech of human beings, living the life of faith like any other believer but set aside for this ministry. Few vessels are less capacious than the mind of a single person, and so the word requisitions many of them, rather than relying on one or two big preachers."-- from the introduction
REVIEWS
Sam Wells
— Dean of the Chapel, Duke University
"O'Donovan brings faith to intellect and intellect to faith in characteristically meticulous style. Those who have found his more famous works a little daunting may confidently look to this volume for a direct and engaging introduction to his theology."
Lillian Daniel
— Senior Minister, First Congregational Church, UCC
"Clear without being simple, these delicately crafted and nuanced sermons come as a welcome balm. . . To a divided and rancorous church, O'Donovan preaches a middle way of dignified civility. Against a backdrop of cultural name calling and hysteria, The Word in Small Boats is a quiet and timeless word of faith, written with grace and mercy."
Thomas E. Breidenthal
— Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio
"Although a written text can never capture the moving energy of a sermon as it is delivered, this collection casts Oliver O'Donovan's consistently penetrating analysis — at once morally challenging and pastorally sensitive — into high relief. Whether he is marveling at the fall of the Berlin Wall or asking how we should seek God's truth in the light of 9/11, exploring why marriage is honorable or urging us to invite Jesus into everything we do, O'Donovan offers us beauty and clarity of expression, apt illustrations, and careful attention to the Bible passage at hand. His zeal for the gospel and his love of Scripture shine throughout."
Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology
"Every sermon is superbly crafted and richly imaginative. . . . These sermons are given to us for our edification, and if received with open heart and mind as the Word of God is meant to be received, that is precisely what they shall accomplish. . . . Recommended for academic, pastor, and layperson alike."