A collection of 51 sermons and five related essays by Ellen F. Davis, the Amos Ragan Kearns Professor of Bible and Practical Theology at Duke Divinity School, has been published this month by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

The new volume, Preaching the Luminous Word: Biblical Sermons and Homiletical Essays, was authored by Davis and compiled by Austin McIver Dennis, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C. A recent Doctor of Theology degree recipient from the Divinity School, Dennis has written an afterword for the volume, which also includes a foreword by Stanley Hauerwas, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor Emeritus of Divinity and Law at Duke University.

The collection by the noted preacher and scholar was produced to invite serious theological engagement with texts from all parts of the Christian Bible and to engage preachers, teachers, seminarians, church leaders, and serious lay readers with its accessibility, theology, and rhetoric.

A brief preface to each sermon delineates its liturgical context and theological themes as well as distinctive elements of structure and style. Arranged in canonical order, the sermons treat a wide range of texts including the Torah, Prophets, Writings, Gospels, Epistles, and Revelation. They are complemented by essays on various aspects of biblical interpretation for preaching.

Previous books by Davis include Getting Involved with God: Rediscovering the Old Testament and The Art of Reading Scripture (with Richard B. Hays).