Primary Authors & Sources
Students read John Chrysostom’s great NPNF homily cycles on the Gospels and Paul—the Golden Mouth at full pastoral length. The Homilies on Matthew open the Synoptic narrative with Chrysostom’s characteristic moral urgency and Christ-centered reading. The Homilies on John and Hebrews join the Fourth Gospel’s theology to the high priesthood of Christ. Homilies on Acts and Romans move from the church’s mission to the apostle’s doctrine of justification and life in the Spirit. The Homilies on the Corinthian epistles apply that gospel to a disordered congregation—unity, gifts, and love. The Homilies on Galatians through Philemon complete the Pauline desk for preachers who must expound the shorter letters with the same care. Together they serve expository ministry trained by the early church’s greatest pulpit.
What You Will Study
Students read Chrysostom's homilies on the Gospels and Epistles, examining how the golden-mouthed preacher moved from grammatical exegesis to moral and Christological application for ordinary congregations. Primary texts include homilies on Matthew, John, Acts, and Pauline letters with attention to Chrysostom's use of typology, historical context, and rhetorical amplification. The course analyzes Chrysostom's anti-Judaic rhetoric and other problematic elements with honest critique alongside appreciation for his exegetical and homiletical genius. Students compare Chrysostom's methods with Reformed preaching principles emphasizing literal sense, Christ-centered interpretation, and application governed by Scripture. Weekly assignments require reading full homilies and summarizing exegetical moves for classroom discussion.
Course Objectives
Objectives include outlining Chrysostom's exegetical approach to New Testament passages, identifying Christological and ethical themes in his homilies, evaluating strengths and weaknesses of patristic preaching for Reformed adaptation, and producing exegesis-to-sermon summaries modeled on patristic but confessional method. Students will explain how Chrysostom's congregational context shaped his rhetorical choices. The course cultivates homiletical skill through immersion in a master preacher's sustained work. Students will compare Chrysostom with Augustine and Reformation preachers on selected pericopes. Assessments require detailed analysis of individual homilies with constructive proposals for contemporary pastoral use.
Ministry & Life Application
Chrysostom demonstrates that expository preaching can be vivid, accessible, and demanding without sacrificing biblical fidelity. Pastors and house church teachers in the Florida Keys gain homiletical inspiration and practical models for moving from text to application. Pastoral ministry is enriched by studying a preacher who served ordinary believers with relentless weekly exposition. This course supports PAST-101 and Greek exegesis courses by showing how grammatical reading becomes living proclamation. Congregations thrive when leaders preach with Chrysostomic urgency filtered through Reformed conviction that every text leads to Christ and his demands on the Christian life.