Privilege the Text!spans the conceptual gap between biblical text and life application by providing a rigorous theological hermeneutic for preaching. Kuruvilla describes the theological entity that is the intermediary between ancient text and modern audience, and defines its crucial function in determining valid application. Based on this hermeneutic, he submits a new mode of reading Scripture for preaching: a Christiconicinterpretation of the biblical text, a hermeneutically robust way to understand the depiction of the Second Person of the Trinity in Scripture. In addition, Kuruvilla's work provides a substantive theology of spiritual formation through preaching: what it means to obey God, the Christian's responsibility to undertake "faith-full" obedience to divine demand, and the incentives for such obedience-all integral to understanding the sermonic movement from text to application. Privilege the Text!promises to be useful not only for preachers, and students and teachers of homiletics, but for all who are interested in the exposition of Scripture that culminates in application for the glory of God.

ABRAHAM KURUVILLA (PhD, Baylor College of Medicine; PhD, University of Aberdeen) is Associate Professor of Pastoral Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary, Texas, and a dermatologist in private practice. He is the author of Text to Praxis: Hermeneutics and Homiletics in Dialogue (2009) and Mark: A Theological Commentary for Preachers (2012). He blogs regularly at www.homiletix.com.

Table of Contents Introduction Systematization and Atomization Theological Hermeneutic (s) Précis of Chapters Chapter 1: General and Special Hermeneutics General Hermeneutics and Textuality General Hermeneutics: Pragmatics General Hermeneutics: The "Classic" Special Hermeneutics Chapter 2: Pericopes, Theology, and Application Pericopes Theology of Pericopes Application Chapter 3: Divine Demand and Faithful Obedience Divine Demand Faithful Obedience Chapter 4: Text and Theologies Law: Leviticus 12-14 and Pericopal Theology Hymnody: Psalm 130 and Pericopal Theology Prophecy: Ezekiel 37 and Pericopal Theology Chapter 5: The Akedah and Christo-Iconic Interpretation The Akedah (Genesis 22): What the author is doing with what he is saying Christo-Iconic Interpretation Conclusion Summary of Chapters A Historical Afterword