The True and Living Word: Sermons from the Community of Wycliffe College

A.J. Pell is rector of Christ Church in Hope, B.C., and lecturer in the
Anglican Studies Programme at Regent College in Vancouver.

Wycliffe College at the University of Toronto is known for its
evangelical Anglican tradition. This collection of 17 sermons by faculty
and former students makes that tradition evident. They are all
scripture-based, settling not for easy readings and quick platitudes but
instead wrestling with the text to let the Spirit of God speak through
the preacher and the biblical passage. The sermons of Barbara Sykes,
Michael Knowles, David Reed, Linda Nicholls, Sylvia Keesmaat, and Brian
Walsh in particular exhibit thoughtful and demanding content that
touches both heart and mind.

Yet most of these sermons are exercises for the eye, not the ear, and
thus are far closer to essays than sermons. Perhaps this is the result
of their having been edited for inclusion in this book. The sermons by
Dean Mercer, Grant LeMarquand, and Linda Nicholls, however, manage to
retain marks of their original oral delivery. Nicholls and Mercer offer
introductions that will catch the ear. LeMarquand makes use of a
storyline that a hearer can follow with ease. Nicholls shows how
multiple “points” can be made effectively in an oral presentation.
Prospective preachers could learn much from these three.