This thesis investigates the way preaching participates in Christ's saving work and brings hearers of sermons to life. Arguing that the capacity of a sermon to bring us to life is directly related to its capacity to disturb, the thesis demonstrates the piercing quality of the preaching of John "Chrysostom" and two contemporary sermons. The Christology and soteriology of Sebastian Moore in 'The Crucified is no Stranger' are used to develop an account of authentic preaching as that which peirces the self-justifying and self-condemning thoughts that arise out of the human flight from God, understood by Moore as the religious quest. The thesis contends that when the piercing of such "dragons" occurs, we are exposed to what Moore decribes as "eschatological sorrow", a sorrow which may become the medium of our delivery to our true selves in Christ. A number of implications are noted for preachers, congregations, and theological education.
