of Paul, he shows how understanding them in light of Greco-Roman speech conventions can suggest ways by which preachers can communicate not just the content of the letters, but also their function. In this way, the power of the text itself can be harnessed, leading to sermons that inform and, most importantly, transform. ""Rhetoric was the ancient art of persuasion in the world of the NT, and of course that is what preaching is all about. In Tim MacBride's new book, he shows how very natural it is to preach the NT as though it provides us not merely with texts for preaching, but texts about ancient preaching!"" --Ben Witherington III, Amos Professor of NT for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, St. Andrews University, Scotland Tim MacBride lectures in New Testament and Homiletics at Morling College in Sydney, Australia, an affiliated college of the Australian College of Theology.