Preaching and the Vocabulary of the Spirit

One result that preaching accomplishes in the lives of regular hearers is the for- mation of a vocabulary. As we hear the preacher talk about God and the God- oriented life, we discover God-oriented words and thus develop ways to think about life—ways that are distinct from and often opposite to the ways most of the rest of the world communicates. This paper investigates the process of vocabulary formation and how it stimulates formation of consciousness and character.