The situation of the modern church is going downhill beyond the slowdown in growth. Also, our society is moving in the wrong direction that is un-biblical in various fields such as individuals, families, politics, economy, and culture. One of the factors that has caused these problems is the preacher and his preaching from the homiletic point of view. Rather than revealing the meaning of the text, the preacher conveys illogical and complex content without any interest in the needs of the audience and communication with the audience. Therefore, one of the most desirable ways to solve this problem is to ponder the history of the sermons of the past.
The first reason why the researcher takes Jonathan Edwards' sermon as a theme among many preachers is that his preaching, "Sinners in the hands of an angry God" had a great influence in a very unique style. Secondly, Edwards' contribution in the history of preaching is great. Thirdly, he lived in the presence of the Holy Spirit, the source of spiritual strength. Fourthly, his theological background is based on strong Puritanism and Reformed theology. Fifthly, his sermons which are connected with the times give hope. Based on these reasons, the goal of this study is to examine Jonathan Edwards' preaching in order to help modern preachers who are always contemplating biblical and effective preaching. As a result of this study, the great preachers will transform the world by training Christians who will have good influences on society. This study is designed to reach this goal, so the use of rhetoric techniques which is one of the most important features of Edwards' sermons will not only be considered theoretically. Specifically, the preacher constructively will criticize those who are reluctant to persuade the audience with rhetorical expressions in delivering the contents obtained by studying the Bible. Namely, this study will find the way to use rhetorical techniques actively for the pulpit of the Korean church.
For this, Chapter II examines the background and characteristics of Edward's life, ministry, and sermons. In the light of this understanding, Chapter III examines the negative and positive views from the close relationship between the rhetoric techniques and sermons, which is the background of this study. Then studies on the rhetoric techniques used by Hebrew journalists in the Old Testament, and Jesus and Paul in the New Testament is followed. Particularly, in Chapter IV, it focuses on analyzing "the sinners in the hands of the wrathful God", which is the core of this study and evaluated as the most outstanding sermon among Edwards' ones. Then, the results and lessons from this sermon are shown. As a result, Chapter V presents effective strategies and directions for the pulpit of the modern church. In Chapter VI, the core lesson is suggested by putting it all to the conclusion.
The rhetorical devices presented in Jonathan Edwards' sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of the Wrathful God" offer some good insights to the Korean church facing with the challenge of renewal of modern sermons. And it presents the direction and model of the preaching that preachers should follow. It also leads to the advanced discussion about the use of rhetoric techniques in sermons which is misunderstood by the preachers. If the preachers apply the result of this study actively and effectively, it will be of great benefit to preachers and believers who are contemplating the biblical preaching for a lifetime. Finally, I as a reacher want to experience the revival of the church again when the preacher who is a master of vocabulary and a rhetoric technique like Edwards stands in the pulpit of a Korean church.