About Preaching Interest A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. Sermons address a Biblical, theological, religious, or moral topic, usually expounding on a type of belief, law or behavior within both past and present contexts. Elements of preaching include exposition, exhortation and practical application. In Christianity, a sermon (also known as a homily within some churches) is often delivered in a place of worship, most of which have a pulpit or ambo, an elevated architectural feature. The word sermon comes from a Middle English word which was derived from an Old French term, which in turn came from the Latin word sermō; (discourse). Some link the word to the Latin word serere, which means to join together, but this is a minority opinion. The word can mean conversation, which could mean that early sermons were delivered in the form of question and answer, and that only later did it come to mean a monologue. However, this is contradicted by all the examples from the Bible, where sermons are speeches without interlocution: Moses sermon in Deuteronomy 1-33 [1]; Jesus sermon on the mount in Matthew 5-7 [2]; Peters sermon after Pentecost in Acts 2:14-40 [3]. In modern language, the word sermon can also be used pejoratively in secular terms to describe a lengthy or tedious speech delivered with great passion, by any person, to an uninterested audience. A sermonette is a short sermon (usually associated with television broadcasting, as stations would present a sermonette before signing off for the night).
Posted on: Wed, 05 Mar 2014 13:58:09 +0000
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