Introduction to Preaching

1. Terminologies

The Act of Preaching

Homily Derived from the Greek homilia (to converse/talk). Used in Luke 24:14 and Acts 20:11. It envisions mutual conversation in an assembly. The early church model allowed questions and clarification — no monologue. Today, Roman Catholics use this term for the sermon that follows scripture reading and leads into the sacrament.

Sermon From the Latin sermo (to speak). Likely first used by St. Augustine for addresses to Christian congregations. After the 2nd century it became a monologue — not found in the Bible as a term.

Message A widely used popular term. The preacher is a messenger delivering a message to the audience.

Word From the Greek logos — refers both to the content of preaching (the Word of God) and to Christ himself ("the Word became flesh").

The Preacher

Kerux (κῆρυξ) A political term for a royal messenger. In ancient Greek culture, the kerux was an official carrier of the king's message, proclaimed publicly so citizens could hear and respond. Those who responded gathered as an ekklesia (assembly). NT preachers (Paul, John) used this image of themselves as official messengers of Jesus the King of kings.

Today's preaching is often "hit and run." If the ekklesia is to be formed, become a kerux — preach, and stand to respond.

Witness (μαρτύριον) One who gives testimony. From this comes the English word martyr — one who bears witness to truth even at the cost of their life. A biblical preacher bears witness to truth regardless of personal cost.

Parakalien (παρακαλεῖν) Means "to exhort" or "to stand beside." Same root as Paraclete (Holy Spirit) — para (beside) + kaleo (I call). The preacher stands beside those in difficulty, saying: "I understand your pain — come, I will stand with you."

Ergates A hardworking craftsman — one who rightly divides the Word of God (cf. 2 Tim. 2:15).

Paul's Understanding of Preaching (1 Cor. 2:1–5)

What is preaching? Proclamation, message, testimony
Warning: Preaching is not a performance
Content: Trinitarian — testimony about God, Jesus Christ crucified, demonstration of Spirit's power
Attitude: In weakness, in fear, in much trembling — because handling God's Word demands utmost seriousness

2. Definitions of Preaching

W. E. Manning:

"Preaching is a manifestation of the incarnated Word, from the written Word, by the spoken Word."

Manifestation is not about human ability — it is divine. The ultimate aim of preaching is to make Jesus visible and tangible to the hearers.

J. N. Pattison:

"Preaching is the spoken communication of divine truth with a view of persuasion."

Its purpose is to bring people to a decision — yes or no — to Jesus. Preaching is never aimless.

Webster:

"Preaching means to discourse in the manner of a preacher — with officiousness and tediousness."

The preacher has a designated manner/office (like a judge or army officer). Tediousness here means hard work — the preacher labours seriously over the Word of God.

Philips Brooks:

"Preaching is the communication of truth by a human to human. It has two essential elements — truth and personality. Preaching is bringing of truth through personality."

3. The Three Concerns of Preaching

Every sermon addresses matter, manner, and purpose.

Matter

The substance of preaching is divine truth, founded on Scripture — not human doctrine or opinion.

Manner

Verbal communication to an audience. Two essential demands: a speaker and an audience.

The Speaker must be:

Thoroughly human — not above the audience
Preaching from the heart ("A sermon is no sermon in which one cannot hear the heartbeat")
Qualified morally and spiritually — no dichotomy between the two
Free from personal gains and ambitions — highest satisfaction is God's approval

The Audience must be:

Respected in words, culture, and practice
Engaged — the sermon that lacks reason, imagination, and heart will fail
Met with sympathetic understanding — build a relationship with your congregation

Purpose

The purpose of preaching is salvation and the upbuilding of the people.

According to Illion J. Jones, preaching serves to:

Make people God-conscious
Translate the gospel into modern thought-forms
Show the relevance of the gospel to human situations
Persuade people to believe and live by the gospel
Offer hope to sinful humanity

According to John Piper:

"The goal of preaching is the glory of God, reflected in the glad submission of the human heart."

Six basic needs of every congregation (Brown, Clinard & Northcutt):

People need to be saved
People need to grow in devotion to God
People need a more mature understanding of God's truth
People need to live in better relationship with others
People need to serve God in a more dedicated way
People need strength and comfort in trouble

The purpose of the sermon is not merely to impart knowledge but to transform behaviour — not to inform but to transform.

4. Requirements for Effective Preaching

The Preacher's Personality

Legitimate preaching must be in direct harmony with Scripture.

Truth and Personality: Who you are when you are alone is your true personality. What you preach must come through who you are. If there is a contradiction between truth and personality, it leads to a misrepresentation of God.

The Preacher as Christian

a. Knowledge of God Not academic — experiential. Knowledge of God is evidenced in one's relationship with oneself, family, church, and society. Gained through consistent study of the Word.

One who doesn't stand before God is not eligible to stand before people (Moses' principle).

b. Fear of God Shown in behaviour. The more one studies the Word, the more one fears God, and the humbler one becomes. Knowledge without fear leads to pride (Prov. 9:10).

c. Love of/for God

Love of God = experiencing God's grace
Love for God = expressing that love in obedience These are two sides of the same coin.

d. Passion for God From pathos (Greek: pain). The picture drawn for passion is fire. Knowledge can be accumulated facts, fear can be superficial, love can be emotional — but passion for God makes preaching what it ought to be.

Preaching is logic on fire, eloquence on fire, theology on fire. Either put some fire in your sermon or put your sermon into fire.

Additional Requirements

The message must have right relationship with apostolic tradition ("We preach Christ crucified")
Individuality matters — every preacher should utter truth in their own way. Don't imitate others.
Piety, mental and spiritual unselfishness, hopefulness
Exercise of natural gifts: clear thinking, strong feeling, vigorous imagination, strong speech
Anointing of God — the pivotal foundation. The anointing is spiritual fervour that flows through a person in the preaching event. It is not a one-time experience; it must be sought day by day.

Summary: A person of God. A person of character. A person of the Word. A person of prayer. A person of their own ability. A person of gifting. A person of anointing.

5. Text and the Treatment of the Text

The word text comes from the Latin textus (woven). Every thread in Scripture is interconnected — do not pull a single thread out of the whole cloth.

Why a Text is Necessary

Gives authority to the message — not the preacher's authority but God's
Contains the main subject
Gives unity — points to one particular idea
Helps the audience remember and study
Brings variety to preaching

It is wrong to fix a topic first and then search for a text.

How to Select a Text

Select with prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit
Ensure it contains a complete thought (pericope — independent unit)
Avoid odd or strange texts
Be confident to handle the selected text
Consider the time allotted
Keep the audience in mind
Use the church calendar — Advent, Christmas, Easter, Pentecost, etc.
Don't hesitate to use a familiar text
Be sensitive to major events in society — political, economic, social
Never take a text out of context — context out of context is a pretext

6. Methodical Bible Study (Inductive Method)

Four steps: Observation → Interpretation → Correlation → Application

a. Observation

"What do I see here?" The art of seeing things as they really are — intentionally, impartially, and reverently. Use a chart of: people, place, time, events, atmosphere.

The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.

b. Interpretation

From Greek hermeneuo (to translate/explain). Named after Hermes — the Greek messenger god who translated messages between gods and humans.

Interpretation is the science and art of finding the meaning of a passage — exegesis (drawing out of the text), not eisegesis (reading into the text).

To interpret correctly, ask: Who? What? When? Where? Why? How? — and let the text answer. Always stand in the shoes of the author, keeping historical background, genre, and literary context in mind.

"We don't interpret the parable — the parable interprets us."

c. Correlation

Relate biblical theology to a Christian philosophy of life. The Bible does not contradict itself — every truth must be compared with and sustained by other passages.

Useful tools at this stage: lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, encyclopaedias.

d. Application

The final stage (appropriation). Discover the universal truth in the text, then identify the contemporary situations to which it applies.

Areas of application:

Personal (spiritual)
Communal
National (political, economic, cultural)
International

7. Treatment of the Text

Three ways of handling a text:

Type Basis Key Feature Topical Topic/theme Theme selected first; text found after Textual Clauses of the text Text controls the sermon point by point Expository Extended passage All elements — subject, outline, content — come from the text

There is no purely "exegetical sermon." Exegesis is the backbone of all three.

a. Topical Sermon

Theme is selected first; then a text is sought.

Advantages: Rhetorical perfection, useful in apologetics, good for teaching a topic Disadvantages: Text can lose vital connection; may neglect congregation; taken out of context

b. Textual Sermon

Follows the text clause by clause. Main clause becomes the theme; subordinate clauses become the divisions.

Advantages: Freshness, variety, biblical authority, holds the preacher to the text Disadvantages: Requires an educated audience; less common

c. Expository Sermon

A discourse expounding a passage, organised around a central theme where all divisions arise from the text itself.

Advantages:

Most natural way of enforcing divine truth
Has scriptural and historical precedent (Ezra, Jesus in Luke 4, the Reformers)
Benefits the congregation — encourages personal Bible study
Allows impartial treatment of neglected passages
Enriches the preacher — no shortage of sermon material

Suggestions:

Begin with a smaller book (Mark, 3 John)
Learn from expository preachers; don't copy them
Show the result, not just the process
Always read the entire book before expounding a passage from it

8. The Theme of the Sermon

The theme is the subject drawn from the text, modified by the purpose of the preacher.

"The theme is the sermon condensed; the sermon is the theme unfolded."

Advantages of a Theme

Ensures arrangement and unity
Promotes focus — thoughts are not scattered
Acts like a wedge — penetrates and stays
Threads together everything prepared

Characteristics of a Good Theme

Clear and concise — compact yet comprehensive
Relevant to the present situation of the people
Fresh — treat old truths in a new way
Full and sufficient — a complete thought capable of carrying all related truths

How to Develop a Theme

Examine the text from all available sources
Read the immediate and wider context
Compare with parallel passages
Consult commentaries and theological books
Read contemporary literature (newspapers, novels, analysis)
Be familiar with mass media — a preacher holds the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other

9. Parts of the Sermon

a. Introduction

Introduces the theme and arrests the attention of the audience.

Purposes:

Secure attention and interest
Address intellect, moral nature, and emotion
Create curiosity
Build connection between preacher and audience

Characteristics of a Good Introduction:

Pertinent — relevant to the theme; no alien material
Brief — modest proportion to the sermon itself
Natural — no exaggeration or fancy style; calm and clear
Engaging — don't allow the audience to be passive

"Before deciding on the introduction, have the entire sermon worked out."

b. Body (Divisions)

Every sermon must have divisions.

Advantages to the preacher:

Keeps the sermon on track
Evidence of consecutive thought
Trains orderly thinking
Assists in delivery and transition

Advantages to the audience:

Excites interest
Helps the audience follow and accept truth
Produces the right effect

Qualities of Good Divisions:

Clear and unambiguous
Progressive, logical, and practical
Symmetrical/balanced
Each division leads naturally to the next
Bears recapitulation

Outline Structure:

$$
I. First Point
A. Sub-point
B. Sub-point
[Recapitulation of I]

II. Second Point
A. Sub-point
B. Sub-point
[Recapitulation of I and II]

III. Third Point
A. Sub-point
B. Sub-point
[Recapitulation of I, II, and III]
$$

c. Conclusion

The most vital part of the sermon. Not an addition — an organic part.

Purposes:

Brings the sermon to an effective close
Applies the truth
Challenges people to respond — yes or no to Jesus
Moves to action

Parts of a Conclusion:

Transition/bridge from the body
Recapitulation — summary, not repetition
Application — questions, relating truth to life
Appeal/beseech
Final summing up

Rules for Conclusion:

Prepare it very carefully
Use no new ideas
Make it pointed and brief
Make it positive (we live in an age of grace, not judgment)
Avoid distracting materials
Vary the type — don't always use the same altar-call style

10. Use of Illustrations

To illustrate is to throw light upon a subject. Illustrations explain, prove, adorn, awaken attention, arouse feeling, and aid memory.

Sources of Illustrations

The Bible — the best source (Spurgeon: "No illustration is as good as those from Scripture")
Daily life and pastoral experience
History
Travel and scenery
Literature — biography, novels, contemporary writing
Science
Art

Rules for Using Illustrations

Illustrations must be subordinate to the thought — not the dominant feature
One good illustration per point is sufficient
Must truly illustrate — not hinder understanding
Must be self-explanatory — need no further explanation
Must be suitable to the theme and context
Do not seek illustrations for their own sake
Don't let the illustration draw attention away from the subject

Introduction to Preaching