African-American Preaching
African-American preaching arises out of the cultural and religious experiences of the oppressed. It reaches people in their dislocation and relocates them in God and in the promise of a brighter future.
African-American preaching arises out of the cultural and religious experiences of the oppressed. It reaches people in their dislocation and relocates them in God and in the promise of a brighter future.
Doctrinal preaching teaches and builds up the body of faith through a deepened knowledge of God.
Catechetical preaching, or preaching sermons based on the consecutive “Lord’s Days” of the Heidelberg Catechism, is a centuries-old tradition among Reformed churches and has historical roots in the Calvinistic reformation of sixteenth-century northern Europe.
Textual preaching is more than making a comment or two on a text. Textual preaching, in contrast to expository preaching, focuses on the thematic unity of a biblical passage, challenging the preacher to seek the text’s central truth.
Prophetic preaching condemns particularities and affirms generalities. It points to those values and hopes that are consistent with the reign of God and calls people to live by those values.
In recent years, the paradigm shift from a rationalistic worldview to a world in motion has shifted attention in biblical studies and preaching away from propositional statements to story. Narrative preaching draws on the Scripture as a story and seeks to communicate through the form of a story.
Expository preaching is based on the grammatical, historical, theological method. Such sermons may be drawn from a verse or a passage, or they may develop a biblical topic or Christian doctrine.
Evangelistic preaching aims at producing a response. Specifically, by preaching the gospel and emphasizing the sinful condition of each person, the hearer recognizes the need for repentance and confession of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
The sermon in synagogue worship was always in the context of prayers, benedictions, psalms, hymns, and the reading of Scripture. When Hebrew was no longer the spoken language for many Jews, the Scripture was first read in Hebrew, then translated into the spoken language. This translation from one language to another necessitated an interpretation. The interpretation, which at first may have been offhand comments, gradually grew into a more formal presentation.
The sermon has its unique roots in Jewish tradition and was carried on and explored in the Christian tradition, as this entry demonstrates.