Sermons Today
A sermon is a religious discourse or oration by a
preacher, usually a member of clergy. Sermons Today address a
scriptural, theological, or moral topic, usually expounding
on a type of belief, law, or behavior within both past and
present contexts. Elements of the sermon often include
exposition, exhortation, and practical application. The act
of delivering a Sermons Today is called preaching. In secular
usage, the word sermon may refer, often disparagingly, to a
lecture on morals.
In Christian practice, a sermon is
usually preached to a congregation in a place of worship,
either from an elevated architectural feature, known as a
pulpit or an ambo, or from behind a lectern. The word sermon
comes from a Middle English word which was derived from Old
French, which in turn originates from the Latin word sermō
meaning 'discourse.' A sermonette is a short sermon (usually
associated with television broadcasting, as stations would
present a sermonette before signing off for the night). The
Christian Bible contains many speeches without
interlocution, which some take to be Sermons Today: Jesus' sermon
on the mount in Matthew 5 7 (though the gospel writers do
not specifically call it a sermon; the popular descriptor
for Jesus' speech there came much later); and Peter after
Pentecost in Acts 2:14 40 (though this speech was
delivered to non-Christians and as such is not quite
parallel to the popular definition of a sermon).
In Christianity, a sermon is typically identified as an
address or discourse delivered to a congregation of
Christians, typically containing theological or moral
instruction. The sermon by Christian orators was partly
based on the tradition of public lectures by classical
orators. Although it is often called a homily, the
original distinction between a Sermons Today and a homily was that
a sermon was delivered by a clergyman (licensed preacher)
while a homily was read from a printed copy by a layman. In
the 20th century the distinction has become one of the
sermon being likely to be longer, have more structure, and
contain more theological content. Homilies are usually
considered to be a type of Sermons Today, usually narrative or
biographical..
The word
sermon is used contemporarily to describe many famous
moments in Christian (and Jewish) history. The most famous
example is the Sermon on the Mount by Jesus of Nazareth.
This address was given around 30 AD, and is recounted in
the Gospel of Matthew (5:1 7:29, including introductory and
concluding material) as being delivered on a mount on the
north end of the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. It is also
contained in some of the other gospel narratives.
During the later history of Christianity, several figures
became known for their addresses that later became regarded
as sermons. Examples in the early church include Peter (see
especially Acts 2:14b 36), Stephen (see Acts 7:1b 53),
Tertullian and John Chrysostom. These addresses were used to
spread Christianity across Europe and Asia Minor, and as
such are not sermons in the modern Sermons Today, but evangelistic
messages.
The sermon has been an important part of
Christian services since early Christianity, and remains
prominent in both Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Lay
preachers sometimes figure in these traditions of worship,
for example the Methodist local preachers, but in general
preaching has usually been a function of the clergy. The
Dominican Order is officially known as the Order of
Preachers (Ordo Praedicatorum in Latin); friars of this
order were trained to publicly preach in vernacular
languages, and the order was created by Saint Dominic to
preach to the Cathars of southern France in the early 13th
century. The Franciscans are another important preaching
order; Travelling preachers, usually friars, were an
important feature of late medieval Catholicism. In 1448 the
church authorities seated at Angers prohibited open-air
preaching in France.[10] If a sermon is delivered during the
Mass it comes after the Gospel is sung or read. If it is
delivered by the priest or bishop that offers the Mass then
he removes his maniple, and in some cases his chasuble,
because the sermon is not part of the Mass. A bishop
preaches his Sermons Today wearing his mitre while seated whereas a
priest, or on rare occasions a deacon, preaches standing and
wearing his biretta.
In most denominations, modern
preaching is kept below forty minutes, but historic
preachers of all denominations could at times speak for
several hours, and use techniques of rhetoric and theatre
that are today somewhat out of fashion in mainline churches.
During the Middle Ages, sermons inspired the beginnings
of new religious institutes (e.g., Saint Dominic and Francis
of Assisi). Pope Urban II began the First Crusade in
November 1095 at the Council of Clermont, France, when he
exhorted French knights to retake the Holy Land.
The academic study of
Sermons Today, the analysis and
classification of their preparation, composition and
delivery, is called homiletics.
A controversial issue
that aroused strong feelings in early modern Britain was
whether Sermons Today should be read from a fully prepared text,
or extemporized, perhaps from some notes. Many sermons have
been written down, collected and published; published
Sermons Today were a major and profitable literary form, and
category of books in the book trade, from at least the Late
Antique Church to about the late 19th century. Many
clergymen openly recycled large chunks of published sermons
in their own preaching. Such sermons include John
Wesley's Forty-four Sermons, John Chrysostom's Homily on the
Resurrection (preached every Easter in Orthodox churches)
and Gregory Nazianzus' homily "On the Theophany, or Birthday
of Christ" (preached every Christmas in Orthodox churches).
The 80 sermons in German of the Dominican Johannes Tauler
(1300 1361) were read for centuries after his death.
Martin Luther Preaching to Faithful (1561)
Martin
Luther published his sermons (Hauspostille) on the Sunday
Sermons Today
lessons for the edification of readers. This tradition was
continued by Martin Chemnitz and Johann Arndt, as well as
many others into the following centuries for example CH
Spurgeon's stenographed sermons, The Metropolitan Tabernacle
Pulpit. The widow of Archbishop of Canterbury John Tillotson (1630 1694) received 2,500 for the manuscripts of
his sermons, a very large sum.
Lutheranism and Reformed
Christianity
A Reformed Christian minister
preaching from a pulpit, 1968
The Reformation led to
Protestant Sermons Today, many of which defended the schism with
the Roman Catholic Church and explained beliefs about the
Bible, theology, and devotion. The distinctive doctrines
of Protestantism held that salvation was by faith alone, and
convincing people to believe the Gospel and place trust in
God for their salvation through Jesus Christ was the
decisive step in salvation.
In many Protestant
churches, the sermon came to replace the Eucharist as the
central act of Christian worship (although some Protestants
such as Lutherans give equal time to a sermon and the
Eucharist in their Divine Service). While Luther retained
the use of the lectionary for selecting texts for preaching,
the Swiss Reformers, such as Ulrich Zwingli, Johannes
Oecolampadius, and John Calvin, notably returned to the
patristic model of preaching through books of the Bible. The
goal of Protestant worship, as conditioned by these reforms,
was above all to offer glory to God for the gift of grace in
Jesus Christ, to rouse the congregation to a deeper faith,
and to inspire them to practice works of love for the
benefit of the neighbor, rather than carry on with
potentially empty rituals.
In the 18th and 19th centuries during the Great
Awakening, major (evangelistic) sermons were made at
revivals, which were especially popular in the United
States. These Sermons Today were noted for their
"fire-and-brimstone" message, typified by Jonathan Edwards'
famous "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" speech. In
these sermons the wrath of God was intended to be made
evident. Edwards also preached on Religious Affections,
which discussed the divided Christian world.
In
Evangelical Christianity, the sermon is often called the
"message". It occupies an important place in worship
service, half the time, about 45 to 60 minutes. This Sermons
Today message
can be supported by a powerpoint, images and videos.
In some churches, messages are grouped into thematic series.
The one who brings the message is usually a pastor trained
either in a bible college or independently.
Evangelical sermons are broadcast on the radio, on
television channels (televangelism), on the Internet, on web
portals, on the website of the churches and through social
media .
Roman Catholic preaching has evolved over
time but generally the subject matter is similar. As the
famous St. Alphonsus Ligouri states, "With regard to the
subject matter of Sermons Today. Those subjects should be selected
which move most powerfully to detest sin and to love God;
whence the preacher should often speak of the last things of
death, of judgment, of Hell, of Heaven, and of eternity.
According to the advice of the Holy Spirit, 'Remember your
last end, and you shall never sin.' (Eccl. vii. 40)."
Among the most famous Catholic sermons are St. Francis
of Assisi's Sermon to the Birds, St. Alphonsus Liguori's
Italian Sermons for all the Sundays in the year, St. Robert
Bellarmine's sermons during the counter-reformation period
in Sermons from the Latins, the French The Sermons of the
Cur of Ars by St. John Vianney and the Old English sermons
of lfric of Eynsham.
Khutbah (Arabic: خطبة) serves as
the primary formal occasion for public preaching in the
Islamic tradition. In societies or communities with (for
example) low literacy rates, strong habits of communal
worship, and/or limited mass-media, the preaching of sermons
throughout networks of congregations can have important
informative and prescriptive propaganda functions for both
civil and religious authorities which may regulate
the manner, frequency, licensing, personnel and content of
preaching accordingly.
There are a number of
different types of Sermons Today, that differ both in their
subject matter and by their intended audience, and
accordingly not every preacher is equally well-versed in
every type.