Preaching is the proclamation of the Word of God to men by men under assignment from God. It is the means for the transmission of the Word of God to a lost world; it serves also as an official means of grace for the building up and strengthening of the Church of Christ. A sermon is a form of public discourse on a religious or moral subject, usually delivered as part of a church service. Sermons come in various and sundry types. Basically, there are three types of sermons: Expository, Textual and Topical.
Expository: Expository preaching concentrates on a specific text and discusses topics covered therein. This type of sermon unfolds a paragraph or unit of thought of Scripture, generally two or more verses. The theme or overall main point of the passages formulates the proposition. The points (major or minor) are derived only from this singular section of Scripture. You may illustrate or explain by using other passages; however, the expositor digs into a paragraph from God’s Word and pulls out the significant, timeless truths.
Textual: The textual sermon is a miniature expository sermon covering a few verses, a verse, or part of a verse, but not the whole paragraph. This type of sermon usually develops a single verse of Scripture. The theme (proposition) and main points come directly from the verse, but the major points may be developed from other Scripture passages. This form of sermon is generally good for preaching “Great Bible Texts” or “Favorite Bible Verses” and will often occur in a series.
Topical: The topical sermon is usually developed from a topic that comes from a passage or passages of Scripture. This type of sermon develops a topic or subject that the preacher chooses (e.g., prayer, holiness, separation, love, commitment, priorities, etc.). This type of sermon requires the preacher to have an overall knowledge of the Bible and an ability to pull together related passages from different parts of the Bible to support the topic being preached. This skill is also used in systematic theology. The use of a concordance (e.g., Strong’s) or a topical Bible (e.g., Nave’s) is helpful in this type of sermon preparation.
- Topical Preaching = “Preaching about the Bible.”
- Textual Preaching = “Preaching from the Bible.”
- Expository Preaching = “Preaching the Bible.”
The most important hour of the week in a nation is the hour when God’s men approach the pulpit and herald eternal truths.
