Three Types of Sermons

crossnote

crossnote

Senior Moderator
Staff member
Senior Moderator
1. Topical…Where the speaker picks a topic and finds all the related verses to that topic.
2. Expository… where the speaker goes through a book of the Bible verse by verse explaining each verse, hopefully using a grammatical/historical approach.
3. Cross centered preaching…Using the central theme of Scripture, tying all of Scripture together and joining it at the cross (like spokes on a wheel), pointing to man’s greatest need.
 
Hello crossnote;

When I studied Biblical Preaching it still took years to develop the flow of delivering the message. The author was Haddon W. Robinson and in the text he mentions how many young or starting preachers naturally go off topic from Scripture and the historical with topical preaching.

In his book, with expository preaching it requires a deep study because many young or starting preachers can lack the interpretation of the context of a Scripture series.

Whether the preacher has the spiritual gift to preach or not, the discipline still has to be applied in delivering the message and this takes years. Personal discipleship with Christ, spiritual maturity and gained knowledge of the Word is an ongoing lifetime process.

I just learned of cross centered preaching in your thread and never heard of it before. This is good to know and will do some personal research.
God bless you, crossnote, and thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas.
 
bobinfaith said:
Hello crossnote;

When I studied Biblical Preaching it still took years to develop the flow of delivering the flow of the message. The author was Haddon W. Robinson and in the text he mentions how many young or starting preachers naturally go off topic from Scripture and the historical with topical preaching.

In his book, with expository preaching it requires a deep study because many young or starting preachers can lack the interpretation of the context of a Scripture series.

Whether the preacher has the spiritual gift to preach or not, the discipline still has to be applied in delivering the message and this takes years. Personal discipleship with Christ, spiritual maturity and gained knowledge of the Word is an ongoing lifetime process.

I just learned of cross centered preaching in your thread and never heard of it before. This is good to know and will do some personal research.
God bless you, crossnote, and thank you for sharing. Merry Christmas.
Click to expand...
Bob, I would agree that expository preaching takes the most training and preparation but would you agree a mix of all three would be best for the congregation as a whole?
 
crossnote said:
Bob, I would agree that expository preaching takes the most training and preparation but would you agree a mix of all three would be best for the congregation as a whole?
Click to expand...

Hello crossnote;

If we're talking cross centered preaching then yes, the mix in one message. It would be beneficial for the congregation.

1. The introduction of the central theme of Scripture, "what does it mean?"

2. Followed by the complement to the introduction, "prove it!" referring to the Old or New Testament, "the then and there times versus the here and now times."

3. Ending with "What difference does the Word make and how do we apply it?"

If we listen carefully to some of our seasoned preachers that minister to us, we can follow this basic outline of a sermon as you described. But there can be variances as the Lord instructs to preacher.

It would be interesting to get other's views on their experiences with other types of sermons.
 
Interesting.

Expository preaching can be a bit tedious though. If you can read fluently, you don't really need every single word/sentence explained.
 
Lanolin said:
Interesting.

Expository preaching can be a bit tedious though. If you can read fluently, you don't really need every single word/sentence explained.
Click to expand...
I think it also delves into the original languages/grammar as well as the historical and cultural context. It's what makes a good pastor earn his keep. lol
 
crossnote said:
I think it also delves into the original languages/grammar as well as the historical and cultural context. It's what makes a good pastor earn his keep. lol
Click to expand...

A preacher also should be open to constructive questions and correction. Mistakes do happen up there in the pulpit. A member once pointed out to me that I quoted the book of Isaac instead of Isaiah. I denied it but our media ministry recorded my sermons weekly. Oops!
lol!
 
bobinfaith said:
A preacher also should be open to constructive questions and correction. Mistakes do happen up there in the pulpit. A member once pointed out to me that I quoted the book of Isaac instead of Isaiah. I denied it but our media ministry recorded my sermons weekly. Oops!
lol!
Click to expand...
I use to do a bit of small group Bible teaching, one of my favorite lines was “Okay, open your bibles to Hezekiah 4:12. It was hard not to smile at the pages being studiously turned. (Shows what a nice guy I am.)
 
with the 1. topic preaching. It can work but only if you've read the whole Bible beforehand so when the preacher gives you 28 different verses to look up you are not going ...huh, what.

3. Cross centred preaching. This seems like 'the answer to everything is Jesus'. If there's blood, it's Jesus blood. If there happens to be a tree, its cut down to make a cross. If there's bread, it's Jesus body. If it rains, its about the flood and the ark, and the ark was made of wood, that also made the cross. It's like the game 'seven degrees of separation' where the preacher finds as many ways to connect to the crucfixtion as they can.

Personally I like 4. stories. It's the way Jesus preached..he'd tell a story. He called them parables. And they were short, like maybe 5 minutes max. He'd say 'there was this certain man...' or 'a woman was looking for her lost coin' or something real simple, but he'd make it really profound.
 
I think sometimes ppl can analyse the Bible to death and not enjoy the stories for being great stories.

But that's what happens to a lot of great literature it all gets cliff noted and then studied and examined to an inch of it's life.

You might be enjoying the great story of Jonah in the whale and then someone very scholarly and academic comes and says well actually...it's about the symbolism and the metaphors and the grand themes. Then spend an hour discussing that instead of imagining what it was like to be stuck inside a whale.
 
Lanolin said:
with the 1. topic preaching. It can work but only if you've read the whole Bible beforehand so when the preacher gives you 28 different verses to look up you are not going ...huh, what.

3. Cross centred preaching. This seems like 'the answer to everything is Jesus'. If there's blood, it's Jesus blood. If there happens to be a tree, its cut down to make a cross. If there's bread, it's Jesus body. If it rains, its about the flood and the ark, and the ark was made of wood, that also made the cross. It's like the game 'seven degrees of separation' where the preacher finds as many ways to connect to the crucfixtion as they can.

Personally I like 4. stories. It's the way Jesus preached..he'd tell a story. He called them parables. And they were short, like maybe 5 minutes max. He'd say 'there was this certain man...' or 'a woman was looking for her lost coin' or something real simple, but he'd make it really profound.
Click to expand...

MY Dear..........Everything IS about the Lord Jesus Christ!!!!!

Jesus is the Creator.
Jesus is the one who slew the animals and gave skins to our grandparents.
Jesus came look for them in the garden.
Jesus is the angel in the burning bush.
Jesus was the one who parted the Red Sea.
Jesus was the one who defeated all the magic of Egypt.
Jesus is the one who dies on the cross.
Jesus is the one who rose from the dead.

Jesus is the burning center of all reality. Everything revolves around in and for Him.
 
i have never prepared a message i study it out make few out lines and preach.. sometimes i shock myself .where did all that come from? it wasnt what i studied i call it rabbit chasing .i had a good friend that could use notes and stay on track and preach a good message. he was a 2nd generation preacher. great man had a pastor heart was gifted to pastor Lord called him home 67 years old . personally i like the old time evangelistic preaching
 
Lanolin said:
What about the preachers that use their children as examples...they might be sitting in the pews, cringing.
Click to expand...

Hey Lanolin;

Good question. It depends on how they use their children as examples.

Do you mean when the preacher mention their children as a point in their message or to call out their children with something they did wrong?

In my experience I have heard the preacher many times mention their children in a positive way.
 
bobinfaith said:
Hey Lanolin;

Good question. It depends on how they use their children as examples.

Do you mean when the preacher mention their children as a point in their message or to call out their children with something they did wrong?

In my experience I have heard the preacher many times mention their children in a positive way.
Click to expand...
Oh I can't remember but even if it was positive like 'my children are so perfect' they might still be cringing.

I don't know what's worse, parents bragging about their children or parents bagging on their children. Mine tend to do the bagging even right in front of me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top