Textual Sermon

Definition and Meaning

A textual sermon is a method of preaching that takes a short passage of Scripture as its text and derives the sermon's main lines of development from that passage. In Korean churches these main lines are commonly called daeji (大旨), that is, the principal points of the sermon.

Homiletics (the field within practical theology that studies preaching) treats the textual sermon as one of three parallel types, alongside the topical sermon and the expository sermon, and distinguishes among them.

• Topical sermon: The preacher first chooses a theme and then gathers various passages of Scripture.
• Expository sermon: The preacher explains a relatively long passage in sequence.
• Textual sermon: The preacher takes the sermon's framework from a short text. In developing each point, the preacher freely draws on other passages or illustrations.

In Korean churches, however, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense, in contrast to the topical sermon, to refer to any preaching grounded in a biblical text.

Biblical and Historical Background

The practice of reading a passage of Scripture and explaining its meaning appears within the Bible itself.

• Nehemiah 8:8: The book of the law was read aloud and its meaning interpreted so that the people understood it.
• Luke 4:16–21: After reading a passage from Isaiah in the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus says, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:21).

The classification of sermons as topical, textual, and expository came into wide use in British and American homiletics textbooks from the nineteenth century onward. It is generally understood to have reached Korea through missionaries and seminary education.

Practice in Korean Churches

Sermon form In Sunday preaching in Korean churches, the so-called three-point sermon has long been widely used: one or two verses read during the Scripture reading serve as "today's text," which the preacher divides into three points. The chapter and verse of the text and the sermon title are generally printed in the church bulletin.

How texts are chosen Denominations do not issue separate regulations on the textual sermon; it is treated as a common subject in the homiletics courses of each denomination's seminaries. Differences appear mainly in how the text is chosen.

• The Anglican Church of Korea and the Lutheran Church in Korea: These follow a lectionary (a table that assigns in advance the Scripture passages to be read for each season) arranged according to the church year.
• Many Presbyterian, Methodist, Holiness, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches: The preacher chooses the text freely.
• Other denominations: Some churches in these denominations also consult the lectionary.

Assessment

• Strengths: Some observers note that because it focuses on a short text, the textual sermon is easy for the congregation to remember and conveys a clear message.
• Criticism 1: Critics point out that drawing points from a single verse detached from its surrounding context makes it easy to attach a message that differs from the text's original meaning. This criticism contributed to a movement emphasizing expository preaching.
• Criticism 2: Proponents of the New Homiletic and narrative preaching have called for reconsidering the deductive form of listing points itself.
• Position of defenders: Defenders hold that with thorough study of the context, even a short text can sufficiently convey the meaning of Scripture.