Homiletics is the disciplined art of studying, preparing, and delivering God’s Word in a way that teaches, exhorts, and transforms lives. While the Holy Spirit convicts and illuminates God’s Word (John 16:8), teachers of the Word should be prepared (2 Timothy 2:15), and homiletics helps them do that. Homiletics involves four key areas: interpreting Scripture accurately, structuring a clear and engaging message, communicating effectively to a specific audience, and preparing spiritually through prayer and personal holiness (Nehemiah 8:8; 1 Timothy 4:16). Unlike ordinary speeches, sermons aim to impact hearts, requiring sensitivity to both God’s leading and the audience’s needs (Acts 2:37). Far from relying solely on human effort, homiletics blends diligent study with dependence on the Holy Spirit to faithfully convey God’s truth (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). Homiletics equips preachers and teachers to communicate the transformative power of God’s Word, providing understanding, obedience, and spiritual growth to those who hear it. Ultimately, the message of salvation through Christ supersedes personal style or charisma (1 Corinthians 2:1-5).
Homiletics is from the Old English word "homily" that refers to a sermon. Homiletics refers to the practice of preparing and preaching messages. In academic studies, homiletics fits within the area of practical theology or pastoral studies. As such, homiletics has historically been closely connected with church pastors and trainers of pastors.
Homiletics consists of four areas: biblical interpretation, sermon structure, presentation, and spiritual preparedness. Biblical interpretation involves study of a particular passage or theme to develop the material to effectively preach to an audience.
Books on homiletics usually focus primarily on the structure of a sermon. The structure includes developing a main theme for a sermon, an outline, supporting material, illustrations, introduction, conclusion, applications, and any visual aids or props involved in preparing for a message.
Once a biblical message has been studied and developed, it must also be effectively communicated to a particular audience. Communication can include a study of the particular audience, non-verbal communication such as clothing or gestures, and verbal communication methods, even including one's accent, rate of speech, or enunciation.
A fourth important and often-neglected area should also be included in homiletics. This is the area of spiritual preparation. Unlike other speeches, a sermon's goal is to impact the spiritual life of its hearers. Good homiletics should also include much prayer for the sermon, the preacher, and its audience. In addition, the preacher must be spiritually prepared through how he lives his own life. The spiritual maturity of the audience must also be considered. Preaching to an audience of new believers, for example, is a much different dynamic than preaching to an audience of seminary students.
Some people have falsely accused homiletics of being a negative area of study that emphasizes human effort rather than the leading of the Spirit. However, the Bible does not teach against preparing to preach. Instead, we must be completely dependent upon His work in our teaching in addition to our diligent studies to effectively communicate the Word of God.
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