More on the HOMILETICS

Homiletics is about the speech or address given in the ecclesiastical service of the Christian congregation. There was an old tendency to incorporate homiletics into the theory of rhetoric; even homiletics became a special discipline.  

The Christian community that was born is in a state of growth and therefore of imperfection, consequently exposed to the influences of sin and evil. From there the possession of the spiritual blessings in the congregation must be continually revived and the influence of the sin combated, adapting the Word to the needs of the congregation.  

The possession of the Sacred Scriptures is not enough; it must be used and applied to the needs of the congregation; hence the need for preaching.  

Source ( The apostle Paul preaching, fresco of the fourth century,
photography by Lynn Johnson)

Even if the congregation could ever leave behind its imperfection, the very possession of Christian truth would still need a continuous presentation of the Word. This presentation originates therefore in the pedagogical and practical needs of the congregation and is an essential factor for its construction.

 
In addition, the homiletic is constituted in the transport vehicle of the message to the receiver's ear where we want to arrive.  

The homily contains the methodical guidelines and the appropriate material to form the bases, the structure and the body of his speeches, such as the famous architect who builds a beautiful building with a materials warehouse.  

So the word homiletic in its most brief and simple, can be defined as "The art of preparing and presenting a sermon." 

 The wise believe that homiletics is the art that should be studied by every sincere preacher of the gospel, since it points to everything that can help him dignify his sermon and beautify it, so that it will bear fruit for the honor and glory of God. 

Therefore, homiletics can be perfectly understood as the application of rhetoric to preaching. But the origin, history, materials and objectives of preaching are so different from those of other public speaking classes that require distinctive treatment.


The treaties and homiletic instruction courses differ in many details, but four main themes of the homiletic are: Material, arrangement, style and delivery, or, according to the old Latin terminology: Inventio.

Other materials of discourse, such as narrative, description, argument, illustration and application have their place.

For the "style" or "diction" homiletics it stresses the importance of grammatical qualities of correction and property and rhetorical qualities of clarity and strength, with such attention to beauty or ornament as they can serve the highest purpose of preaching.

In "surrender" the homiletic considers three methods: reading the manuscript, reciting the memory of a previously learned discourse or speaking freely according to different forms or degrees of previous preparation.

Elocution, like the preparation and practice of voice and gesture, is sometimes taught in homiletics and sometimes becomes a special discipline. Along with these technical aspects of homiletics there are a number of closely related and very important issues, which demand special treatment according to the circumstances, such as the character of the preacher, his idea of

his work, his relationship with his time and people, his habits and methods of study and many other matters that directly and powerfully influence his preaching.

Alexander Schweizer distinguished between general or theoretical and material homiletics and formal, a division that correctly designates the course that homiletics should take, adhering homiletic writers to it, to deal first with the conception of the sermon, then its content and finally its delivery

The preaching of the Word, being the power of God for salvation, and one of the greatest excellent works pertaining to the gospel ministry, must be done in such a way that the worker is not ashamed, but saves himself same.