Adrian Lane, Lecturer in Ministry Skills and Church History, Ridley College.

Much good attention has been given of late to the sermon’s content, with thecommitment to faithful exegesis of the text, to understanding the text in its Biblicalcontext, and to thinking through the ramifications of the text for the preacher and thesermon’s audience. Much good attention has also been given to the form or shape ofthe sermon, with the recognition that different Biblical genres call for a variety ofshapes, as do different audiences, places and purposes. In the Spirit’s power,preachers will also be gifted differently and will each bring a unique creativity to theirsermons. The integration of insights from the study of narrative and narrative formhas also complimented the classical commitment to propositional forms. However,not much attention has been given to the sound of the sermon. On reflection, this isstrange, given that sermons are primarily an oral medium, for the ear. Moreover,despite the plethora of preaching texts, there are few resources to train students forthis aspect of homiletical practice, which encompasses far more than “delivery” or“the use of the voice”.

See the full article (PDF): Training for the sound of the sermon: orality and the use of an oral text in oral format