Sermon Sources and Content: Scripture and Preaching

Scripture has been the normative source for preaching in the Christian tradition. Most Protestant denominations give priority to sacred scripture as the place where the church most consistently encounters God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit.¹ While approaches to scriptural interpretation vary and often lead into complex hermeneutical theories, the scriptural principle remains consistent. Hence, the church and preacher turn repeatedly to the Bible.

Resources for biblical preaching tumble off the shelves. They attempt to aid the preacher in biblical interpretation that leads to an expository sermon. Historical criticism of the Bible, while continuing to be important for preaching, has been augmented by various forms of literary criticism, narrative criticism, reader-response, feminist, and liberationist approaches to scriptural interpretation. The preacher who wants to brush up on these recent arrivals could consult an introductory article, such as Carl Holladay’s "Contemporary Methods of Reading the Bible" (in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume 1) or a more thorough study, such as David Bartlett’s Between the Bible and the Church, then move toward any number of recent applications of these approaches to preaching from scripture (Jacobsen, McKenzie, Newsom and Ringe, O’Day, Ourisman, or Turner).

David Buttrick’s article "The Use of the Bible in Preaching" (in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volume 1) outlines many of the twists and turns in the relationship between preaching and scripture as does Ronald Allen’s reliable text, Interpreting the Gospel . Paul Scott Wilson’s Four Pages of the Sermon provides practical help for moving from biblical text to sermon on a weekly basis.

•  Random Approach

Once the preacher decides to take scripture as the point of departure, he or she must decide which part of scripture to engage from week to week. This challenge can be met in several different ways. The preacher may opt to jump from one scriptural passage to another based upon his or her own inclinations. This random approach taxes the preacher who feels compelled each week to "get a new sermon" by plucking scripture and sermon direction out of thin air. It becomes tedious for the congregation, whose members are forced to hear the preacher repeat the same message in various disguises because he or she has no other principle of text selection than personal preference.

Often preachers who use such free selection unconsciously limit their choice of scripture to those that are comfortable for themselves and the congregation. Hence, they avoid the prophetic call of God through the scriptures. A wide open approach to scripture selection has less to commend than caution, and it should be used sparingly when the preacher wants to intentionally break out of confining patterns.

•  Thematic Approach

Some preachers take a thematic approach to scriptural selection. Such sermons incorporate various scriptural passages to explore themes such as vocation, forgiveness, stewardship, covenant, and discipleship. This approach allows preacher and congregation to experience the breadth of theological meaning throughout the entire Bible. Preachers can develop individual thematic sermons or series.

I know one preacher who regularly preaches from the lectionary but during the summer months develops a series of sermons based upon one or more scriptural themes. This gives everyone a needed change of pace, but—more importantly—it allows for sustained theological reflection on the chosen themes. One fine example of this use of scripture is Ronald Allen’s Preaching Luke–Acts.

•  Lectionary Approach

One of the most significant developments over the past 30 years takes us into scriptural selection based upon the lectionary. While designated readings have been a part of the Catholic liturgy for centuries, the Protestant church has only recently given widespread acceptance to the lectionary. The most widely followed lectionary today is the Revised Common Lectionary, compiled by an ecumenical group of biblical teachers and preachers. This table of readings for each week of the year is composed of four lessons (Hebrew Scripture, Psalm, Gospel, Epistle) that are coordinated with the principal seasons of the Christian year (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost). The readings change over a three-year cycle before beginning afresh.²

Many preachers use these selected readings as a basis for sermon and worship planning. There are many benefits to the approach. The lectionary steers preachers and congregations toward a more thorough use of scripture than they might otherwise choose. Difficult passages challenge the church to grapple honestly with the complexity of biblical interpretation. The lectionary provides a consistent backbone for the preacher to build upon over time, and it frees the minister from the tyranny of having to decide each week what to preach. Some preachers find it helpful to plan out an entire year’s worth of preaching based upon the lectionary.

Commitment to the lectionary generates enormous preaching and worship resources. The quickest way to locate these is through the World Wide Web (search for "lectionary"). One of the most comprehensive sites is The Text This Week (textweek.com). It includes weekly commentary on the revised common lectionary passages and links to other sites, and coordinates scriptural passages with movies and works of art. As for print material, one quality resource among the many available is Preaching through the Christian Year (Craddock, et. al). The series combines dependable biblical scholarship with helpful suggestions for preaching.

•  Cautions

The preacher must decide whether the lectionary provides enough of a theologically valid approach to scriptural selection to become a basis for weekly preaching. Some cautions are in order. We should not allow any approach to the sermon to tyrannize pulpit or pew. The lectionary does not address every concern within the church and world.

Some events loom so large that a preacher must be free to move away from the lectionary to engage the topic at hand. Cataclysmic social events such as September 11, 2001 may or may not be best addressed through preaching from the given lectionary passages for the day.

Furthermore, the ecumenical selection committee uses various principles of selection that may not accord with those of individual preachers and congregations. For example, the lectionary does not consistently select passages emphasizing social justice, and the entire cycle is weighted more toward New Testament passages than Hebrew scriptures. Overall, the lectionary helps orient preaching and worship, but we should probably give it, as David Buttrick says, "two cheers and some questions."³

1. For a discussion of how various traditions approach preaching, see Richard Lischer and William H. Willimon, eds. Concise Encyclopedia of Preaching (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1995).


2. For the full table of readings, see "Consultation on Common Texts," The Revised Common Lectionary (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1992).


3. David Buttrick, "Preaching the Lectionary: Two Cheers and Some Questions," Reformed Music and Liturgy 28 (Spring 1994): 77-81.