The paper examines the long tradition of the genre of speeches in Judaism and Christianity, which is based on the fundamental source of both religions, the Bible, and the structure of biblical preaching. Particular attention is given to Christian preachers, who, in writing and delivering sermons to believers, are guided by their inner voice of vocation, the need or even the inner necessity of spiritual growth when reading and studying biblical texts, and the love of the listeners in their external and personal reality, especially in their trials. Biblical preaching has a special status among all types of speakers, and also requires a special responsibility on the part of the preacher. It is based on the belief that the Bible testifies to the revelation of a single God who is love and who also requires the love of
truth from his believers. The preacher must interpret the Bible with such fidelity and sensitivity that the believer hears the voice of God through him, and at the same time, with sensitivity towards his fellow man in the modern world. The great richness of biblical literary and rhetorical forms enables preachers to choose between different possible ways of presenting content and form in the transmission of theological and spiritual truth. The paper presents three basic approaches of preachers based on biblical passages, i. e., a thematic, textual, and expository approach. Greater attention is given to the expository form of preaching, which most experts in the field of homiletics advocate. In it, the preacher faithfully reproduces the message of the biblical text and preaches what the text teaches. The article also draws attention to the fact that it can be embarrassing for preachers to try to understand more complex biblical texts, especially those that are full of paradoxes. Among the most important formal types of biblical preaching, it presents declarative, pragmatic, narrative, visionary, and integrative sermons in which preachers combine a cognitive and affective styles.
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