The four preachers that spoke to me with their style were Charles Simeon,
Catherine Booth, Charles Finney, and Henry Ward Beecher. Young said, “His
(Simeon) idea was not to show every rule of organizing and constructing sermons
but to display one general rule, and that was to demonstrate how texts should be
treated naturally.”[1] Simeon used the text to reach the people. He constructed
and focused on one text during the sermon to reach the people. McDill wrote,
“Your aim is to understand the intended message of the text writer.”[2] Simeon
used an inductive method to let the text speak for itself. Young said, “Charles
Simeon intended from the beginning of pulpit ministry to be simple and direct.”[3]
This caused the audience to be preached to and not over. They were able to
understand the meaning behind the message.
c c c c c c c c c c c c c During the time of Catherine Booth, it was not common to have a
woman preach. Green wrote, “While some questioned the legitimacy of a woman
preaching the gospel, Catherine Booth would not be silenced.”[4] Booth used the
women found in the bible to reinforce her legitimacy to be able to share the
gospel. Booth would bridge the sermon to text and help people to focus on her
preaching of holiness. Green stated, “Catherine followed her own advice; her
sermons often began with biblical text and a challenging title.” Booth used Skill 6
of the division statement to emphasize the message of holiness throughout her
journey. Catherine Booth opened the door for women in ministry.
c c c c c c c c c c c c c Charles Finney used a persuasive element in his preaching style.
Caldwell said, “Preaching by its very nature must be direct and to the point,
targeted to the specific situations of the hearers so that the gospel may impact
their lives.”[5] c Finney would explain the text he was using and the purpose of it to
connect how people were living during that time. Finney also made the sermon
exciting to keep the audience's attention. Caldwell stated, “Finney sought to
expose sinners to the existential weight of their present obligation to submit to
Christ.”[6] Finney did not just preach why we should submit to Christ but that we
need to submit to Christ now. Finney ‘s sermon painted a picture of what life is
with Christ and what death would be without Christ.
c c c c c c c c c c c c c Henry Ward Beecher could be seed as a movement leader with a
ministry background. Duduit said, “To Beecher, preaching was action-centered, not
theologically oriented.” Beecher's style of preaching focused on the oppression of
the era of the social aspect during his time. If there was a movement going on
that he supported he developed a sermon to support the actions of the
movement. Duduit stated, “Beecher believed preaching was, at its heart, an
instrument aimed at raising people’s lives to higher moral and ethical level.”[7]
Beecher sermons were planned throughout the week by observing the actions of
people.
[1] Benjamin K Forrest et al., A Legacy Of Preaching Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
2018. Pg. 39.
[2] Wayne McDill, 12 Essential Skills For Great Preaching Grand Rapids: B&H,
2013.Pg 18.
