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.
g g g g g g g g g g g g 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.
g g g g g g g g g g g g 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] g 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.
g g g g g g g g g g g g 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.
