Minister's Sermons

About three weeks to a month ago, I went to a funeral for a lady that had worked with my husband. I had met her before as she was an art teacher, and my husband had helped her several times to get ready for art expositions. Although I had met her, I did not know her very well. I listened intently to the minister's sermon as the way he delivered the sermon was very interesting. He also read what I now call an essay that her daughter wrote about her mother along with the help of her father. The minister did an excellent job on his sermon.

As my husband and I were leaving the funeral, we talked about the minister's sermon, and I told him I felt like I had just read a creative nonfiction essay about his friend. It gave me a new perspective on minister's sermons and how they put them together. His was not an academic essay with two or three points. Instead, he told stories and then related them to her life. When I left, I felt like I had met her all over again and knew more about her life. I also thought the writing her daughter and husband wrote was a memoir.

I attend church every Sunday, but now I have a new perspective when listening to the sermons. The pastor at my church almost always delivers an academic essay in his sermons. He may have more than three points, but he always has an introduction and a conclusion. He does tell stories and give scriptures to relate the points and help us to better understand his message. However, he seems to have a style of writing different from the one I heard at the funeral. I have to say though, I have never heard my pastor deliver a sermon at a funeral. Nor have I heard the other pastor preach a sermon on Sunday to the congregation. There may be different times for different sermons.

This is not to say one style of sermon is better than the other. I believe if a minister is teaching from the Bible, it is all creative nonfiction to me.