sermon

noun ser·mon \ ˈsər-mən \

Definition of sermon

1 : a religious discourse delivered in public usually by a member of the clergy as a part of a worship service

2 : a speech on conduct or duty

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sermonic

play \ˌsər-ˈmä-nik\ adjective

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Examples of sermon in a Sentence

He preached a sermon on the importance of kindness.
Dad gave me a sermon yesterday about doing my homework.

Recent Examples of sermon from the Web

Such compositions were common among ministers who worked on animated, cheerful essays to improve their ability to devise engaging sermons.

— terence young, Smithsonian, "The Minister Who Invented Camping in America," 17 Oct. 2017
His sermon captures the cadences, the pauses, the sudden flashes of insight that aren’t really sudden at all in a canny preacher.

— by lawrence toppman, charlotteobserver, "Megachurch pastor in ‘The Christians’ provokes this unanswerable question," 21 Sep. 2017
One viewed by Ars is a video from Al Qaeda in Iraq of a roadside bomb being exploded under a US Army Bradley Armored Fighting Vehicle; others are videos of sermons by various Islamic clerics.

— sean gallagher, Ars Technica, "CIA releases 321 gigabytes of Bin Laden’s digital library, Web cache crap," 1 Nov. 2017
Holy Family parishioners agreed to cross Wildwood Avenue for the morning and attend service at the neighboring Lutheran church, where each pastor delivered a sermon.

— jeff rumage, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Two Whitefish Bay churches prove unity is possible 500 years after Reformation," 1 Nov. 2017
Thousands have commented in response to the sermon.

— max londberg, kansascity, "‘Our doors are always open.’ Joel Osteen gives sermon as big Tyler Perry donation rolls in," 4 Sep. 2017
In his sermon, the prophet called on his followers to repay their debts, beware of Satan, perform five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan and give to charity.

— ahmed hatem, The Seattle Times, "2M Muslims gather near Mecca for peak of hajj pilgrimage," 30 Aug. 2017
Second, the tax bill’s language would only lift the ban on endorsing a candidate during a speech, such as a sermon or church teaching.

— julie zauzmer, Washington Post, "The Republicans’ tax bill would let ministers endorse political candidates," 2 Nov. 2017
This past Friday, the plight of the Rohingya was the main subject of sermons.

— taylor luck, The Christian Science Monitor, "Why plight of Rohingya Muslims has suddenly captivated the Arab world," 13 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sermon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of sermon

Middle English, from Anglo-French sermun, from Medieval Latin sermon-, sermo, from Latin, speech, conversation, from serere to link together — more at series

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First Known Use: 13th century

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