Yesterday I prepared the first draft of my sermon for this Saturday on Mark 13 and kept thinking to myself how the text demands an unusual amount of what I would call “teaching.”

I thought to myself, “Is that a good thing? Shouldn’t I have more ‘preaching’ in the sermon?” Then I remembered Jason Meyer’s helpful discussion on the relationship between teaching and preaching in his excellent book Preaching: A Biblical Theology.

TEACHING VS. PREACHING?

He says that preaching has three phases: stewarding, heralding, and encountering. The stewarding phase focuses on the content of preaching, the heralding phase focuses on the tone of preaching, and the encountering phase focuses on the reception of preaching.

He believes, and rightly so in my view, that the two terms stewarding and heralding help us understand the relationship between teaching and preaching. “I believe preaching refers to how something is stated (in a heraldic way), while teaching focuses on the content of what is said (unpacking something)” (24). He goes on to say,

Another reason why people should not sharply distinguish preaching and teaching is that the two are often used interchangeably in Scripture. For example, the response to Jesus’ most famous sermon (the Sermon on the Mount) defines the sermon as ‘teaching’ (Matt. 7:28). In the same way, a verse in Romans sheds light on the interchangeable nature of the terms. Paul lays down a general statement for the Jews: ‘You then who teach others, do you not teach yourselves?’ (Rom. 2:21). When he give an example of this principle, he uses the term ‘preach’: ‘While you preach against stealing, do you steal?’ (2:21).

Therefore, the combination of the terms stewarding and heralding honors the intricate connection in Scripture between preaching and teaching. (24)

In short, preaching has to do with tone and teaching with content.

The best sermons preach and teach. They provide an education in Christ leading the soul to exultation of Christ. The next time you ascend to the sacred desk be both a steward and a herald.

Teach in your preaching and preach in your teaching.