There are two basic types of sermons: topical and expository. Topical sermons deal with current issues of human concern - for instance, how to foster and preserve good relationships, parenting, emotional control, and so on. In topical sermons, Biblical incidents are selected and woven together so that they address the issues or problems that affect peoples lives. A topical sermon may contain Biblical extracts from several chapters and verses dealing with one topic.

Let us take an example the problem of Biblical illiteracy. A recent poll in the US revealed that many people thought that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham. We are witnessing growing Biblical illiteracy among people today. We can see how a topical sermon addresses this worrying issue.

The Holy Bible has several wonderful verses related to this issue. We can see how verses from four different Biblical chapters address one single issue in the above-mentioned example. A topical sermon on this issue may contain material from any number of chapters and verses, depending on the amount of time that a preacher and the audience spend together in the church. The point is that all the contents of the sermon address a single issue or problem.

There are many issues such as fasting, life after death, capital punishment, emotional control, etc. which can be dealt with by using topical sermons.

The other kind of sermon is expository, in which one part of the Bible is explored in depth. This kind of sermon is just as rich, but more academically oriented.