Is there a difference between teaching and preaching?

1 Min Read

Yes, absolutely. While there is certainly teaching contained in preaching and while sometimes teachers can get very preachy, the important thing is that preaching is not a tone. It’s not a volume. People often think that preaching is just raising your voice and being loud or yelling at people. That’s not preaching.

Preaching has the goal of helping people come to a place of worship. Preaching a message involves teaching, Bible study, and lecturing, but fundamentally, preaching involves discipleship and worship. You are helping people to worship God. It involves all those things, but a sermon is not a lecture. It’s not just a big group Bible study. Preaching the Word of God is bringing people from where they are, instructing them, teaching them, and bringing them to God.

Too often, people think that a good lecture is preaching, but it’s not. Preaching brings people to Christ. It brings people to God by the power of the Spirit because it’s worshipful.


This transcript is from a live Ask Ligonier event with Burk Parsons and has been lightly edited for readability. To ask Ligonier a biblical or theological question, email ask@ligonier.org or message us on Facebook or Twitter.