Engaging preaching is the kind of preaching that stays true to the Scriptural text, connects the passage to the person and work of Jesus and speaks to the heart of the audience with sincerity and authenticity. The “base” of every sermon, then, must be attention to the passage itself, gleaning from the passage its meaning. We cannot make the Bible whatever we want. So to preach the text well, we must study the text. To know the meaning of the text, we must put the passage in its context. Shorn of context, it is easy to misinterpret a Scripture passage.

After setting the passage in context, it’s time to dig into the passage itself. While many different tools can be used to help you understand what the text is saying, nothing beats repeated reading of and hard thinking about the passage. The best way to deliver a compelling sermon is to know the text so well that it’s in your bones. Besides repeated reading of the passages, there are some things can help unlock its meaning.

Understand its Genre

The first thing to do is figure out the genre of the passage. Genre refers to the kind of literature the passage is. Knowing the genre helps you understand the passage because different genres communicate truth in different ways. For example, poetry is highly metaphorical and evocative. If you interpreted poetry as a historical narrative, the result would be nonsensical. Yet poetry still can communicate truth (and maybe even more effectively!) like any straight recounting of a story on a news website. 

While there are many different genres in the Bible, the main ones are:

• Narrative
• Poetry
• Prophecy 
• Letters 

Narrative means the passage is a story. Many times, biblical narratives will follow the classic shape of a story with a conflict, rising action, climax, and resolution. To interpret narratives well, you will want to identify the various parts of the plot (like conflict and climax) as well as be attentive to the characters and settings. Many biblical books are one larger story made of smaller stories. For example, the book of Exodus tells the larger story of the Israelites being freed from slavery in Egypt. But it also includes the narrative of Moses’ life and rise to being the leader of God’s people, the narrative of God plaguing the Egyptians, and stories of the Israelites grumbling during their journey.

Poetry is a genre of literature which is highly metaphorical and usually patterned in lines. Unlike English poetry, the poetry of the Bible does not rhyme. Poetry in the Bible focuses more on parallelism where the first line matches the second line. The two books most famous for using poetry are the Psalms and Proverbs. Poetry often communicates deep truths cloaked in metaphor in order to provoke us to ponder God’s word deeply. 

Prophecy is another common form of literature in the Bible. Classic examples are Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and Revelation. Prophecy can be very difficult to interpret because it often will blend genres together in the same book. For example, the book of Isaiah includes some narrative portions (chapters 36-39) but most of the book is poetry. Prophecy is also difficult to interpret because of modern misconceptions of prophecy. Too often, modern Christians believe that prophecy pertains exclusively to the future and should be interpreted in a straightforward, or literal, manner. However, the Old Testament prophets were primarily calling the people of their day back to a covenant relationship with the Lord. Moreover, when they would communicate about the figure, it was using the language and forms of their day. For example, Isaiah prophecies of a day when Assyria will be included in God’s people on equal footing with Israel (Isaiah 19). We probably should not expect a literal Empire of Assyria to rise again. Most likely, Isaiah was foreseeing a day when the enemies of God’s people would be reconciled to himself. Using Assyria as a symbol of this reconciliation would have made the most sense to Isaiah’s audience. 

Letters is a genre found in the New Testament. These letters were written to real churches and or people addressing issues going on in the church at that time. The letter often contain large sections of “didactic literature,” or literature which focuses on teaching a truth. Reading the letters well requires that we pay special attention to how the argument of the second unfolds. Paying attention to linking words like “therefore” or “because” can help us understand the main point the author is trying to make. 

The importance of understanding genre cannot be overstated. Genre sets the rules to follow when understanding a text. Theological messes have been made when Christians have tried to interpret poetry and prophecy like a historical narrative. Moreover, narratives can lose their power and ability to draw people in when we teach them line-by-line like a letter. Knowing the genre will you understand the text and set you on the right course.