The Reformers: Martin Luther (1483–1546) And John Calvin (1509–1564)

Martin Luther, like John Wycliffe, John Huss, and Girolamo Savonarola before him, may be classified as a preacher of "prophetic personality. " For these preachers, preaching was an act of spiritual warfare. Luther's sermons are polemics against the abuses within the Roman church and the hard-heartedness of many of its priests. Luther also began the tradition of preaching an additional pedagogical sermon. In these catechistic sermons he taught the Ten Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and doctrines of the Reformation. The tradition of featuring both catechetical and homiletical sermons in services became common in some Lutheran (and Reformed) churches, and this practice still continues in some churches today. John Calvin did not preach in the popular style that Luther did. However, he influenced Reformed preaching more than Luther's style influenced Lutheran preaching. Calvin regarded the sermon as the central point of the liturgy; in fact, the liturgy itself was but the framework for …