Distinguishing between Topic, Subject, and Theme

The distinctions between topics, subjects, and themes are incredibly useful in sermon preparation and delivery. They provide a structured approach to ensure your message is clear, impactful, and deeply rooted in biblical truth.

Here’s how they can be applied:

1. Topic (the broad “what”)

In Sermon Preparation:

• Initial Brainstorming: A topic is often the starting point. It’s the general area you feel led to preach on, or a broad need you observe in your congregation. Examples: “Love,” “Faith,” “Prayer,” “Hope,” “Forgiveness,” “Dealing with Anxiety,” “Marriage,” “God’s Character.”
• Series Planning: Topics are excellent for planning sermon series. You might have a series on “Christian Living,” which then breaks down into specific subjects.
• Biblical Books: If you’re preaching expositionally through a book of the Bible, the book itself (e.g., “The Book of Philippians”) acts as your overarching topic.

In the Sermon:

• Clear Introduction: You might state the broad topic early on to orient your listeners. “Today, we’re going to talk about the power of prayer.”
• Categorization: Helps congregants categorize and remember the general area of the message.

In Sermon Preparation:

• Narrowing the Focus: Once you have a topic, you need to hone in on a specific subject within that topic. This moves from the general to the more precise.
  • From Topic “Prayer”: Subject could be “The prayer life of Jesus,” “Praying in times of difficulty,” or “The discipline of daily prayer.”
• Identifying Key Texts: The subject helps you identify specific biblical passages that speak directly to it. If your subject is “The Good Shepherd,” you’ll immediately think of John 10 or Psalm 23.
• Outline Development: The main points of your sermon outline will often be aspects of your subject.

In the Sermon:

• Specific Angle: The subject clarifies the specific angle you’re taking on the broader topic. Instead of just “love,” you’re now discussing “how God’s love redeems.”
• Contextualization: It helps you root your message in a particular biblical character, event, or teaching. “Today, our subject is David’s unwavering faith in the face of Goliath.”
• Memorability: A well-defined subject makes the sermon easier to recall for listeners.

In Sermon Preparation:

• The Core Message: This is the most crucial element for a sermon. The theme is the transformative truth you want your congregation to grasp and apply. It’s the “so what?”
• Gospel Connection: A good sermon theme will often connect back to the Gospel message or a fundamental aspect of Christian faith.
• Single Proposition: Homileticians often advise articulating your theme as a single, clear, memorable sentence. This is your “sermon proposition” or “central idea.”
  • Example (from subject “The Good Shepherd”): Theme could be: “Jesus, our Good Shepherd, faithfully guides and protects us, even through life’s darkest valleys.”
• Application-Oriented: The theme drives the application. What does this truth mean for your listeners’ lives this week?
• Passion and Conviction: When you’ve identified a powerful theme, it fuels your passion and conviction in delivery.

In the Sermon:

• The “Takeaway”: The theme is the main takeaway message. You might state it explicitly at the beginning, reiterate it throughout, and conclude with it.
• Impact and Transformation: A well-articulated theme aims to provoke thought, challenge perspectives, and inspire action or spiritual growth.
• Unity and Cohesion: The theme acts as the unifying thread that ties all your points, illustrations, and applications together. Without a clear theme, a sermon can feel like a collection of disjointed ideas.

Let’s say a pastor wants to preach on a felt need in the congregation: Anxiety.

1. Topic: Anxiety (Broad area of concern)
2. Subject: Overcoming Anxiety Through Faith (More focused, points to a specific solution/approach)
3. Biblical Passage: Philippians 4:6-7 (“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”)
4. Theme (Central Idea/Proposition): Through prayer and thanksgiving, God offers a peace that transcends our understanding, enabling us to live free from the grip of anxiety.

Sermon Outline might then flow like this:

• Introduction: Acknowledge the pervasive topic of anxiety in modern life.
• Main Point 1 (Subject development): The Command: “Do not be anxious about anything” (Why this is difficult, yet a biblical imperative).
• Main Point 2 (Subject development): The Practice: “By prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Practical steps to engage in prayer and gratitude).
• Main Point 3 (Theme development): The Promise: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Explaining the nature of God’s peace and its protective power).
• Conclusion/Call to Action: Reiterate the theme and challenge listeners to actively practice prayer and thanksgiving to experience God’s transcendent peace in their anxious moments.

By thoughtfully discerning between topic, subject, and theme, preachers can move beyond simply what they’re talking about to powerfully convey what God is saying about it, leading to more profound and life-changing sermons.