From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsermonser‧mon /ˈsɜːmən $ ˈsɜːr-/ ●○○ noun [countable] 1 RRCa talk given as part of a Christian church service, usually on a religious or moral subjectgive/preach/deliver a sermon (on something) The vicar gave a sermon on charity.► see thesaurus at speech2 informalTALK TO somebody a long talk in which someone tries to give you moral advice that you do not want – used to show disapproval SYN lecture
Examples from the Corpus
sermon• Richard Baxter again pacified the crowd and eventually finished his sermon without further interruption.• What concerned him were his sermons.• Many of his utterances were, however, sermon commonplaces, to which parallels can be found in other contemporary preaching.• Columban left behind a number of sermons and poems.• It excited her that her brother had at last imbued their childhood Sunday sermons with the reality of fighting for change.• The Gospel being read, it was time for the sermon.• It is better than sitting still in one of the pews, waiting for the sermon to be over.• The sermons were livelier, for the resident minister Carter was a cultivated man.give/preach/deliver a sermon (on something)• And when the rector took to the pulpit he delivered sermons brimming with moral admonition.• According to the legend, David was about to give a sermon in Brefi.• In 1581 he was appointed to preach a sermon at St Paul's Church, London.• His room mate, who was considerably older, was due to preach a sermon at St Paul's Cathedral but fell ill.• It is hard to give a sermon, because there is already somebody giving one.• The archbishop fled to Canterbury where he proceeded to deliver sermons and issue pamphlets against the crown's infringement of clerical privileges.• Television actor Craig Nelson likes taking ministers to car races to deliver sermons at the track.• Later that month, the Archbishop of Tuam delivered a sermon in which he came out against the mining.Origin sermon (1100-1200) Old French Latin sermo “speech, conversation” 