Church Words You Might Hear in a Sermon

Every group has its own vocabulary.

Sports fans, coworkers, hobby clubs - they all use words that sound like a foreign language until you're on the inside. Church is no different.

So if you've sat through a sermon and quietly wondered what a word meant, you're in good company. It's completely normal not to know these yet, and nobody expects you to.

Here's a plain-English guide to the words you're most likely to hear. Keep it open while you get used to things. And if a word goes by that you don't recognize, don't worry about it in the moment - jot it down and look it up later. That's exactly what a list like this is for.

A plain-English glossary

These are grouped so they're easy to scan. You don't need to read them in order, and you definitely don't need to memorize them. Skim the group that matches whatever left you puzzled, and skip the rest for now.

A quick note before we start: churches don't all use these words in exactly the same way, and that's fine. Where a term tends to vary from place to place, the definition says so. If you ever want the specifics for your own church, the friendliest thing you can do is simply ask someone there - people are almost always glad you did.

The big ideas of the message

• Gospel - The word means "good news," and in church it usually refers to the good news of Jesus: his life, death, and resurrection, and what that means for us.
• Grace - God's love and kindness given freely as a gift, rather than something you have to earn.
• Sin - A word for the ways we fall short of what's good and right, both in what we do and in what we leave undone.
• Repentance - Turning away from something you know is wrong and choosing a better direction; a genuine change of heart and course.
• Faith - Trust in God: believing and relying on him even when you can't see the whole picture.
• Salvation - A broad Christian word for God's saving work through Jesus. Churches explain some of the details differently, but the word is about rescue from sin and reconciliation with God.
• Redemption - Being bought back or set free; the idea that something broken or lost can be recovered and made new.
• Mercy - Compassion shown to someone, especially by not giving them a punishment they might have expected.
• Righteousness - A Bible word connected both to being right with God and to living rightly. Different Christian traditions put different emphasis on those parts depending on the passage.

Words about growing

• Sanctification - The Christian idea of becoming holy and growing in a life shaped by Christ. Traditions differ in how they describe that process and God's work in it.
• Discipleship - Following Jesus and learning to live his way, often alongside other people who help you grow.
• Conviction - In many churches, a word for becoming aware that something in your beliefs, choices, or behavior needs to change, often understood as the work of the Holy Spirit.
• Testimony - Someone's personal story of what God has done in their life.
• Stewardship - Taking good care of what you've been given - time, money, talents, the world around you - as things entrusted to you.
• Fellowship - The friendship and community shared among people in a church; simply doing life together.

Parts of a church service

• Worship - Giving honor and love to God; it often refers to the singing, but it can mean the whole service or even a way of living.
• Liturgy - The set order or pattern a service follows, including words the congregation says or sings together. Some churches use a lot of it; others very little.
• Doxology - A short song or verse of praise to God, often sung near the end of a service.
• Benediction - A blessing spoken over everyone, usually as the service closes.
• Offering - The time when people give money to support the church and its work; sometimes called the collection.
• Communion (the Lord's Supper / Eucharist) - A Christian meal using bread and wine or juice that comes from Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples. Christians agree that it centers on Jesus, but traditions differ significantly in how they understand what happens in Communion and how it should be practiced.
• Baptism - A Christian rite using water that's closely connected with becoming part of the Christian life and community. Churches differ on who should be baptized, how it should be done, and how they understand its meaning.
• Altar call - An invitation, usually near the end of a message, for anyone who wants to respond to come forward or pray.

Words about the Bible

• Scripture - Another word for the Bible, or for a specific passage from it.
• Old and New Testament - The two main parts of the Bible: the Old Testament (before Jesus) and the New Testament (the life of Jesus and the early church).
• Epistle - A letter in the Bible, usually written to an early church or a person; "epistle" just means letter.
• Parable - A short, everyday story Jesus told to illustrate a deeper truth.
• Prophecy - In the Bible, a message spoken on God's behalf, often calling people back to faithfulness and sometimes speaking about what is to come. Christians differ on how the term should be understood or practiced today.
• Exegesis - Carefully working out what a Bible passage actually means; the study that sits behind a thoughtful sermon.
• Covenant - A serious, binding promise or relationship; the Bible describes several covenants between God and people.

People and places you might hear about

• Disciple - A follower and student of Jesus; the word can mean his first followers or anyone learning to follow him today.
• Apostle - One of the early leaders sent out to share the message of Jesus, such as Peter or Paul.
• Congregation - The group of people who gather together at a church.
• Small group - A smaller circle from the church that meets during the week to talk, pray, and support one another.
• Sermon - The main talk or teaching given during a service, usually based on the Bible.

You'll pick these up over time

You don't need to memorize any of this. Honestly, most people learned these words slowly, one Sunday at a time, without ever sitting down to study them.

They'll start to feel familiar sooner than you'd think. One week a word clicks into place, the next week another does, and before long you're the one quietly explaining them to a friend who's visiting for the first time.

And when a term goes by that you don't catch, there's no need to stop and puzzle over it right then. A quick note, or a recording of the message, gives you an easy way to look it up when you get home.

That's part of why we built Sunday - so you can jot down what you hear, or record the whole message, and come back to anything later without any pressure.

---

Frequently asked questions