sermon

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun A religious discourse, especially one delivered as part of a service.
• noun An often lengthy and tedious speech of reproof or exhortation.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To discourse of, as in a sermon.
• To tutor; lecture.
• To compose or deliver a sermon; discourse.
• noun A speech, discourse, or writing.
• noun A discourse delivered by a clergyman, licentiate, or other person, for the purpose of religious instruction and edification, during divine service, usually founded upon or in elucidation of some text or passage of Scripture.
• noun Hence—
• noun A written dissertation of similar character.
• noun Any serious address on a moral or religious theme, whether delivered or published, by a clergyman or by a layman: as, a lay sermon.
• noun Any serious exhortation, counsel, or reproof: usually in an admonitory or reprobatory sense.
• noun Synonyms Sermon, Homily, Exhortation. Sermon is the standard word for a formal address on a religious subject, founded upon a text of Scripture. Homily is an old word for the same thing, especially for an exposition of doctrine, but is now more often used for a conversational address, shorter than a sermon, of much directness and seriousness, perhaps upon a point of duty. Exhortation is occasionally used for a religious address appealing to one's conscience or calling one to the performance of duty in general or some specific duty.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• intransitive verb obsolete To speak; to discourse; to compose or deliver a sermon.
• noun obsolete A discourse or address; a talk; a writing.
• noun Specifically, a discourse delivered in public, usually by a clergyman, for the purpose of religious instruction and grounded on some text or passage of Scripture.
• noun Hence, a serious address; a lecture on one's conduct or duty; an exhortation or reproof; a homily; -- often in a depreciatory sense.
• transitive verb obsolete To discourse to or of, as in a sermon.
• transitive verb Poetic To tutor; to lecture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun religious discourse; a written or spoken address on a religious or moral matter
• noun a lengthy speech of reproval
• verb poetic, obsolete To discourse to or of, as in a sermon.
• verb poetic, obsolete To tutor; to lecture.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun an address of a religious nature (usually delivered during a church service)
• noun a moralistic rebuke