A few years ago when I read the book City on a Hill, which was a history of the American sermon, it argued that the American sermon is not just something one hears in church, that the Presidential Inaugural Address, for instance, is basically a form a secular sermon. The very title City on a Hill draws from Winthrop's sermon that was later used in political addresses by John Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Sarah Palin, etc.
Today, watching Oprah's final episode, I was impressed by how it was, basically, a sermon. At least significant parts of the show were sermonic in nature. An entire section was specifically religious, as she addressed her theology, her view of God.
The show was filled with the sort of spiritual and quasi-religious statements she had become famous for (Futurama predicted that in the future the major religion would be "Oprahism."). And much of it was something I could agree with. Many of her encouraging words are good advice. There was an entire section of her address, when she was talking about call, that I could use in my sermon this coming Sunday which will cover some of the same topics.
It was an impressive hour of television, unlike anything I've ever seen before. But, then, that's something she is also known for.
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