A sermon, or a short, exhortatory work to be read before a group of listeners in order to instruct them spiritually or morally In the Renaissance, the content of English sermons was governed by law after King Henry VIII, becoming an avenue for monarchist propaganda
A homily is a speech or piece of writing in which someone complains about the state of something or tells people how they ought to behave. a receptive audience for his homily on moral values
A short sermon often on a single topic of devotion or morality The difference between a sermon and a homily is primarily the length Some wags are known to refer to homilies as "sermonettes "