Have you ever wondered how to write a sermon? It can be daunting. I know the importance and the responsibility of communicating the Word. In the last three decades, I have been honored with the privilege to preach to small and large crowds, communicate to kids and adults, and teach people within the church and government officials. This means over 2000 times, prepared and equipped with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I got to preach or teach, which is accompanied by the same number of times I had to prepare!
Preparation is key. Your sermon will last between 25 and 45 minutes; for most of us, it will take between 10 and 20 hours to get it ready!
Preaching is an art form. It’s about communicating a sermon you worked hard preparing. It takes an ancient written word and prepares it to be understood, remembered, and acted upon. In all of its artistry, it will transcend eras, societies, and cultural backgrounds and enter the soul of humans who will be so profoundly moved and touched that their lives will never be the same again. It is a Kerygma, the proclamation of eternal, timeless truths. God’s Word comes to life like a symphony, each note in tune with the essence of the Message.
Preaching is not for the faint of heart. James, the leader of the first Jerusalem church, Jesus’ own brother, declares, “Not many [of you] should become teachers [serving in an official teaching capacity], my brothers and sisters, for you know that we [who are teachers] will be judged by a higher standard [because we have assumed greater accountability and more condemnation if we teach incorrectly]” (James 3:1 AMP).
Preaching can sway the course of one’s life, to change eternal destinies as the Scriptures won’t “come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do, they’ll complete the assignment I gave them” (Isaiah 55:11 MSG). Knowing “…the word of God is living and active and sharper than any double-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, both joints and marrow, and able to judge the reflections and thoughts of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 LEB).
It is a privilege to bring the Word of God to the people of God. Charles Spurgeon once said, “We cannot play at preaching. We preach for eternity” for “We are not responsible to God for the souls that are saved, but we are responsible for the Gospel that is preached, and for the way in which we preach it.”
These next lines will be the best step-by-step out there on how to write a sermon! We’ll cover:
- What you need to do before you start writing your sermon
- The different types of messages
- How to choose your scripture
- Taking notes
- Writing the outline
- Researching and available tools that will make you more efficient
- How to be spiritually ready to render God’s word.
1. BEFORE YOU START TO WRITE YOUR SERMON
You may want to skip to the portion “how to write the outline.” I get it. We’ve all been there. Some live there!! But writing is not the first part. The beginning is everything but that!
You’re not just delivering a speech; you are communicating a life-changing word. Your mindset has to be right. The first steps are what I call the P.R.O.S.
Pray and listen. I know you know this. But if you’re like most people I know, you’re too busy to pray for a long time. Martin Luther’s quote says, “I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours of a day in prayer.” You find that hard to live out! Prayer is not about trying to change God’s mind on a subject; it’s about letting Him mold your heart and mind. Prayer will put you in God’s mindset on the text.
Read and note. There will be more on taking notes later but suffice to say here that reading the chosen Scripture is necessary. Read many times and in different versions. My go-to is reading the text three times in four or five versions.
Observe and meditate. As you read your text a few times, you should be able to notice word repetitions, important words that stick out, or even a style of writing. Is it more poetic in essence or more argument-based (like many texts in Romans, for example)? Is the text discussing a historical fact like the Kings’ stories or Nehemiah? Biblical geography might even help you out! What you see in the written words will be helpful when getting your outline ready!
Study and understand. Looking deeper into the text as you search in various commentaries and Bible dictionaries may bring to the surface information that will benefit your outline and content as you write your sermon.
I use my iPad to do this. Here’s what it looks like for me:
2. DIFFERENT TYPES OF SERMONS
There are 4 styles of sermons, each with its advantages and challenges.
1. Topical
This one is probably the easiest and most common one. You choose a topic (salvation, Jesus’ miracles, depression, finances, or whatever else), find your verses, and arrange your outline around them. Topical Bibles and dictionaries are easy to use. You can basically choose your 4-week series based on the felt needs of the church—for example, a series on Detox from Anxiety or Life in the Spirit.
The ease of planning for topical sermons is also its downfall. A topical message only gives a partial scriptural view of the overarching plan of the Bible. It is easy to take verses out of context as they may suit what you want to communicate.
2. Textual
Textual sermons are based on a short passage of Scripture. The words of the passage became your main points (example, Mark 8:22-26 as seen above) It is very scriptural as it uses the text itself. Plus, using the proper context is easier since you’re speaking directly from the text. It also forces you to keep the message’s importance to its proportion to Scripture!
It can limit you to shorter sermons as points may be harder to find (which your church might be grateful for). Since you choose that specific short text, you may be subject to being biased on its importance.
3. Expository
It is considered by many the ultimate form of preaching. It is based on long texts, like studying verse-by-verse the Pauline Epistles or Gospels. Since you preach on long stretches of the Scriptures, your church has a better understanding.
The challenge is to find a common thread within those 5-10 verses you’ll be using. Just reading and reading the text brings information, not necessarily transformation.
4. Narrative or Biographical
Based on Bible characters, with these sermons, people tend to identify with the struggles, victories, and life lessons of a person in the Bible.
As you see, there is a variety of styles you can use to write your sermon.
3. HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR SCRIPTURE PASSAGE
Let’s begin by saying there are no bad passages to preach! After all, you are preaching the Word of God! As your write your sermon, realize any text will be a good text. Some may be harder to preach, like Abraham about to sacrifice his son (Genesis 22), or easier, like David facing Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Scripture is scripture, and Paul said, “For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.” (Acts 20:27 NIV).
Yet, how do you choose your sermon text? The best thing to do as you write your sermon is to use a yearly calendar plan. This would allow you to choose subjects, text, and style of sermons. If you’re ministering in an expository church, topics and texts will be “chosen” for you. If that is not your church, consider planning around this format for 51 weeks, pending you have a Sunday off between Christmas and New Year’s.
- 1 expository series: 6-8 weeks
- Holidays: 5-6 (For example–Easter and Christmas)
- 5 topical series of 4-5 weeks each (20-25 Sundays)
- 5 guests (could be an elder preaching or a guest speaker)
- 5 stand-alone sermons
- There you go, 50 weeks!
Now that you’re building your schedule, how exactly do you choose your text? Here are 7 ways:
- Pray! God may want to reveal what is needed for your church
- Expository sermons will decide for you what your next message is
- First, preach a Scripture that God has placed on your heart for a while
- Second, build a yearly plan to read through the Bible…and stick to it! There are so many on the market.
- Use the lectio continua method or continuous reading. You can use this format as noted in this article. By reading the Bible on a continual daily basis, texts and topics, types of sermons will pop out! And “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” the things God has prepared for those who love him- these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-10 NIV)
- Third, check your previous year’s preaching calendar. This is to prevent from always preaching the same subjects or same scriptures. As a communicator, there are topics you are more comfortable with than others; by nature, you will tend to go to the comfort of what you know.
- Finally, choose subjects and texts you haven’t chosen for a while! Growth is part of the pastor’s role, and preaching new things is important.
With this, you will cover many subjects that matter to your church and you. You can even look into this article to help you out.
4. TAKING NOTES: THE SECRET INGREDIENT
Taking notes is essential as you write your sermon. It is so necessary that without notes, most communicators would not be able to preach efficiently.
As you have chosen the text and style you’ll be preaching, here are the things you want to take note of:
- Style of text. As mentioned, the type of text has an incidence on its interpretation. A Psalm is not to be read the same way as a narrative of king Josiah. The beautiful poetry and wisdom of Proverbs and Job are read differently than the pastoral Pauline epistles.
- Questions raised by the text. Why did Jesus talk the blind man out of the city in Mark 8? It’s as if Jesus did not want to perform the miracle there. Why didn’t anyone want to fight Goliath? Why did David choose 5 smooth stones from the brook? Who is it written for? The Gospels were written for different crowds; Matthew for the Jews, Luke for the Greeks, and Mark for the Romans. That’s why they are similar yet different.
- Important words. Bible passages are full of great and interesting words. If you read about your text, you’ll find some that are worth noting down. Watch specifically for these.
- Repetition. Ephesians 4:1-7, for example, repeats the concept of “one” and “unity” 7 times!
- Synonyms. In the same passage, Paul uses the term “binding yourselves together” (Ephesians 4:3 NLT). Doesn’t that sound like some sort of oneness? This puts an added emphasis on what the text is trying to communicate.
- Antonyms. Using Galatians 5 for a text, you will notice how Paul puts the “flesh” and the “Spirit” in opposition. “People’s desires make them give in immortal ways” (Galatians 5:1 CEV) goes against “But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you” (Galatians 5:22 TPT).
- Analogies. Jesus uses them all the time in his stories and parables. “The Kingdom of God is like …”. Proverbs also has many. “The words of the godly are like sterling silver; the heart of a fool is worthless.” (Proverbs 10:20 NLT). Analogies are like a hammer for nails, it drives your point (See what I did there!).
- Transition words. Those will propose a change in argumentative tone or subject. In Ephesians alone, you’ll find these.
- “In order” (1:12) will talk about an effect. This is a very common transition used in Scripture.
- “Therefore” (2:11 and 4:1). As the saying goes, ask yourself: “What is it there for?”
- “For this reason” (1:15, 3:1, and 14). Cause and effect are in action here
- Important words themselves. In each text, you’ll find them. Examples would be too numerous as every passage has its specific important words.
- Geography. The mention of a city or a plain is describing something. In our Mark 8 passage, mentioning Bethsaida was important. In Matthew 11:21, Jesus declares, “Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.” (NASB) This explains why Jesus took the blind man out of the city to perform his miracle. Bethsaida had seen enough miracles!
- Odd or unusual words. Remember reading Mark 8:23 when Jesus spits (yes, spits!) on the eyes of the blind man? Spit is an unusual word. What about Ephesians 4:2 “bearing one another” (NIV) or “making allowance” (NLT)? That is an odd language. The rule of thumb here is that when a word is unusual, it means something important in the text.
As you look for these important words while you write your sermon, you’ll be building and creating a better dashboard to gain perspective of what you will need and want to communicate. Here are some notes from Ephesians 4:
5. THE M.I.L.P.A.S.
For this part, we’ll be using Mark 8:22-26 and Ephesians 4:1-6. Both could be used in expository preaching or be textual messages in a topical series.
Before writing the actual outline, use what I call the M.I.L.P.A.S., which is based on 5 specific upstream questions to prepare the outline.
- What is the text saying and communicating? – Meaning
- What is the text about? – Idea
- What does your audience need to learn from the text? – Lesson
- What do you want your audience to remember from the text? – Point
- What do you want your audience to do about the text? – Action Steps
Looking at the MILPAS from Mark 8:22-26, you could get this.
- M: Jesus performs miracles when, where and how He wants to.
- I: It’s all about seeing: not seeing, not seeing well, and seeing well
- L: Let Jesus heal your spiritual sight
- P: It is possible to have your eyes open and not see
- AS: Look at the opportunities God has put in front of you
From Ephesians 4:1-6, you could get this.
- M: In our pursuit of godly living, we need unity
- I: Unity
- L: Unity is ours to keep
- P: We are called to unity
- AS: Go to those you do not have unity with and seek reconciliation
When you’ve discovered the MILPAS, you will have a better understanding of your subject, the text, and deeper wisdom on what and how to write your sermon.
6. WRITING YOUR OUTLINE
Your outline is your tool for communicating. It will consist of 5 significant parts, which will come as no surprise and are pretty straightforward. We will still use Mark 8 and Ephesians 4 to write the skeletons of your sermon.
- Text: Base Scripture you will be using
- Main Idea: Express in one sentence what you will be communicating
- Intro: Personal way to catch your audience’s attention.
- Points: 1-4 max
- Sub points that enhance your point
- Conclusion: Land the plane!
1. MARK 8
- Text: Mark 8:22-26
- Main Idea: You can have your eyes open and not see
- Intro (personal ideas)
- Have you ever been in a situation where you wish to “have seen it”?
- When you look for the milk in the fridge and ask your spouse, “Where’s the milk?” The reply you get is, “In the fridge.” Your spouse comes by and takes the milk out of the fridge! And your spouse makes fun of you by saying: You looked with your eyes closed.
- When you look for a shirt and can’t find it? Or your glasses…but they’re on your head?
- That’s because it is possible to have your eyes open and not see
- Point 1: Bethsaida or the refusal to see
- Many disciples lived there
- Many miracles have happened there
- However, the city and its population did not believe in Jesus (Matthew 11:21)
- Bethsaida had eyes to see but couldn’t see
- That’s why Jesus will heal the blind man alone outside the city.
- POINT 2. The blind man or the loss of one’s sight
- Once Jesus touches his eyes, he can “see” with a blurry vision: “Man like trees.”
- He could once see, or you can’t compare men to trees!
- First touch = eyes open.
- Because it is possible to have your eyes open and not see well
- POINT 3. Second touch or the capacity to see again
- Greek word: Sight restored, or restored the sight to its original state
- The blind man had lost his capacity to see for a reason unknown to us
- What is causing you to lose your spiritual sight or your capacity to see God at work?
- Pain? Problems? Obstacles?
- Jesus wants to heal your spiritual sight
- Revelation 3:18
- Conclusion
2. EPHESIANS 4
Text: Ephesians 4:1-6
Main Idea: Unity begins with U
Intro (personal ideas from the text)
- Paul says we are one, but when I look at life, I don’t see that!
- Christians are divided by political parties, church denominations, race, language, vaccine position, and etc.
- Point 1. We are called to UNITY
- “A life worthy of our calling”
- POINT 2. UNITY is given to you
- “Keep the unity” V.2
- You only keep what you have
- POINT 3. UNITY is an action
- “Make every effort” V.4
- In attitude
- In conversation
- POINT 4. UNITY brings destiny
- “One glorious hope” V.4
- POINT 5. HOW to keep UNITY V.2
- Humility
- Allowance
- Patience
- Love
- Asking forgiveness
- Conclusion
As you can now understand, writing your outline is birthed out of your research, study, and prayer. As a result, the words you then assemble will not only make sense to you but also to your congregation. Spurgeon said: “When there is mist in the pulpit, there is fog in the pews.”
After having done your human homework and your spiritual duty, writing a simple outline can propel your sermon to new heights. You can even be able to preach without notes.
7. RESEARCHING and AVAILABLE TOOLS
Research will bring the meat around the bones of your sermon’s skeleton.
As a Bible lover, a devout learner, and a lifelong student of God’s message, you will look into topics like the original languages of Greek and Hebrew or even cultural meanings of the time. Here are some handy tools and resources to help you write a sermon.
1. IN-DEPTH STUDY
- https://www.logos.com/ You will get lexicons, dictionaries, commentaries, and even a sermon manager. Hundreds of thousands of communicators and pastors have used their software for decades. You cannot go wrong.
- The HALOT (Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of The Old Testament) https://www.logos.com/product/5226/hebrew-and-aramaic-lexicon-of-the-old-testament-halot Possibly one of the best classics!
- https://www.bestcommentaries.com You’ll find a list of commentaries with over 500 reviews!
- https://www.christianbook.com/page/academic/bible-commentaries This Christian bookstore is the go-to if you want to add some good bible commentaries.
- http://www.accordancebible.com/ They promote it as “The most comprehensive Bible software platform on the market.” You’ll enjoy this without a shadow of a doubt.
- https://www.blueletterbible.org Great interlinear reading, commentaries, dictionaries, and so on!
- https://www.biblestudytools.com As the website suggests, it offers Bible study tools! And for free!
2. SERMON HELP
- https://www.sermonsearch.com Tons of sermon ideas, outlines, recordings, and great articles!
- https://www.sermoncentral.com Let the website and other pastors help you out. It’ll grant you access to sermon uploads and series as well.
3. NOTES
- Use your https://www.apple.com/ipad/! It will allow you to write, save, color, and whatever!
- https://remarkable.com I love the paper feel. The stylus is so efficient and has an eraser! I can upload a PDF and write on it. I cannot work without it anymore!
- I use my camera to capture what inspires me: quotes, images, and videos.
- Your cell phone also has a voice memo recorder. Use it when you have an idea. If you don’t note or record it immediately, your great illuminating moment will be gone!
In conclusion, get ready to preach your best sermons from now on, “Proclaim the Word of God and stand upon it no matter what! Rise to the occasion and preach when it is convenient and when it is not. Preach in the full expression of the Holy Spirit” (2 Timothy 4:2 TPT). There is so much that goes into writing a sermon. Use this step-by-step guide as you write your sermon and watch your preaching transform.
