Writing a sermon is both art and craft. Whether you're a seminary graduate or a bivocational pastor who stepped into the pulpit last month, the process of transforming a biblical text into a life-changing message follows a proven path. This guide breaks that path into clear, actionable steps.
Step 1: Choose Your Passage
Every great sermon starts with a text. If you follow a lectionary, your passage is already chosen. If not, consider what your congregation needs right now. Is there a crisis in the community? A season of growth? A theological question that keeps surfacing in counseling sessions?
Keep a "sermon seed" notebook. When a passage strikes you during personal devotions, jot it down with a one-sentence note about why it resonated. You'll never run out of sermon ideas.
Step 2: Study the Text (Exegesis)
Exegesis means "drawing out" the meaning of the text. Read the passage in multiple translations. Study the original Hebrew or Greek keywords. Understand the historical context — who wrote it, to whom, and why.
- Read in at least 3 translations (e.g., ESV, NIV, NKJV)
- Identify keywords and look up their original language meanings
- Research the historical and cultural context
- Map the passage structure — how does the argument flow?
- Note cross-references that illuminate the text
Step 3: Identify the Big Idea
Haddon Robinson calls it the "Big Idea" — the single, memorable sentence that captures the sermon's core truth. If your congregation remembers only one thing on Monday morning, this is it. Every point in your outline should support and develop this central idea.
"A sermon should be a bullet, not buckshot." — Haddon Robinson
Step 4: Create Your Outline
Structure gives your congregation a path to follow. Most sermons work best with 2-4 main points. Each point should advance the Big Idea and include explanation (what the text says), illustration (what it looks like in life), and application (what to do about it).
- Introduction: Hook + context + Big Idea preview
- Point 1: First movement from the text
- Point 2: Deepening or contrasting the idea
- Point 3: Application and transformation
- Conclusion: Summary + call to action
Step 5: Find Illustrations
Illustrations are windows that let light into your sermon. Use personal stories, historical anecdotes, current events, or vivid metaphors. The best illustrations feel natural, not forced — they make people say "Oh, I get it now."
Step 6: Write the Draft
Some pastors write manuscripts; others work from detailed outlines. Either way, write out your transitions carefully — they're the bridges that carry your congregation from one idea to the next. Read your draft aloud. Does it sound like you talking, or like a textbook?
Write your introduction last. Once you know exactly where the sermon goes, crafting an opening that hooks people becomes much easier.
Step 7: Polish and Practice
Cut anything that doesn't serve the Big Idea. Sharpen your transitions. Time yourself — most congregations tune out after 30-35 minutes. Practice delivery at least once, ideally in the room where you'll preach.
How AI Can Accelerate This Process
Tools like SermonForge don't replace the pastor's voice — they accelerate the research phase. Imagine getting a thorough exegesis, cross-references, and illustration suggestions in minutes instead of hours. That's not cutting corners; it's freeing up time for prayer, pastoral care, and refining your delivery.
SermonForge's 5-step AI pipeline handles exegesis, outlining, and illustration research — giving you a head start so you can focus on making the sermon yours.