How to Write Church Sermons

Preaching is central to Christian worship.

Proclaiming the Word of God to a congregation is a great joy. However, the process of writing a sermon can be a challenge. With diligent study of your text, and an understanding of the structure of a good sermon, the task can be made easier.

Things You'll Need

• Bibles
• Concordance
• Greek-English lexicon
• Hebrew-English lexicon

Instructions

1. Choose the passage of Scripture on which you are going to preach. Some preachers write sermon series on particular topics or themes. Others preach sequentially through a book of the Bible or on the passage assigned to a given day in a lectionary. A sermon may also be a single, "stand-alone" message.

2. Read through the passage carefully in several English translations. If you are able to read it in Greek or Hebrew, do this as well. This often brings out nuances and meanings in the text that may not be as clear in English. Look for key words or phrases. Using a concordance, find instances in which the same word is used in other verses. Look up the words in a lexicon to find out their meaning in Greek or Hebrew and see if there are any possible ways to translate the words differently than your English Bibles have translated them.

3. Write down the main idea of your passage in a single sentence. This will be the heart of your sermon, the most important thing you want your audience to remember. For example, if you are preaching on Ephesians 2, your main idea might be "salvation is by grace alone."

4. Write an introduction. Get the audience's attention and state your main idea. Explain your main idea. This is the body of your sermon. Bring in other passages of Scripture that relate to your main idea. In this section you can also define and elaborate on words and concepts that may be unfamiliar to your audience. Stories, quotes and other illustrations may help to make your point more clear. It can be helpful to structure this section into two or more subpoints. Write clear transitional sentences that move from one point to the next smoothly. Apply the main idea to the lives of your listeners. A helpful way to do this is by attempting to answer the question "so what?" Summarize the main idea at the end of the sermon.

Tips & Warnings

• State your main idea at least three times to help your audience remember it.

• Read your sermon out loud to test it -- sometimes something that looks good on paper does not flow smoothly when spoken.

• Use illustrations sparingly, and never as a way to entertain your audience.

References

• Biblical Preaching: The Development and Delivery of Expository Messages; Haddon W. Robinson; 2001
• New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook For Students and Pastors; Gordon D. Fee
• 7 Steps to a Good Sermon or How To Create and Preach a Sermon; Sherman Haywood Cox II; 2006

Resources

• Effective First-person Biblical Preaching: The Steps From Text to Narrative; J. Kent Edwards; 2005
• Old Testament Exegesis, Fourth Edition; A Handbook for Students and Pastors; Douglas Stuart; 2009
• The majesty of God in the Old Testament: A Guide For Preaching and Teaching; Walter C. Kaiser; 2007
• What Does the Lord Require?; A Guide for Preaching and Teaching Biblical Ethics; 2009
• Invitation to Biblical Preaching; Proclaiming Truth with Clarity and Relevance; Donald R. Sunukjian; 2007