Where to Get Sermon Ideas

Generating sermon ideas every week can sometimes be a challenge. Some people think that creating a sermon is little more than finding a few Bible or inspirational quotes and then adding in some exposition between them to keep people listening. On the contrary!

Creating a sermon is far more complicated than writing a report for a class or a work assignment! We all know it is not that easy, and deciding what to say to your church can be a challenge for anyone.

Where do ministers, pastors and priests get their sermon ideas? The ideas can come from a million sources: personal experiences they had during the week, a problem in the community, a trend he/she sees developing in his/her own church family, something that is watched on television or heard on the radio or read in a book.

Sermon inspiration is as vague and intangible as the inspiration that writers and artists use for their creations. To be sure, a sermon is a work of art in and of itself. No wonder coming up with ideas for sermons every week can be such a challenge!

So what do you do when it is time to start working on next week's talk and you don't have any ideas? Some will pull out older sermons hoping to find inspiration or a new point of view on previously spoken words. Some will flip through the news. Others will go for a walk. Some will go online in search of outlines and tips and tricks. There are many websites and products available to help pastors and ministers develop a weekly sermon that feels fresh and new, without pulling their hair out in the process.

What inspires you? What do you want to hear about when you go to church or temple each week?