Free printable resource

A sermon preparation worksheet you can use this week.

Move from careful reading to a clear message with this free sermon planning worksheet. Print it, copy it into your notes, or use it as a simple review before you preach.

Start the worksheet Read the full preparation guide

The worksheet

Six questions that keep preparation grounded.

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Start with the text

Passage and translation:
What do you notice first?
What words, ideas, or contrasts repeat?
What questions does the passage raise?

Understand the context

Who wrote this passage and who first heard it?
What comes immediately before and after it?
What historical, literary, or cultural details matter?
What does this passage reveal about God and people?

Write the central idea

The passage teaches:
This matters because:
The question or tension my sermon addresses:
The one sentence I want people to remember:

Build the outline

Introduction and human question:
Point 1 and supporting text:
Point 2 and supporting text:
Point 3 and supporting text:
Conclusion and next step:

Apply it faithfully

Who in my congregation needs this word?
What should they believe, practice, or change?
What would a specific next step look like this week?
What application would be true but too vague to help?

Review before preaching

Have I kept the passage in context?
Does every major point serve the central idea?
Have I checked quotes, illustrations, and facts?
Where should I slow down, clarify, or leave room for silence?

Keep the work together

When the worksheet becomes a sermon, SermonBuddy keeps the research and writing in view.

Start free with a focused workspace for passages, observations, research, outlines, and manuscript writing.

Start your sermon free