AI Sermon Planner
AI-powered sermon preparation and series planning—generate structured outlines, discover relevant scriptures, and develop cohesive teaching series with intelligent assistance.
Overview
The AI Sermon Planner is like having a seminary-trained research assistant who never sleeps. It doesn't write your sermon for you—your unique voice, pastoral insight, and Holy Spirit's leading are irreplaceable. But it can dramatically reduce the hours you spend staring at a blank page, digging through commentaries, or trying to structure your thoughts.
Whether you're developing a 12-week series on the Psalms, preparing a timely message on a current cultural topic, or searching for the perfect illustration to make a point land, the AI Sermon Planner helps you work faster and more creatively. It suggests sermon structures, finds related scriptures you might have missed, generates discussion questions for small groups, and even helps you adapt messages for different audiences.
The AI understands theological concepts, biblical context, and homiletical structure. It's trained on thousands of sermons, biblical commentaries, and theological resources—but it always presents options for you to choose, refine, and make your own.
Key Concepts
Sermon Outlines
Structured frameworks for your message—main points, sub-points, scripture references, and suggested flow. The AI generates outlines in various styles: topical, expositional, narrative, or thematic.
Scripture Suggestions
The AI can find related passages, cross-references, and supporting verses based on your topic or primary text. It understands thematic connections and biblical theology, not just keyword matching.
Sermon Series Planning
Multi-week teaching plans with cohesive themes, progressive learning, and balanced coverage. The AI helps you map out 4-12 week series with titles, key scriptures, and main ideas for each message.
Getting Started
Step 1: Starting a New Sermon
Navigate to AI Tools → Sermon Planner and click "New Sermon". You'll see a simple prompt interface where you describe what you want to teach.
The more specific you are, the better the AI's suggestions:
✓ Good prompts include:
- • The main scripture passage or topic
- • Your target audience (youth, adults, seekers, etc.)
- • Desired sermon length (20-minute, 30-minute, 45-minute)
- • The style or approach (expositional, topical, narrative)
- • Any specific application or life situations to address
The AI will generate an initial outline within seconds. From there, you can refine, expand, or request alternatives.
Step 2: Generating Outlines
Once you've entered your initial prompt, the AI presents a structured outline with:
- Sermon Title: Catchy, clear, and connected to the message
- Main Points: 2-4 big ideas that structure the message
- Sub-Points: Supporting ideas under each main point
- Scripture References: Primary and supporting passages
- Transitions: Suggested ways to move between points
- Introduction Hook: Opening ideas to grab attention
- Conclusion/Call to Action: How to close strong
You can interact with each section:
- • Click "Expand" to get more detail on any point
- • Click "Regenerate" to get alternative phrasing
- • Click "Add Point" to request additional content
- • Manually edit any text to customize it
Step 3: Refining with AI
The real power comes from conversational refinement. Use the chat interface to ask for changes:
Example follow-up prompts:
- →"Make point 2 more practical—add everyday examples"
- →"Suggest 3 illustrations for the concept of grace"
- →"Add a point addressing common doubts about prayer"
- →"Rewrite the intro for a younger audience"
- →"Find Old Testament passages that connect to this theme"
Each refinement builds on the previous version, creating a personalized outline that fits your teaching style.
Prompt Examples
Here are real-world prompts that produce excellent results. Copy, adapt, and make them your own:
Example 1: Expositional Sermon
Goal: Deep dive into a specific passage with application
"Generate a 30-minute sermon outline on forgiveness from Matthew 18:21-35 (the parable of the unforgiving servant). Target audience is young adults who struggle with letting go of past hurts. Include practical steps for forgiving someone who isn't sorry. Make it conversational and grace-filled, not guilt-inducing."
What you'll get: A 3-point outline exploring the parable's context, the radical nature of God's forgiveness, and practical steps to release bitterness—with modern illustrations and a compassionate tone.
Example 2: Multi-Week Series
Goal: Plan a cohesive teaching series for a specific season
"Create a 4-week Advent sermon series titled 'Hope Has a Name' for a traditional congregation. Each week should focus on a different aspect of Christ's coming: prophecy, incarnation, purpose, and second coming. Include key scriptures, main themes, and suggested Christmas carols that connect to each message."
What you'll get: A complete series plan with titles, 1-2 key scriptures per week, 3-4 main points per sermon, thematic progression across the month, and worship song suggestions that reinforce the teaching.
Example 3: Topical/Apologetic Sermon
Goal: Address a contemporary issue or question with biblical wisdom
"Generate a 35-minute sermon outline addressing anxiety and mental health from a Christian perspective. Use Philippians 4:6-7 as the anchor text but include other relevant passages. Audience is a mix of believers and seekers who may be on medication or in therapy. Avoid clichés like 'just pray more'—be pastorally sensitive and scientifically informed."
What you'll get: A balanced outline that validates the reality of anxiety, explores biblical responses (prayer, community, renewing the mind), affirms professional help, and offers hope without oversimplifying—with statistics, stories, and gentle pastoral guidance.
Example 4: Illustration & Content Support
Goal: Enhance an existing sermon with stories and examples
"Suggest 5 powerful illustrations for a sermon on generosity and stewardship. Include at least one from church history, one from current events, one personal story prompt, and one from nature or everyday life. Target audience is middle-class Americans who tithe but struggle with radical generosity."
What you'll get: Five diverse illustrations—perhaps the story of George Müller's faith-driven orphanages, a recent news story about community generosity, a nature metaphor about rivers vs. reservoirs, a prompt to share your own giving story, and a cultural observation about consumerism—each with a brief explanation of how it connects to your message.
Important Reminder
The AI generates suggestions, not finished sermons. Always review for theological accuracy, cultural sensitivity, and fit with your congregation's context. Use AI to accelerate your preparation, not replace your pastoral discernment.
Advanced Features
Series Arc Builder
For longer sermon series (6-12 weeks), the AI helps you maintain thematic coherence and avoid repetition:
- Start a new series and describe the overall theme or book of the Bible
- AI suggests how many weeks and what to cover each week
- Review the proposed arc—does it build logically? Any gaps?
- Dive into any week to generate a detailed outline
- AI remembers what was covered in previous weeks to avoid overlap
Perfect for walking through a book of the Bible, character studies, or thematic series on topics like "Spiritual Disciplines" or "The Names of God."
Audience Adaptation
The same biblical truth lands differently with youth vs. seniors, seekers vs. mature believers. The AI can adapt content:
Example prompts:
- • "Rewrite this for high schoolers—use current slang and pop culture references"
- • "Adapt this outline for a funeral sermon"
- • "Make this more evangelistic—assume half the audience isn't Christian"
- • "Simplify for elementary-age kids"
The core message stays the same; the language, illustrations, and application shift to fit the audience.
Scripture Discovery & Cross-References
The AI has deep knowledge of biblical connections:
Ask for:
- • "Show me where else Jesus talks about this theme"
- • "Find Old Testament prophecies that connect to this passage"
- • "What are the best parallel passages in other Gospels?"
- • "Suggest Psalms that express this same emotion"
- • "Find Proverbs that apply to this life situation"
Results include full citations and brief context for each suggestion so you can decide which to include.
Best Practices
- ✓Start early in the week: Give yourself time to refine and personalize AI suggestions rather than using them raw on Saturday night
- ✓Be specific in prompts: Vague input = vague output. Include audience, length, tone, and key points you want covered
- ✓Review for theology: AI is trained on diverse sources—always check suggestions against scripture and sound doctrine
- ✓Add your stories: AI can suggest illustration types, but your personal experiences are what make sermons memorable
- ✓Cite sources when quoting: If you use an AI-suggested quote or statistic, verify it independently and cite the original source
- ✓Save your best prompts: When a prompt produces great results, save it as a template for future use
Common Questions
Q: Will my congregation notice I'm using AI?
A: Not if you personalize it. AI provides structure and ideas—you add your voice, local context, pastoral heart, and Holy Spirit's leading. Think of it like using a commentary or sermon illustration book: a tool, not a replacement for your preparation.
Q: Is it ethical to use AI for sermon preparation?
A: Using tools to aid preparation has always been part of ministry—concordances, commentaries, sermon illustrations, study Bibles. AI is a new tool in that tradition. Be transparent if asked, and ensure the final message reflects your pastoral insight and theological conviction.
Q: Can AI help with sermon illustrations?
A: Yes! Ask for illustration suggestions by type (historical, contemporary, personal story prompts, nature metaphors, cultural observations). The AI provides concepts and starting points—you refine them to fit your context.
Q: What denominations or theological traditions does the AI support?
A: The AI is trained broadly and can adapt to your tradition if you specify it in your prompt (e.g., "from a Reformed perspective," "in the Wesleyan tradition," "charismatic style"). Always review for alignment with your church's beliefs.