Where to Get Great Sermon Ideas
As a pastor, you’re expected to come up with 52 sermon ideas each year. And that’s just for Sunday morning! If your sermon is 40 minutes long, that’s like writing a one-hour TV show each week!
Even TV shows don’t do that (the average season for TV shows includes 23 episodes).
Unless you have a writing team like these TV shows do, you’re in a tough situation. How do you come up with solid sermon ideas each week without your well of creativity running dry?
To ease your stress a bit, we put together a list of great places you can get sermon ideas. Start incorporating these sources into your usual routine, and we guarantee you’ll have a much easier time developing sermon ideas in the future.
Source 1 for Sermon Ideas: Podcasts
There are so many great churches out there with great pastors. And many of these consistently come up with solid sermon ideas. Subscribe to their podcasts. Even if you don’t have time to listen to each one, consult with the titles and descriptions they’re using. You might just find sermon idea gold in those hills.
Here are a few to check out:
- Elevation Church
- Church on the Move
- Saddleback Church
- Willow Creek Community Church
- Cross Point Church
- North Point Community Church
Source 2 for Sermon Ideas: This Site
While this site focuses more on the visual side of sermon series ideas, there’s huge value in subscribing to this site. When you see what other churches are trying, it can give you a better perspective of what’s possible for your church.
Source 3 for Sermon Ideas: Social Media
Imagine if you could listen in on your congregation and community to hear what questions they’re asking. You can! Through social media.
Why not do a Twitter search in your location and see what people are talking about. You can even search specific issues like “divorce”, “money”, and “hate”. See what issues people in your area are struggling with. You can get sermon ideas that will speak directly to the questions they’re asking. How cool is that!
Trust God to Lead You
If God can speak through a donkey, He can speak through the podcasts, websites, and social media platforms. As you explore these resources, trust God to prick your heart with something special. These ideas might spark sermon ideas inside you that are completely different than what you’re seeing. These might merely be a catalyst to allow God to give you a brilliant and fresh idea for your sermons.
Your turn! Where do you get your best sermon ideas? What resources have you found helpful to reduce the overwhelming burden of churning out 52 sermon ideas a year? Share in a comment below.
