How to write a sermon outline, step by step

By the Prepser team · Updated November 5, 2026

To write a sermon outline, study the passage first, then sum up its message in one sentence, the big idea. Draw two to four main points from the way the passage itself moves, and under each point plan what the text says, what it means, one illustration and one application. Write the introduction and conclusion last, and decide in the study what response you will ask for.

An outline is not a lesser form of the sermon. It is the plan that keeps a manuscript from wandering and keeps notes from becoming a list of loose thoughts. Whether you preach from every word written out, a page of notes or nothing at all, the work below is the same, and it is most of the work of writing a sermon.

Seven steps from passage to outline

1. Choose a passage that is one complete unit. Start and stop where the text does: a paragraph in a letter, one scene in a Gospel, a whole psalm. A passage that ends mid-thought leaves you preaching half an argument. Read it several times, aloud at least once, and in more than one translation if you can.
2. Study before you outline. Ask what the passage meant to its first readers before you ask what it means this Sunday. Note who is speaking and to whom, what comes just before and after, the words that repeat, and the places where the text turns: but, therefore, so that. Write down every question the text raises. Commentaries help most after you have done your own reading, not before.
3. Write the big idea in one sentence. This is the message of the sermon, said plainly enough to fit on a card. For Matthew 11:28–30 it might be: Jesus gives rest to the weary, and that rest is himself. If you cannot write that sentence yet, keep studying; the outline will not hold together without it. Every point that follows either explains this sentence or shows what it asks of the listener.
4. Draw the main points from the passage. Let the text set the shape. Its paragraphs, turns and repeated words usually give you two to four movements, and those are your points. Write each one as a full sentence, not a single word: "The yoke is shared, not removed" tells you what to say; "The yoke" does not. Points that come from the text are easier for listeners to remember and easier for you to defend.
5. Fill each point with four lines. Under every point, plan what the text says (with verse numbers), what it means, one illustration, and one application. One illustration per point is usually enough; more than that and the stories become the sermon. Make the application concrete enough that someone could act on it on Monday.
6. Write the introduction and the conclusion last. Now that you know where the sermon goes, you know how to start it. A good introduction raises the question the passage answers and shows why it matters to these listeners this week. A good conclusion restates the big idea in fresh words, and often returns to the story or image you opened with.
7. Plan the response, then check the length. Decide what you are asking people to do and how they can respond: pray where they sit, come forward, talk with someone after the service, take one step this week. Then time the outline. As a rough guide, two points often suit a 15-minute message and three suit 30 to 40 minutes. If it runs long, cut a point rather than rushing every point.

Want a page to fill in as you go? The fill-in sermon outline template follows these steps line by line, and shows a real outline Prepser built from a recorded sermon on the same passage.

Expository, textual or topical: pick the shape first

The seven steps work for any sermon, but where the points come from depends on the kind of sermon you are writing.

• Expository: the points follow the passage in order, often verse by verse, so the outline is the text's own structure. This is the natural shape for preaching through a book.
• Textual: one short text, one message. The points come from a single verse or a few verses, arranged around its main idea rather than strictly in order.
• Topical: the big idea comes first, and each point draws on a passage that speaks to it. Study each passage in its own context before it goes into the outline, so the verses support the point instead of decorating it.

From outline to a full sermon

Once the outline is done, writing the sermon is mostly a matter of turning each line into spoken paragraphs. Some pastors write out every word to think clearly and then preach from the outline; others preach from the outline alone. Either way:

• Write for the ear. Short sentences, clear transitions, the big idea said more than once. Listeners cannot reread a paragraph.
• Mark the transitions. A one-line bridge between points ("If the yoke is shared, who sets the pace?") keeps the congregation with you.
• Read it aloud before Sunday. You will hear the sentences that are too long and the points that are thin, and you will learn how long the sermon really runs.
• Keep the sermon after you preach it. The outline, the manuscript and a recording are material for a future series, small group questions and next year's planning.

Common outline mistakes

• Points that do not come from the text. If you could preach the same three points from a different passage, the outline is about your topic, not this text.
• Too many points. Five points in thirty minutes usually means none of them gets explained, illustrated and applied. Check whether two of them are one point, or whether one belongs in next week's sermon.
• Application saved for the end. If every point is explanation and the application waits for the last two minutes, the sermon feels like a lecture. Apply as you go.
• No big idea. An outline without one sentence at the top is a list of observations. Listeners leave remembering a story, not the message.
• Outlining before studying. Writing points first and finding verses later is the quickest way to make the text say what you already planned to say.

Related

• Sermon outline template with a real example
• Small group discussion questions from a sermon
• Advent sermon series: hope, peace, joy and love

App steps checked against Prepser 1.1.4.