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Sermon outline template: from big idea to invitation

A sermon outline is the skeleton of the message: one big idea, an introduction that opens the passage, two to four points drawn from the text, and a conclusion that calls for a response. Copy the template below, fill in each line, and you have a plan you can preach from or build a manuscript on. Further down is a real outline Prepser built from a recorded sermon, so you can see the template filled in.

The template

1. Title: ___
2. Passage: ___
3. Big idea (one sentence the whole sermon proves): ___
4. Introduction
   • Opening story, question or image: ___
   • Why this passage matters to these listeners this week: ___
   • Read the passage.
5. Point 1 (a sentence, not a word): ___
   • What the text says (verses ___): ___
   • What it means: ___
   • Illustration: ___
   • Application: ___
6. Point 2: ___ (same four lines)
7. Point 3: ___ (same four lines; leave it out for a 15-minute message)
8. Conclusion: restate the big idea in new words; return to the opening story.
9. Invitation: what you are asking people to do, and how they respond (come forward, pray where they sit, talk to someone after).
10. Closing prayer: ___

How to fill it in

• Write the big idea first. If you can't say the sermon in one sentence, the outline won't hold together. Every point should prove or apply that sentence.
• Let the passage set the points. Follow the text's own movement: its paragraphs, its turns, its repeated words. Points that come from the text are easier to remember and harder to argue with.
• Write points as sentences. "The yoke is shared, not removed" tells you what to say; "The yoke" doesn't.
• One illustration per point. More than that and the illustrations become the sermon.
• Plan the invitation. Decide in the study, not at the pulpit, what you will ask for and how long you will take. More on how to give an altar call.
• Fit the length. Two points suit 15 minutes; three suit 30 to 40.

Three ways to shape an outline

• Expository: the points follow the passage verse by verse, and the outline is the text's own structure.
• Textual: one passage, one message. The points come from a single verse or short text, arranged around its main idea.
• Topical: the big idea comes first, and the points gather several passages that speak to it, as in a topical series.

Example: an outline from a recorded sermon on Matthew 11:28–30

This is the outline Prepser built from "Come to Me, All Who Are Weary", the nine-minute sample sermon every new user finds in the app. It appears here exactly as it appears in the app.

1. Introduction: "I didn't think I was allowed to say it"
   • Reading of Matthew 11:28–30
   • Walter, twenty-two years of stacking chairs, found with his head in his hands
   • Jesus addresses the tired, not those who have it together; if you are weary, this passage was written for you
2. The invitation is for the weary, not the worthy
   • "All who labor": tired from what we carry ourselves; "heavy laden": tired from what was loaded onto us; Jesus says "all"
   • The religious system of Jesus' day tied up heavy burdens (Matthew 23:4) and told people they could not say they were tired
   • We do the same to ourselves when we try to earn the presence of God
   • Rest is the gift at the beginning, not the reward at the end
3. The yoke is shared, not removed
   • Jesus offers a yoke, not freedom from work
   • A yoke was always for two; the older ox sets the pace and carries the weight
   • "Easy" means well-fitting: it does not chafe; the yoke we built from expectations and guilt is the one that hurts
   • The only self-description of Jesus' heart in the Gospels: gentle and lowly
4. Rest is a Person, not a place
   • "Rest for your souls," not rest for your schedule; days off do not touch soul-tiredness
   • Every verb points to Jesus himself: come to me, take my yoke, learn from me
   • The burden is light because he carries it with us
5. Walter, a year later
   • Still stacks the chairs, but "I do it because I'm walking next to him, and that's just where we were going"
6. Invitation and closing prayer
   • Are you tired in your soul? Jesus says "come," now, before you fix anything
   • Come forward during the song to be prayed for; come to Jesus for the first time
   • Prayer: teach us your gentle heart, fit us with your yoke, give us rest for our souls

Laid over the template: the big idea, in our words, is that Jesus gives rest to the weary and that rest is himself; the introduction opens with a story and reads the passage; three points follow the text; Walter's story returns in the conclusion; the invitation names what to do. The same sermon's small group questions are on the questions template.

A drafted outline for an upcoming Sunday

For a passage you haven't preached yet, a draft from Prepser starts with an outline at a glance. See the outline and the draft for the fourth Sunday of Advent in the Advent sermon on love from John 3:16–17, or read how the AI sermon draft generator builds on your own notes.

Frequently asked

Related

• How to write a sermon outline, step by step
• Small group discussion questions from a sermon
• AI sermon draft generator that starts from your own preaching
• Advent sermon series: hope, peace, joy and love

Updated October 31, 2026 · Sample outline from the sample notes in Prepser 1.1.1. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.