Think Twice Before Purchasing Someone Else’s Sermon Outlines

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It is very appealing to hear that purchasing someone else’s sermon outlines can save tons of time, but…

I love Logos as a tool and believe in using lots of tools. 99.9% of the time, I draw the line by refusing to use someone else’s sermon outline for my own preaching.

So, when I saw this ad by Logos, I thought I should send a caution. The product is:

Sermon Outlines For Busy Pastors (11 Volumes).

It is advertised this way:

“Today, pastors are busier than ever, with more time spent in ministry activities and less time spent in sermon preparation. Sermon Outlines for Busy Pastors: Sermons for All Occasions gives the busy pastor a head start on sermon preparation.

Pastors can save hundreds of hours a year, with the base research and layout for a year’s worth of sermons already in place.”

I have no doubt that this is true, but I believe it will cost most preachers way more than the cost of the product itself in terms of their preaching quality. I am not primarily thinking of plagiarism.

The reason is because of how important it is for preachers to identify their own style of outlining that works for them.

Whether preachers formally announces the main points or not, outlining shows how the preacher understands the logic of a text. That logic is critical for helping the sermon hold together for the listener.

Years ago, research showed that one common complaint from our listeners is that our sermons contain too many ideas. More than one thing contributes to this, but one important thing is whether or not we have presented a unifying logic. Outlines present that.

And one critical part of sermon preparation is identifying your own sense of the text’s interior logic.

Study other preacher’s outline if you can and you will see various ways in which outlines are done. But work hard at your own outline so that it works for you and your listeners. Let them see how the major thought blocks of your preaching portion hold together and our God will receive glory in the church and in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 3:21).

Randal

P.S. My outline from yesterday’s sermon on Matthew 7:15-20 was:

  1. “Beware of false prophets…” (v. 15a)
  2. Here’s what to look for” (vv. 15b-18, 20)
  3. The implied warning to all of us (v. 19)

It worked for us. I felt I owned the logic of it. It made sense to me as a pathway to the theological interpretation of this part of the Sermon on the Mount.

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Categories: argument, logical flow, movement, outline, pastoral preaching, preaching, sermon development, structure, style, unity
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Your thoughts?

5 thoughts on “Think Twice Before Purchasing Someone Else’s Sermon Outlines”

  1. Pingback: Preaching Post Roundup (September 29, 2022) | From Text to Sermon

  2. When I was in youth ministry, I always did my own messages. There were times that I would get other outlines, but I would go over it with a fine toothed comb and change it for my audience. But I also liked to have them available if I was going to be out of town and needed one of the volunteers to teach in my place. But, when you don’t do your own sermon outline, it doesn’t feel genuine and you feel disconnected.

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  3. I agree. Preachers should think twice before purchasing someone else’s sermon outlines. I would have like to have heard your sermon in its entirety from Matthew 7: 15-20. Your outlines are clear and dead on and I know that God was pleased.

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