How to Write a Sermon Outline: A Step-by-Step Guide for Pastors

The sermon outline is the skeleton of your message. It won't do the preaching for you — but without it, you don't have a sermon, you have a collection of observations that may or may not say anything coherent. Every memorable, transformative sermon you've ever heard was built on a structure. You just didn't notice it because the structure was doing its job.

This guide walks through the process of building that structure from scratch, starting with the text and ending with an outline you could actually preach from.

Why Outlining Matters

An outline serves three critical functions. First, it forces clarity — you cannot outline what you don't understand. If your outline is fuzzy, your understanding of the text is fuzzy. Second, it gives the congregation a map — people follow arguments better when they have structural markers. Third, it gives you freedom — when you know where you're going, you can be present in the delivery instead of anxious about what comes next.

Some preachers resist outlining because it feels mechanical. But the greatest expository preachers in history — from Spurgeon to Lloyd-Jones to Haddon Robinson — were meticulous outliners. The outline is what makes spontaneity possible. You can improvise in a jazz band because you know the chord structure. The same principle applies to preaching.

The Anatomy of a Strong Sermon

Before building your outline, it helps to understand what parts a complete sermon needs:

• Introduction: Hooks attention, establishes relevance, introduces the text and big idea
• Main points: Usually 2–4 points that unfold, explain, or apply the text
• Sub-points: Supporting observations, cross-references, or arguments under each main point
• Illustrations: Stories, analogies, or examples that make abstract truths concrete
• Application: What the text asks of the congregation — specific, actionable, tied to their real life
• Conclusion: Brings everything back to the big idea and calls for response

Step 1: Choose Your Text and Observe It Carefully

If you're preaching expositionally (working through a book), your text is already chosen. If not, choose a passage that addresses a need your congregation has, that you feel compelled by, or that fits the season of your church's life.

Once you have your text, read it carefully and repeatedly before consulting any commentary. Write down everything you observe: repeated words, contrasts, commands, promises, questions, structural markers ("therefore," "but," "so that"), and anything that confuses or surprises you. Your observations are the raw material of your outline.

Step 2: Find the Big Idea

The big idea is a single sentence that captures both what the text says and what it means for today's audience. It has a subject (what the text is about) and a complement (what it says about the subject).

For example, a passage like Philippians 4:6–7 might yield this big idea: "Anxious people find peace not by eliminating their problems but by bringing them to God in prayer." That's a complete thought. Everything in the sermon either proves, explains, or applies that idea.

Don't move forward until you have this sentence. It will save you hours of spinning in the wrong direction.

Step 3: Determine Your Sermon Type

Different texts and purposes call for different structural approaches. The main types:

• Expository: Main points come directly from the structure of the text. Best for narrative passages and epistle sections with clear internal structure.
• Topical: Multiple texts supporting a single topic or theme. Best for doctrinal series or addressing specific congregational needs.
• Narrative: Follows the story arc of the text. Best for Old Testament narrative, parables, and Gospel passages.
• Problem-Solution: Establishes a felt need, then shows how the text answers it. Best for evangelistic messages or topical teaching.
• Inductive: Works toward the main point rather than starting with it. Creates suspense and discovery. Requires more storytelling skill.

You don't need to decide this up front — it often becomes obvious once you know your big idea and your text structure. But being intentional about it will shape everything else.

Step 4: Build Your Main Points

Your main points are the primary movements of your argument. Three things make a good main point:

1. It flows from the text. If someone asked "where does that come from?" you should be able to point to the passage.
2. It advances the big idea. Each point should either explain, prove, or apply the central proposition.
3. It's distinct from the other points. If two main points are making the same argument, combine them.

On the number of points: two to four is the range where most sermons live. Three is classic for a reason — it's enough to develop an idea fully without overtaxing your congregation's attention. More than four and you're probably either covering too much ground or subdividing things that belong together.

Write your main points as complete sentences, not single words or phrases. "The peace of God" is a topic. "The peace of God guards us when we choose prayer over anxiety" is a point. The sentence version tells you what you're actually arguing.

Step 5: Add Sub-Points and Supporting Material

Under each main point, add:

• Explanation: What does this point mean? Explain it clearly for someone who has never heard it before.
• Argumentation: Why should they believe it? What does the text say? What does the rest of Scripture say?
• Illustration: What story, analogy, or example makes this concrete and memorable?
• Application: So what? What does this ask of them specifically?

Not every sub-point needs all four elements. But every main point should have at least explanation and application, and at least one illustration in the sermon overall.

Step 6: Craft Your Introduction

The introduction has one job: to make the congregation want to hear the rest of the sermon. It accomplishes this by either creating a felt need ("here's a problem you have"), generating curiosity ("here's something surprising"), or drawing them into a compelling story. It should be the last thing you write and the most carefully prepared thing you deliver.

Avoid starting with "Turn with me in your Bibles to..." — that's navigation, not introduction. The introduction should precede the text. Create the question the sermon will answer before you open the passage.

Step 7: Write Your Conclusion and Application

The conclusion should do three things: return to the big idea, summarize the main movements of the sermon, and call for a specific response. The call to response is not optional — it's the point. "Go love someone" is not a conclusion. "This week, call the person you've been avoiding and have the conversation you owe them" is a conclusion.

Be specific. The more specific the application, the more it costs — and the more it costs, the more likely it is to produce real change. Comfortable, vague application is the enemy of preaching that transforms.

Three Sermon Outline Templates

Template 1: Classic Expository (3-Point)

Big Idea: [One sentence]

Introduction: Hook + context + text reading + big idea statement

Point 1: [From the text] + Explanation + Illustration + Application
Point 2: [From the text] + Explanation + Cross-reference + Application
Point 3: [From the text] + Explanation + Illustration + Application

Conclusion: Return to big idea + call for response + closing image

Template 2: Narrative Arc

Big Idea: [One sentence]

Introduction: Enter the story world — set the scene

Movement 1: Establish the conflict or need
Movement 2: Deepen the tension — show what's at stake
Movement 3: The turn — God acts, the character responds
Movement 4: Resolution and application — what does this mean for us?

Conclusion: Bring the story forward into today + call for response

Template 3: Problem-Solution

Big Idea: [One sentence]

Introduction: Name the problem your congregation actually faces

Part 1 — The Problem: Take the problem seriously; show its depth and consequences
Part 2 — The World's Answers: Why the usual solutions don't actually work
Part 3 — The Text's Answer: What this passage offers — with explanation and illustration

Conclusion: Specific application + call for response

Common Outline Mistakes

• Main points that are all the same. "We should trust God, rely on God, and depend on God" is one point repeated three times.
• Main points that don't flow from the text. If the text doesn't say it, it's not a main point — it's a tangent.
• An introduction that takes 15 minutes. Your introduction should be 10–15% of your total message time. More than that and you're using your best attention capital on setup.
• Application that's only addressed in the conclusion. Every main point should have application embedded in it. Saving all the "so what" for the end means your congregation has been waiting 30 minutes to find out why this matters.
• A conclusion that introduces new material. The conclusion is not the place to add a fourth point you forgot. Land the plane you've been flying.

A good sermon outline is a servant, not a master. Once you've built it, preach from it with freedom. The structure exists to serve your congregation, not to impress anyone with its symmetry.