# Sermon Outlines in the Bulletin



## Backwoods Presbyterian

Question for the Board.

I am considering putting an insert in the bulletin each week with an outline of the sermon to give a place for note taking, etc...

Would like to hear pro/con's on the practice from preachers and pew-sitters alike.

Thanks as Always!


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## toddpedlar

Whatever you do, don't put an outline in with "fill in the blank" blanks. I can't stand that.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

toddpedlar said:


> Whatever you do, don't put an outline in with "fill in the blank" blanks. I can't stand that.



 That will not be a problem.


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## seajayrice

Great idea. I find note taking helps internalize the message and serves as a good discussion point for family devotions. I'd suggest posting your sermon notes on the church website and encourage the membership to read them in advance of the service.


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## Scottish Lass

I do like main headings/key points with room for me to add my own notes, but I'm not a fan of fill-in-the-blank versions, either. Oh, and I like the scripture reference to be at the top.


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## toddpedlar

If you're going to put a "fill-in-the-blank" version you might as well have a little "word search" puzzle too with words used in the sermon embedded therein... oh, yeah, and also a picture for you to color.


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## fredtgreco

Ben,

The con is having to have the outline ready at the time of bulletin printing. That restricts last minute changes, etc. So what we do is print a loose sheet and slip it into the bulletin. Our bulletin is legal paper folded in half and stapled as a booklet; so the insert is a legal sheet (landscape) with two inserts on a page and cut in half. That way it can be printed later than the bulletin. I've attached a sample.

View attachment 2058


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## KMK

fredtgreco said:


> The con is having to have the outline ready at the time of bulletin printing. That restricts last minute changes, etc. So what we do is print a loose sheet and slip it into the bulletin.



This is what we do as well.

One more con: Once you start, they will love it so much that they will never let you stop. It is a long-term commitment.


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## Romans922

Having outlines in bulletin can be a distraction, just as note taking can be distraction where the person in the pew is focused on taking notes and not on hearing the living God speak.


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## fredtgreco

KMK said:


> fredtgreco said:
> 
> 
> 
> The con is having to have the outline ready at the time of bulletin printing. That restricts last minute changes, etc. So what we do is print a loose sheet and slip it into the bulletin.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> This is what we do as well.
> 
> One more con: Once you start, they will love it so much that they will never let you stop. It is a long-term commitment.
Click to expand...

 
Exactly.


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## Joseph Scibbe

Romans922 said:


> Having outlines in bulletin can be a distraction, just as note taking can be distraction where the person in the pew is focused on taking notes and not on hearing the living God speak.


 
I disagree. I find that I retain more from a sermon when I takes notes. I usually bring a Moleskine and write in that.


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## Romans922

Joseph, just remember that I said, "can". And that one's taking of notes doesn't necessarily mean that there has to be an outline in the bulletin (see Josh's post above). If someone really wanted to take notes they could buy a notebook.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

Thanks as always.

Here is what I came up with in about 5 seconds.


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## he beholds

I guess from a Pastor's perspective this would be a con, but I admit to ever-so-rarely looking to the outline to see how close we are to the end of the sermon! (Just being honest!)

And I actually_ like_ fill-in-the-blanks, because they really do keep me paying attention. I imagine it has something to do with various learning styles/motivators. For some reason, when I've been to churches with those, I'm following every word with ease. I don't want to miss anything. I understand from the reactions above that others must be total opposite about this, but I like it a lot. (Well, if the fill-ins aren't the most obvious words!)

My pastor doesn't provide any type of outline, but our bulletins do have room for notes, I think. I bring a notebook and use it as often as I can, considering I've got little ones that like my lap : )

---------- Post added at 04:44 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:39 PM ----------




Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Thanks as always.
> 
> Here is what I came up with in about 5 seconds.


 
See, with what you drew up, I would prefer it to be 
II. Peter calls you to add to your Faith ____________ and ______________________.

[space for notes]

III. Peter calls you to add to your Faith ____________.

Or something. But I guess I can see a flaw with this because it might be hard to get when point two ends and point three begins.


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## Bill The Baptist

I think people tend to like an outline because it let's them know how much longer you are going to preach Seriously though, I think it is fine to have an outline printed because a lot of people find it helpful. My only issue would be the strain it will put on whoever cleans your building. I spent a summer many years ago working as a custodian at a church and I remember having to bend down and pick up all the sermon outlines that had fallen on the floor underneath the pews. Not fun.


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

Well we only print 18-20 bulletins per week so not too much cleaning up to do.


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## KMK

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Well we only print 18-20 bulletins per week so not too much cleaning up to do.



Us too. And then we have to stack all the chairs and sweep the floor anyway.


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## Bill The Baptist

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Well we only print 18-20 bulletins per week so not too much cleaning up to do.



That's not too bad then. The church I worked at had about 1000 people come through every Sunday.


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## Edward

We have a blank page headed with 'Sermon Notes", the reference to the verses (the verses are printed elsewhere in the order of worship) and the title of the sermon. On the facing page are some discussion questions to facilitate family worship during the week (separate questions for adults and for children) as well as some other material for that family time.


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## jwithnell

At out church, the bulletin has both the sermon main points and a set of questions to encourage afternoon discussion/reflection.


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## Ask Mr. Religion

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> I am considering putting an insert in the bulletin each week with an outline of the sermon to give a place for note taking, etc... Would like to hear pro/con's on the practice from preachers and pew-sitters alike.


Pros- a historical record that will come in handy when you publish your magnum opus. Cons- typos that you have to explain before the sermon. 

AMR


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## Curt

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> Here is what I came up with in about 5 seconds.



Five points? I thought you were a presbyterian.


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## N. Eshelman

I don't like them. To some degree I think that it steals some of the thunder of the sermon.


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## mvdm

We have outlines on separate 8 1/2" sheets with plenty of space for note taking. Most members, including young kids, find them helpful. For those that don't find it useful, they don't use them. It is simply an optional tool available.


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## CharlieJ

I think they're fine, but there are disadvantages. It can lull preachers into using the same sermon formats over and over again. I often employ inductive formats when I preach, which don't lend that well to outlining. Some very effective oratorical styles don't outline well. I remember hearing Mark Dever apologize once to the poor, frustrated note-takers of Capitol Hill Baptist. Of course, he can preach for an hour and leave you wanting more.

Also, outlines can confuse structure with content, and confuse sermons with lessons. At the end of my sermon, I don't really care that much if people can remember my "points." The points are just a framework for the message. I want to know if they encountered God through the preached Word, if they were challenged to view God, themselves, and their world afresh and biblically. Whether a congregant writes "God shepherds his wayward people" is of small account. What matters greatly is whether she is confronted with her sin, recognizes the alienation of waywardness, and trusts in the shepherd who was already rescuing her, offering love and service out of gratitude. You can't capture that in an outline or in notes. Sometimes notes and outlines feed the temptation to view the sermon as a static body of verbal content rather than as an event, as a means of grace in which God DOES things for his people. 

In the end, I like a sermon notes page, which really helps some people, but not necessarily an outline.


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## fredtgreco

In my opinion, sermon outlines are essential. Not written ones, but ones for the preacher. The crying need of the day is not for overly structured lessons, but for wandering, pointless, confusing muddled talking. Far too many preachers have no structure at all, and it is impossible for the congregation to follow. Immature preachers forget that they have spent a week (or NOT!) looking at a text, and that they have to actually fill in the gaps for the people in the pews. Powerful preachers throughout the have always had structure. Look at Spurgeon, Chrysostom, the Puritans, Gilbert Tenant, D. Lloyd Jones, Calvin, etc, etc, etc.

In my experience as a pastor, taking notes is very helpful for some, not so helpful for others. But remembering "points" (or take aways) is one of the best ways that the sermon takes root and grows in the Christian during the next week, month and year.


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## J. Dean

Speaking from the laymen's perspective, I appreciate sermon notes, as they do help the congregation to follow along. However, What I like is more or less an "essay form" in which the congregation has to do a little more than just "fill in the blank" as it forces more mulling over and contemplation of the preaching, rather than just putting a word in a blank and moving on.


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## Romans922

Fred, I hope you didn't think that I was referring to the preacher not having a sermon outline. I was meaning for the bulletin. 

Also, my friend showed me this awhile back and I was reminded of it when this conversation came up, it is from James M. Garretson's "Princeton and Preaching: Archibald Alexander and the Christian Ministry".

On note taking during the sermon:



> …[Archibald] Alexander believed that ‘experience teaches that the intense exercise of memory tends to prevent the proper exercise of the feeling and the emotions, which the truth ought to produce’. Although note taking is very common during the preaching of sermons, it may actually prevent the hearer experiencing the power of the words as they are being spoken. Preaching is a dynamic activity with an existential dimension that cannot be reproduced or recaptured, even with good notes and outlines. Powerful preaching grips the hearer in the moment of delivery. Hearts and minds are swept away in response to what is heard and applied. In turn, the will is moved to respond in the obedience of faith. ‘If we do not get the right impression of the truth while hearing a sermon, we are not likely to receive it from the perusal of notes of the discourse afterwards.’


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## Backwoods Presbyterian

I wanted to give an update. So often we ask for advice on this site and rarely do we hear the results.

After two weeks of use the bulletin inserts have become a big hit. The congregation is fond of them and have expressed to me they like having a place to take notes. One fella remarked to me it gives him an opportunity to have something he can take with him to work so that he can reflect on the sermon through the week. 

Thanks again as always Puritan Board!


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## KMK

Backwoods Presbyterian said:


> After two weeks of use the bulletin inserts have become a big hit. The congregation is fond of them and have expressed to me they like having a place to take notes. One fella remarked to me it gives him an opportunity to have something he can take with him to work so that he can reflect on the sermon through the week.



Now wait till you hear the comments on that Sunday when you forget to include the notes!


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## C. M. Sheffield

KMK said:


> Now wait till you hear the comments on that Sunday when you forget to include the notes!



Or when you skip or miss a sub-point that's printed in the bulletin - you're gonna hear about from "that guy" before you make it to your car!


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## Jack K

nleshelman said:


> I don't like them. To some degree I think that it steals some of the thunder of the sermon.


 
I'm inclined to agree. To suggest listeners take notes is to suggest the church thinks of the sermon as teaching time—as a lecture. Most sermons do include some teaching, but a good sermon is a different sort of speech from a classroom lecture. It isn't just about imparting info. It's chiefly about inspiring faith.

For that reason, I would vote to simply have a blank space somewhere in the bulletin for those may want to jot something down, but no outline.


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## C. M. Sheffield

Jack K said:


> I'm inclined to agree. To suggest listeners take notes is to suggest the church thinks of the sermon as teaching time—as a lecture. Most sermons do include some teaching, but a good sermon is a different sort of speech from a classroom lecture. It isn't just about imparting info. It's chiefly about inspiring faith.


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## Scottish Lass

I'm glad it's working for your congregation. They (or you) might want to tweak it later on, but any time a congregation embraces something new without a lot of fuss about how it used to be done is usually a good thing!


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