Sermon Outlines in the Bulletin

[C. M. Sheffield]

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!

 

[Jack K]

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.

 

[C. M. Sheffield]

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.

 

[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!