The inside of a plain stone church early in the morning, empty pews and a simple wooden lectern.

Sermon Outlines

Preach from the text itself.

Frameworks that begin in the passage and let its shape decide the shape of the sermon.

Sermon Outline

October 13, 202622 min read

1 Kings 18:20–40

Down to the Kishon

Fire falls on Carmel and the whole country falls on its face. Then the chapter walks back down the mountain to a dry riverbed, and most sermons stop at the top.

Read the outline

The Earth He Asked to Take Home

A captive girl says one sentence, an enemy general is healed in a river he despises, and then he asks the prophet for two mule-loads of dirt and permission to keep bowing in his king's temple. Elisha says, "Go in peace."October 6, 202622 min read

The Rest of the Commission

Everyone remembers "Here am I. Send me!" Almost no one preaches what God said next: go and speak to a people who will not hear, until the cities lie ruined and only a stump is left.September 29, 202622 min read

Until I Entered the Sanctuary

Psalm 73 is the testimony of a believer who nearly concluded that faithfulness was a waste of time, kept the thought to himself for the sake of others, and found his footing again in the place where God is worshipped.September 22, 202618 min read

The Son Who Would Not Go In

Jesus tells the story of a father and two sons to men who are grumbling about who he eats with. It ends with a party in full swing, the father standing in the yard, and the elder son still outside.September 15, 202622 min read

The Only Request He Refused

Three parties ask Jesus for something in this passage. He grants the demons their request and the town its request, and turns down the one man who wants to come with him.September 8, 202616 min read

The Man Who Had No One to Talk To

A farmer has a good year and plans the rest of his life in a conversation with himself. In three verses he says "I" eight times and finds no one else to consult.September 1, 202610 min read

The Peace That Stands Guard

Paul writes about anxiety from custody, to a congregation with a quarrel in it serious enough that he names the two women involved.August 25, 20266 min read

When the Answer Is Worse Than the Question

Habakkuk asks God why the wicked go unpunished. God replies that he is raising up the Babylonians, and the prophet is left holding a larger problem than the one he brought.August 18, 202619 min read