Why There Is Power in the Sermon-Writing Process
This article reflects on the growing use of AI in sermon preparation and affirms that technology can be a helpful resource without replacing the spiritual work of preaching. The author argues that while AI can offer structure and information, it cannot reproduce the Holy Spirit’s work in the heart of a preacher. The sermon-writing process itself becomes part of pastoral formation.
- AI can assist pastors with sermon preparation, but how it is used matters.
- Preaching requires more than accurate information; it requires Spirit-empowered formation.
- The process of studying Scripture remains essential to the power of preaching.
By Chris Philbeck
I want to begin with a confession. I’m not very savvy when it comes to technology. I was reminded of that in a recent mentoring call with some younger preachers about the use of technology, with an emphasis on AI, in sermon writing. After what I considered a great discussion about the positive and negative realities of AI, one of the preachers, with a strong technology background, shared his view that AI was most helpful when used as a resource to “talk to.” He then gave some examples of how “talking to AI” can aid the “process” of writing a sermon without replacing it, something I thought was helpful because the issue isn’t whether pastors are using AI for sermon writing, it’s “how” it’s being used. I write that based on a 2025 nationwide survey conducted by AiForChurchLeaders.com and Exponential AI NEXT revealing that pastors are adopting AI at a pace few anticipated as 61 percent now use it weekly or daily, and 64 percent rely on it for sermon preparation.
From a personal standpoint, I’m 100 percent supportive of embracing new and better resources for sermon writing. But then again, my sermon writing roots go back to using a Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and a Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words. I remember being so thankful when those kinds of resources were replaced by online Bible study tools because they streamlined much of the study process. But AI takes sermon resources to a new level. Recently, just for fun (and for research because it’s something I had never done before), I asked ChatGPT to write a 3,000-word sermon for me about “Overcoming Temptation.” The result came in a matter of seconds. The title was, “The Way of Escape: Finding Victory in the Wilderness” and the Scripture text was 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 1:12-15, and Matthew 4:1-11. There was an introduction, five points, and a conclusion that included a call to action. This is how the sermon was described: “This sermon outline provides a deep, theological, and practical exploration of overcoming temptation, structured to reach approximately 3,000 words when expanded with personal anecdotes and congregational engagement.” As I read through the outline, I was impressed with how biblical and practical it was. In fact, I couldn’t find anything wrong with it, with one exception.
Logic on Fire
In a June 2023 online article published by The Gospel Coalition, Aaron Shamp shared the story about a time Martin Lloyd Jones was asked to describe preaching. He responded by saying that preaching was “logic on fire.” He went on to explain that preaching is a marriage of reason and Spirit. In other words, it’s not merely a transfer of information; rather, the mind is on fire with the Holy Spirit’s filling. He then wrote, “If a sermon is ‘logic on fire,’ then both its preparation and delivery require a mind and heart that the Holy Spirit empowers to love God and love people.”
I’ve been retired from full-time ministry for a year-and-a-half. After 18 months as a youth pastor, I spent the next 43 years serving three different churches as a lead pastor. When it came to writing sermons, I was never a “grinder” in the sense of setting aside one single day to write the weekend message. I know that works for some people, but it didn’t work for me. Instead, I would begin on Tuesday and finish on Thursday because a big part of my process was “living” with the message. I wanted to experience the work God would do in me before he used me to deliver the message. And as helpful as AI can be in sermon writing from an informational standpoint, it will always come up short from a personal spiritual standpoint because, again, as Martin Lloyd Jones wrote, “Preaching is logic on fire … it’s a marriage of reason and Spirit.” E.M. Bounds shared a similar belief in his book, Power Through Prayer. He wrote, “The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men.”
Where Preaching Gets Its Power
In the conclusion of Aaron Shamp’s Gospel Coalition article he writes: “People have argued that ChatGPT lacks heart in its sermons, a limitation that will disappear as it better approximates human emotion. But that’s not the core of the issue. AI will never replace human-authored sermons because it lacks a mind that knows God and is empowered by his Spirit—a mind the Holy Spirit illuminates and sets ablaze, a heart that knows and loves God, and a soul that delivers embodied knowledge to his people.”
When writing this article, I asked ChatGPT to help me come up with a title. Here are the results: “Plagiarism: The risk of passing on AI-generated content as original study,” “Loss of Soul/Authenticity: AI cannot replicate the personal, Spirit-filled connection of a human pastor,” “Shallow Theology: AI tends toward generic, non-nuanced content,” and “The Grind is Good: The process of studying Scripture is part of a pastor’s formation.”
I liked “The Grind is Good,” but I wanted to be original and my personal conviction when it comes to writing sermons is, “There’s Power in the Process” (the power of the Holy Spirit). Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (New Living Translation). The Bible is full of power. When we read it, the Holy Spirit brings both understanding and application. The same is true when we preach. The Holy Spirit makes God’s Word come alive in our lives and the lives of those who hear us preach. There’s a “Power” in the process that AI will never be able to match or produce. So, in the end, while technology can aid the study process, it will never replace the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the student called to share a Word from God. There’s power in the process!
Author: Chris Philbeck
Chris Philbeck serves as senior pastor of Mount Pleasant Christian Church in Greenwood, Indiana. He has been in ministry since 1980 and has had the privilege of planting a new church, leading a turn-around church, and now leading a megachurch. Chris is passionate about biblical preaching, effective leadership, and developing new and better ways for the local church to make an impact in the community and the world.
