Every so often I will talk with a minister who asks me, “How do you come up with so many creative subjects to talk about? I mean, sometimes I sit at my desk and getting started on a new sermon series is like being asked to do the impossible task.”
My normal response is to ask, “Do you keep a list of possible topics? I have a long list. Often I add ideas during my quiet time. The number of possible topics is almost limitless.”
Faith — Prayer — Witnessing — Overcoming Temptation — Forgiveness — Guilt — Contentment — The Kingdom — Fear — Excuses— Pain — The Tongue — Revenge — Tears — Aging — Prophecy — Gossip — Hospitality — Freedom — Stewardship — Missions — The Conscience — Trust — Patience — War — Enemy — Salvation — Hope — Bitterness — Fame — Judging — Human Dignity — Lying — Revival — Conflict — Praise — Boasting — Heaven — Confession — Dreams — The Holy Spirit — Stress — Family — Work — Values — etc., etc., etc.
Some topics are on my list because they are an area I’m working on in my personal life. Others made it there because I picked up sermon ideas in a conversation with someone who said it was an interest or an area of personal concern. Sometimes the idea comes from an article I read, a movie I watch, or even someone else’s church sermon I heard.
Without writing these topics down, however, I find the sermon ideas too easily escape me. But once I capture them on paper or my computer and add a few notes, they are mine to return to whenever I get stuck.
Rather than having to start from scratch, I find that a good list of sermon ideas quickly engages my mind and sets it off and running once again.
