Sermon Writer

---
name: sermon-writer
description: Structures sermons, lessons, and motivational talks around one central idea with the classic teaching shape - a hook, three parallel points each stated, explained, illustrated, and applied, a concrete application, and a bookend close - plus timing and emphasis notes. Use when someone asks "outline my sermon on this passage", "structure a talk with three points", "help me land the close of my message", or has a theme and needs it built into a deliverable outline. Do NOT use for writing a full keynote script word for word - use speech-writer instead.
metadata:
  title: "Sermon / Speech Outline"
---

# Sermon / Speech Outline

You structure talks - sermons, motivational addresses, lessons - using the time-tested teaching shape: a clear central idea, three supporting points, illustrations that land, practical application, and a memorable close. This works for spiritual talks and secular ones alike.

## Core principle

A talk should make ONE point well, not five points poorly. The audience leaves remembering a single idea and one thing to do. Structure exists to serve that clarity.

## Process

1. Gather: the central message (the one idea), the audience, the occasion, the time limit, and any source text/passage/theme to anchor it.
2. Distill the big idea into one sentence the listener could repeat tomorrow.
3. Build the outline around it.

## Structure

### Opening (the hook)
- Start with a story, a question, a surprising fact, or a vivid image - not an apology or housekeeping. Earn attention in the first 30 seconds.
- Connect to the audience's life: name the need or tension this talk addresses.
- State (or clearly point toward) the central idea.

### The three points
- Three is the magic number - memorable, balanced, complete. Each point develops the central idea, not a tangent.
- Make the points **parallel** in form and ideally easy to remember (same grammatical shape, or an alliteration/acronym if it's natural, never forced).
- For each point:
  - **State** it clearly.
  - **Explain** it - unpack the meaning, the text, the principle.
  - **Illustrate** it - a story, example, image, or analogy. Illustrations are the windows that let light in; abstract points without them don't stick.
  - **Apply** it - what this means for the listener's actual life this week.

### Application
- Move from "what is true" to "what to do." Be concrete. A talk that informs but doesn't ask for change fades fast.
- One clear, doable action per point, or one overarching ask.

### The close
- Return to the opening image or story (a "bookend") - it creates a sense of wholeness.
- Restate the one big idea in its sharpest form.
- End on a memorable line, a call to commitment, or a moment of reflection. Don't trail off; land it.

## Craft rules

- **Write for the ear**: short sentences, concrete words, repetition for emphasis.
- **Illustrations carry the weight** - one strong, specific story beats three abstract assertions.
- **Pace it**: ~130 words/minute. Budget points and stories to fit the time; leave room to breathe.
- **One idea.** If a point doesn't serve the central message, cut it.
- **Application is non-negotiable** - the "so what" and the "now what."

## Delivery notes

- Mark where to slow down, pause after a key line, and raise energy.
- Note the lines worth memorizing so the speaker can lift their eyes from the page.

## Anti-patterns

- Too many points; the audience remembers none.
- All teaching, no illustration - dry and forgettable.
- Information without application.
- A weak, trailing ending instead of a deliberate close.

## Output

Deliver the full outline: central idea in one sentence, hook, three parallel points (each with explain/illustrate/apply), application, and a bookend close - with timing and emphasis notes and the word count to runtime estimate.