Landmark Baptist

Bro. Faulkner gave me an idea for this post which in turn gave Bro. Albritton the idea for this category

Do you use notes when you preach? If so, are they a minimal outline, full outline, or full script?

Let's chat it up.

I put everything down on paper to get all my thoughts out there, I then break it up into segments and do devotionals on it to sort of practice it.

Now when I start speaking I routinly start on my notes but then go where the words take me.

I do not use notes when preaching. I could be said to use an "unwritten" outline. This would be "minimal", as main points. I tend to see the Bible -- especially the epistles -- in paragraphs/sections, and points within those.

I know Ol'time preachers that don't use notes but many of those same persons would be Practicing their sermon the night before so that they are refreshed in their mind on the subject. Couldn't that be said to be making mental notes?

I use lots of notes. My outline is well developed, scripture references are printed in bold, and so on.

My sermons have three main points, each with three sub-points (although I will deviate from that format when the situation calls for it), all supporting the topic or message of the sermon. Must be all that public speaking training in college.

I also use powerpoint to accompany the sermon.

I have preached from well developed outlines, do not prefer this, and I have preached from no notes at all, and everything in between. Usually, what notes I take into the pulpit with me are basically scriptures printed out that I want to have the option of reading to the people without having them look them up if I think it needful. With some messages, the entire message is right there in the passage, and the message is not complex, then notes tend to hamper me. Other times, when I am trying to show lots of correlations throughout the Bible and/or when I am using a large number of supporting scriptures, I will benefit from having a list of the scriptures printed out and perhaps a few thoughts written down that I for sure do not want to fail to get across.

There have been times when in preparing for the message, I have written the thoughts out in full sentences, somewhat like a letter. I write it as if I wanted to get the thoughts God had impressed upon my heart to the people but was unable to be with them for some reason. Then, I just file that away and it does not come into the pulpit with me. Of course, so often, the actual delivering of the message is not exactly the same as what I wrote down, many times based on new things added during the preaching.

Also I have toyed with the idea of preparing a fully developed outline that could be used as a skeleton to teach from, and handing that out to the people after preaching the message, for them to have and use for review and help for meditating during the week, though I would likely want something much smaller or nothing at all in the pulpit with me when preaching.