Sermon Notes Template: What to Write, and a 30-Page Journal Layout
Good sermon notes are brief and follow the same pattern every week: the details of the message, its main point in your own words, the verses mentioned, one thing to act on, and a short prayer or thought in response. A fixed page layout does most of the work, because you spend your attention listening instead of deciding what to write. This page lays out the eight prompts that a useful page needs, a routine for before, during and after, and a 30-page journal that puts them together.
Why a template helps
A blank notebook invites two common problems. Some people write down every sentence and miss the message, and others write nothing and remember little by Tuesday. A short set of prompts solves both. It tells you what is worth capturing, and it gives you a place to put it.
Listening well is a skill, and a notebook makes it easier. Over a few months, the pages become a record of what you have been learning and how your questions have changed.
The eight prompts on a useful page
The Sermon Notes Journal in the Bible Roadmap is built on these prompts. You can copy them into any notebook.
- Date, speaker, and passage or topic of today's message. This takes ten seconds and helps you find the page later.
- The main point in one sentence, in my own words. Forcing a single sentence makes you decide what the message is about.
- Key verses mentioned. Write the references to look up later; you do not need the full text.
- One thing I learned that I had not noticed before. This keeps you listening for new information instead of familiar phrases.
- A question I still have or something I want to study further. Puzzles are worth keeping, because they become your next study.
- One action or change I will make this week. Small and specific beats broad and ambitious.
- A person I could encourage or share this with. This turns the message outward.
- A short prayer or thought in response. A closing line, even a few words, marks the end of the page.
Before, during and after
| When | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Before | Write the date, speaker and passage. If you know the text, glance at it | 1 minute |
| During | Capture the main point, references and anything that surprises or puzzles you | The length of the message |
| After | Answer the closing prompts: what stood out, what you will do, who you might tell | 2 minutes |
If you cannot finish during the message, the two quiet minutes afterward are the most valuable part. Do not skip them.
A few habits that make notes useful
- Use keywords, not sentences. A few words per idea are enough if you write the main point afterward.
- Mark questions with a symbol. A "?" in the margin helps you find them later.
- Look up one reference each week. Pair the journal with the book you are reading; the one-page guide for that book helps you see where the passage falls.
- Review monthly. Skim the last four pages and see what is repeating.
- Share one line. Telling somebody the main point is the best way to remember it.
What the journal includes
The Sermon Notes Journal is a bonus gift in the Bible Roadmap, unlocked in the members area. It is a 30-page journal that begins with a "How to use this journal" page and then repeats a single layout, built from the prompts above, for each message. It is meant to be printed and used with a pen, in a binder or on a clipboard, and works for messages heard in person, online or on a recording.
It is one piece of a larger set. The main product is a one-page guide to each of the 66 books, with a Bible-at-a-glance chart, a 52-week reading plan, a study method guide and a small group kit. The journal is a gift in the same purchase.
If you take notes while reading as well as listening, the Bible study questions by book page gives you questions to ask a passage. To keep track of what you have read, the reading tracker shows a weekly plan. For a lighter break, the set also includes twenty Bible word searches.