September 16, 2024

Your sermon does, too.

Before you argue, hear me out.

The impact of any essay, presentation, article, email, or sermon begins at the beginning: with the TITLE.

Taking time to figure out a title helps YOU clarify what the sermon is about, how the message connects with your Scripture passage, how the Scripture connects with our present-day realities, and why anyone should bother listening at all. 

It helps your listeners in all those ways and more. In fact, some people will decide to listen (or not listen) to your sermon based on the title alone. That sounds really shallow, but it happens.

I know it happens, because it just happened to me.

Here it is: the sermon title I could not resist, which turned out to be THE BEST SERMON TITLE I've come across so far this year:

I was scrolling through church facebook posts in search of my 180th CP sermon of 2024, when that particular sermon title caught my eye. Derek Jacks, what on earth are you up to now?

After listening to the sermon, I discovered that this particular title is more than eye-catching; it works in ALL THE WAYS we hope a sermon title will work:

[1] It is true to the text. In fact, it is built on an image taken directly from the text, so the title draws me into scripture, not away from it. That's a win.

[2] It names a tension in the text. Miss Joyce (whose discomfort with this particular verse Derek mentions early on) isn't the only one who's uncomfortable with the idea of "compassionate women" busy "boiling children," but there it is, in the pages of God's Word. Rather than ignore it or dismiss it as an unfortunate reality for "those people way back then," why not lean into it....get it out in the open...and learn from it?

[3] It works with the sermon, not against it. Like a poorly chosen opening story or joke, a bad title distracts from the sermon. Your people may remember the story / the joke / the title, but since it had nothing to do with the sermon, those memories won't be linked to memories of the message itself.

This particular title fits this particular sermon--and Scripture passage--so well that to remember one is to remember the other.

[4] It extends the sermon beyond Sunday morning. Near the end of the sermon, Derek ties everything together by referring back to the sermon title:

"Don't boil THE CHILDREN. Don't boil THE FUTURE. Don't get rid of what is to come..."

That begs a question Derek doesn't even have to ask, because the connection is so clear: in what ways am I (or are we) "boiling the future" in a desperate attempt to solve today's problems? 

Every single one of us should spend some time in prayer as we reflect on that question.

Curious? Click here to watch the service for yourself!

Thank you, Derek Jacks (Grace Presbytery, Homewood CPC), for a title so good that I couldn't scroll past the sermon--and for a sermon so deeply connected to the title that I rewrote this entire email!

This week, dear preachers, I'll be praying that God guides you toward a sermon title that provides focus for your work, deepens your listeners' connection to the Word and to the message, and has meaningful impact beyond Sunday morning.

It's worth the effort.

--Rev. Jen Newell, Program Director, Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative

PS--If you're still reading, maybe you're convinced that sermon titles matter after all. Take a few more minutes to read the article and watch the insanely short video below. Try the "try it" link, too; and prayerfully consider how to title your next sermon for maximum impact.

The title is the "eyebrow" of the sermon. Check out this short article on making a big impact through sermon titles--and find out what eyebrows have to do with it!

What's better than a clever sermon title? In a matter of seconds, this video makes a case for moving beyond "cleverness" to titles that truly advance the sermon and increase its impact.

This week's "try it" is a PDF of 19 different ways one small portion of this week's lectionary readings are titled in different versions of the Bible. Take a look. What do those headings suggest about the main point of the passage? What title would you use for a sermon on this passage?

The Louisa Woosley Preaching Initiative is a grant-funded program of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. Our goal is to equip ministers and candidates for ministry to preach compelling sermons to today's diverse and often divided world. 

For more information about the initiative and our programs, visit our website.