My family would always sit in the balcony at church. When I was younger, I loved singing the songs and getting to look down at the rest of the congregation on the floor below us. It was fun trying to find my friends in the crowd.
Sometimes during prayers, I would peek my eyes open to see what happened. I always thought it was strange how people would magically appear or disappear from the stage during prayers. Oh, they’re waking during the prayer, my five-year-old self realized.
When my brother and I were very little, Mom had a bag of coloring books and sticker books she would bring with her to church to keep us quiet during the sermon. When I turned 6, I started drawing in a notebook during the sermons or completing the Children’s Bulletin for the week (it had Bible-themed mazes, word searches, etc.).
Mom and Dad took notes during the sermon. Even though I was tuning out what the pastor was saying, I noticed that they were listening attentively.
I became a Christian when I was seven, but still I enjoyed doodling during the sermons.
However, at some point during my 3rd-grade year, I decided that since I was now eight I was old enough to take notes like Mom and Dad.
I remember shyly asking Mom if I was old enough to take notes during the sermon. Of course, mom said yes!
So instead of doodling during the sermon, I started listening and filling in the fill-in-the-blank sermon notes on the back of our bulletins.
How I take sermon notes has changed over the years.
I have changed methods and notebooks many times. But the thing that has stayed consistent since I was eight was the desire to take notes during the sermon.
Today we’re going to discuss how to take sermon notes. Before we get started, we need to discuss why to even take notes at church.
Why Taking Sermon Notes Can Be Beneficial
Taking sermon notes can be helpful for several reasons.
First, it can improve your focus. If you’re like me, you easily find yourself daydreaming and thinking about other things when someone is lecturing. This is why I HAD to take detailed notes in my college classes. If I didn’t, when it came time for the test I would not remember anything we did in class.
Just because I’m at church doesn’t mean I’m able to more easily focus. When I’m focusing on writing down the key points, I’m focusing on the sermon.
Second, taking notes helps you remember the sermon later. You can go back and reread the sermon notes during the week as a part of your Bible study time. If you save your sermon notes long term, they can be fun to go back and reread years from now.
However, taking sermon notes might not be beneficial to you if taking notes would distract you. If you are someone who is great at listening and paying attention and remembering what people say, you might not need to take notes.
Regardless, I think it can still be beneficial to try out a few different methods of taking sermon notes before you completely decide it isn’t for you.
What To Do When You’re Just Begining to Take Sermon Notes
When you’re just getting started, there are a few different ways you can take notes during church.
If your church provides fill-in-the-blank notes on the back of your bulletin like my church did, this can be a great place to start. Listen as the pastor speaks and then write down the missing word from the key points. Write down the verse references for any Bible passages that are read.
If your church doesn’t provide fill-in-the-blank notes, grab a notebook or just blank paper to write notes on. As you listen to the sermon, write down what the pastor’s main points are and the scripture references that go with them. Over time, you might add more details to your sermon notes. That’s awesome!
Personally, I find myself constantly taking notes during church. If I pause, I lose focus.
I created a sermon notes template you can print and use!
This would be great if you want to write down more than just the main points and the verses read, but you don’t know what else to write down.
I teach a Bible class for 6th graders and created a template for them to use to take notes with during chapel. I decided to turn this into a template you can use to take sermon notes. It is available in the Joy Because Grace Freebie Library (learn how to gain access here) and you can just print it out and take it to church with you.
In the template, there is a spot for the date, the pastor’s name, the church’s name, the topic of the sermon, and verses that were mentioned. Additionally, there are sections you can use to write down anything you specifically learned about God or people. There is a spot where you can write down how you can apply what you learned to your life. And, of course, there’s a place for you to write down the main points of the sermon.
Using something like this template can help you transition from using fill-in-the-blank notes or only writing down the main points, to writing more in-depth notes.
Where To Keep Your Sermon Notes
If you take notes on your bulletin or by printing the sermon notes template, you can store your notes in a folder or binder. You can find these for pretty cheap at Walmart in the school supplies section.
You can also just use a particular journal or spiral notebook to take your notes in. This is what I prefer to do.
You could also write your notes on sticky notes or on small pieces of paper and then add them directly to your Bible. (When I’ve done this, I used washi tape to attach the paper to the Bible page.) I provide examples of this in my post How To Bible Journal Without A Journaling Bible.
How I Take Sermon Notes
When I was in high school, I started taking sermon notes in a notebook instead of using the fill-in-the-blank template provided on my church’s bulletins. I wanted more space to write down things that stood out to me.
This is still my go-to method. I try to find smaller notebooks that are about the size of my Bible so when I carry it to church it can just sit on top of my Bible.
My pastor follows the same outline for each of his sermons.
He has an intro and then states the topic of that day’s sermon. Then he states three or four points that relate to the topic/passage and expounds on each point. He ends by providing a way we can apply what we learned to our lives or a question we should ask ourselves.
Odds are your pastor has some sort of pattern to how he gives his sermons each week. It might look different than my pastor, but if you can discover the patterns it makes taking notes easier.
What I Do…
Usually, my pastor titles his sermons and the title is in the bulletin and on the screen at the start of the sermon. I write down the name of the sermon (typically in cursive so I can practice faux-caligraphy).
Then I write the date. If I’m attending a different church than normal I write down the name of the church. If someone other than the head pastor is preaching, I write down their name.
Next, if there is one particular passage that the sermon is based on, I write that reference at the top of my notes.
Then, as the pastor give the intro to his sermon, I write down anything that stands out to me. When he transitions to his first point, I make sure to write that down. Usually, I trace over this a few times to make it stand out from the rest of my notes.
I then write down subpoints that sound important or things that I’m learning. I make sure to include any verses that the pastor references. Typically I can’t flip to each verse fast enough to read them in my Bible as he does, but if I write down the references I can go back and read them for myself later.
I then repeat this process for any other points the pastor gives.
Like I said before, I have to be writing (or doodling) during the whole sermon. I find that when the pen is moving (even if it’s mindless flower doodles), my brain is paying attention.
Okay, I gotta know! Do you take sermon notes? If so, how do you do it?
Let me know in a comment! :)
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