Personal Notebook For Recording Sermons
When looking for a weekly sermon notes journal to record the dates, times, bible passages or Bible study messages, there are a few essential points that have to be considered if you want to choose the ideal sermon journal to suit your needs.
First of all you have to consider the main functions of a journal – to record the facts as you experience them at any given moment. In the case of a sermon journal this is usually (but not always) a Sunday morning church service.
However it could also be for a bible study group or youth group – age is no barrier to keeping a journal for your bible messages or points of interest.
Indeed a sermon notebook for kids is an ideal tool for them to write down their own questions perhaps to be asked after the message has been preached.
Anyone who keep a diary will most appreciate the value to be gained from recording in your own words the events of the day – or even the hour.
Is a sermon notebook essential?
Absolutely not! However I have personal experience of coming away from an amazing sermon that really inspired me – and just a few hours later (maybe even less) I could not give you any details of the content!
Relying on memory alone can be a very subjective thing when it comes to recalling important points that have been preached or lessons taught.
It is invariably always best to write down the experience right at the moment of having it, if you want to get the full impact recorded for future reference – any law enforcement officer will confirm that!
So this problem of relying on memory alone, is something that plagues not only myself I’m sure…However the great thing about a journal is that you can write down these inspiring events just as they happen – and you have a written record to go back to at any time, throughout your life, whenever you need inspiration or encouragement.
Things you will want your sermon journal to include may be…
- Date of message: This is of course important when looking back at your experience and putting an actual date to it (time does fly after all).
- Speaker name: The preacher or teacher message is always handy to record – especially if like me you are terrible at remembering names!
- Subject: It is always handy to know what the actual subject or topic is about, then at a later date you could record a whole list of messages by the subject matter.
- Scripture quoted: The actual passage being taught from is essential for a Bible study lesson especially for getting the context of the passage in line with the sermon.
- Main points: This could be the main points of a 3-point message, or indeed a section to record the main points as you personally see them. You could say that this is what The Lord is really wanting you to take from the message overall.
- Sermon Notes: A good section for you to write down sermon notes along the way and then study them in more detail at a later date, with more time to spare perhaps.
- Take away lessons: What are the main lessons you will take away from the sermon. What have you learned today that will help in your overall Christian walk with The Lord.
- Prayer requests: The prayer room has been (rightfully in my view) described as the ‘engine room of the church’. Prayer is powerful and there are many people and causes today that need a Godly intervention. A list of prayer requests is an essential part of a good sermon journal.
So with all that said, is there a good sermon notebook that covers all the aspects mentioned above? Yes, you guessed the answer – of course there is! And here it is – what a surprise 😊
This 6 x 9 inch sermon journal is just the right size where it is easy to carry and stow away, but has enough space for you to write down all the main points of the sermon as listed in the preceeding bullet-points.
This sermon notebook is also laid out in such a way that it is not date specific. In other words you can start this journal at any time of the year as it will begin only when you do!
There are enough pre-formatted templates to last you the full year, so 52 double spreads for you to write down and record your thoughts for posterity.
Days, weeks, months, or even many years from now these notes taken at the very time you heard the message, will be available for your enjoyment and encouragement!
Just imagine. When you are sitting by the fireside in your later years, you can pick up these memories from earlier times – and still learn from them!
For the younger generation, keeping notes in your own journal is not only an excellent way to record the Bible message for posterity or later study – it also doubles as a kind of ‘religious health diary’ to record whatever is going through your mind at that precise time.
The fact is that no matter what age we are, there is a tendancy to forget things or get them a little muddled up – and unfortunately there is no difference when it comes to Bible messages.
How often the Preacher has been misquoted in innocence, by a listener who had not written down the actual words as they were preached.
So as we can see there are many great reasons why you should want your very own sermon notebook and journal.
And the really great thing? ‘My Sermon Notes’ is available to purchase on Amazon Right Here!
