Should Pastors Use AI to Write Sermons?

A sermon isn’t a speech or a lecture. When a pastor stands before a congregation, he’s responsible for proclaiming God’s Word to God’s people. The pastor’s role includes “feeding” believers with truth and insight from the Spirit. Throughout the Bible, God called leaders to listen for his voice and speak his message faithfully. Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Paul didn’t invent words or rely upon a formula to create a nice speech. They spoke what the Spirit inspired them to share. 

When pastors use AI to “write” a sermon, they risk skipping the most important part of the process: hearing from God. The pressure to come up with a “good” sermon week after week might bear upon a leader, but they shouldn’t trade the necessary dependence upon God for a technological convenience.

Pastors can be tempted to allow a tool to replace the time-consuming process of prayer, meditating on Scripture, and waiting on the Spirit for wisdom and direction. This might not happen overnight, but relying upon AI can dull the leader to God’s voice and leading, which will have further consequences. 

A pastor who spends time in prayer gets more than content for a sermon. He or she needs it for their own spiritual nourishment, as well. That time spent with God and the Bible invites God to shape the messenger as much as the message. The leader’s life and relationship with God is part of the message to the congregation.

AI might generate a sermon outline or even a nice script, but it can’t give the pastor fiery conviction. That only comes from personally encountering God on a regular basis. A simple message from the heart of God and heaven has real, transformative impact, far more than a perfectly crafted sermon. Without God’s inspiration, a nice sermon carries little to no life for the speaker or the hearers. 

In addition, the danger includes undermining a pastor’s personal style and voice. God gives a message, and it’s communicated through real people. Peter wrote in a different style than Paul, Matthew shared different details than John or Luke. God calls the speaker and seeks to use his or her unique experiences, personality, and spiritual gifts. When a pastor uses AI, the sermon might be written from other styles and contexts instead of the pastor’s authentic voice. AI can’t help a leader think of a connection from his personal experience, or a way to be vulnerable and relate to the audience. Over time, this can undermine the pastor’s confidence in his own voice and rob the congregation of a true shepherd. 

People don’t gather on Sunday mornings for a show or polished information. They can get that on a YouTube video. They come to hear their pastor, someone they know, trust, and who cares for them. When AI becomes that voice, the relationship weakens. A computer can’t care about people.

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The temptation of technology is often to find a shortcut. Learning the truth and reaching spiritual maturity takes time, struggle, questioning, and endurance. AI can’t provide this. 

A pastor must guard the congregation by teaching the truth of God’s Word with clarity. Paul warned Timothy to “guard the deposit” and “preach the word in season and out of season” (2 Timothy 1:14, 4:2). The calling requires careful study, prayer, and discernment over time. AI doesn’t and can’t have faith, conviction, or accountability to the Father. Artificial Intelligence won’t stand before God for what is said. The pastor will. AI might be able to imitate Christian language, but it can’t rightly divide the Word. That takes the Spirit in a human. 

AI draws from data sources all across the internet, from commentaries, articles, blogs, and other writings. The internet allows anyone the freedom to share their thoughts, and this has pros and cons. However, only a human pastor with the Spirit’s help can filter these sources with biblical discernment.

AI can’t distinguish between true and false. Even a small error, repeated and received, can shape a congregation’s understanding of God in harmful ways. The Bible warns against the “little foxes,” small threats with major consequence. At the same time, God’s Word will come to pass, even every detail.

At the same time, core teachings like the Trinity, justification, or the incarnation prove incredibly complex. They take careful study and deep meditation. They are mysteries of the faith which the Bible expresses and requires the Spirit to explore and reveal. AI might summarize or reduce these truths to an oversimplification, thereby removing the proper biblical balance and accountability. With AI, the congregation subtly develops a shallow faith, just as the pastor will. 

Theology isn’t something you can hand off to a computer. God’s Word is a living, breathing source. To teach and lead, a pastor must wrestle with God and Scripture, contending over difficult passages with the Father. This shapes the pastor’s mind and heart, giving him or her the character to share the message. To outsource or skip that process through AI, pastors lose their ability to teach, correct, and discern the truth from error. 

James 3:1 declares the sobering seriousness of the teacher’s role. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” Teaching God’s Word carries intense responsibility, like a scientist dealing with nuclear power. It can do great good or lead to immense destruction, depending on how it’s handled. Pastors must make sure they hold themselves to this standard before God, for their own good and the good of others.

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With these dangers addressed, AI can be a useful tool for pastors. Sermon preparation involves more than writing. The pastor begins with the process of prayer, studying Scripture, and listening to the voice of God. Once the Spirit points to a passage or theme, a teacher then does diligent study to understand context, looking up word meanings, checking historical or cultural background, and more.

In the past, pastors would flip through big books like commentaries and concordances to do these searches. AI can streamline this work, finding needed information faster than ever before. This added “free” time can then be applied in prayer, meditation, and pastoral relationships. 

AI can quickly find cross-references or summarize other theological perspectives, or it can explore the cultural or historical context of the biblical time period. Instead of digging through volumes to trace how often the word “covenant” appears through the Bible, and what the original Hebrew word meant, a pastor could use AI to create an overview. 

The teacher must remain the human in the room, critically verifying the information from AI. The tool shouldn’t replace careful study and discernment, but it can speed up parts of the process so the pastor can spend more energy in other areas. 

As another possibility, AI can help pastors find quotes from church fathers or other theologians. Or it can assist in finding statistics and data in certain areas. Again, the pastor should check the sources, as with anything found on the internet.

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Writing sermons for this day and age requires great creativity. A great sermon does more than lecture on biblical information. A pastor relates to the audience, speaking to their issues, their hearts, their needs. Every teacher presents the timeless, eternal truths of Scripture within a modern time and culture, using the right language, whether spoken or through illustrations, analogies, and other applications.

God gives a message and the Spirit inspires, yet the pastor might need help with the right cultural references for the audience. AI can offer a new angle or example to spark imagination or be a brainstorming partner. When used properly, AI doesn’t take the place of inspiration but helps pastors develop new ways to communicate. 

Obviously, a pastor should use their own experiences as illustrations, to be vulnerable and personal with their congregation. Yet other historical or cultural metaphors and stories work well, too, helping to connect with a diverse audience. For example, God might give the teacher a message about forgiveness and highlight a particular passage. Then, the pastor can ask AI for different metaphors, cultural stories, or accounts from history to illustrate the message. The teacher shouldn’t take any suggestion at face value, but these might spark a new idea (one the AI didn’t even provide) or inspire a new approach. 

Another value could come from developing applications for different audiences. AI can suggest practical ways for the message on forgiveness to be applied to families, young singles, in a professional office, or for seniors. The pastor knows the main message but then uses AI to brainstorm real life applications relevant for people in the congregation. 

Not a Replacement, but a Tool

Like we keep saying, the pastor must filter these ideas through the Spirit, prayer and discernment, choosing what best aligns with what God wants to say. AI shouldn’t determine the message but assist in bringing more creative possibilities. 

If a pastor writes out the sermon, or shares it as an article, then AI can help edit the text. It can find errors in spelling or grammar or help find different ways to simplify a phrase. This shouldn’t determine the voice or message, but it can help the pastor be a better writer. Often, leaders repeat the same words or structures, and AI might provide new ideas to break free and develop. 

Ultimately, AI should never replace the creativity God gives each pastor. At the same time, it can act like an assistant or research tool, expanding and enhancing communication. When pastors stay rooted in prayer, the Bible, and listening to the Holy Spirit, AI can serve as a tool to help teachers share God’s truth with more impact. 

Peace.

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