Beta Sermon Assistant: Outlines

Hi friends, in today's v34 beta release we are happy to introduce our new Outlines feature. This assistant accompanies the Applications, Illustrations, and Questions assistants and can be accessed within Sermon Builder. You will find it when viewing a Sermon document in Sermon Builder on the right sidebar under the sparkle ✨ icon.

The Outlines assistant is intended to help you 'unblank the page' when getting started with a new sermon, which means it works best when you've created a new sermon document but haven't yet finished collecting your thoughts in an outline or written a full manuscript.

To start, you can provide either a Sermon Passage(s), a Sermon Theme, or both. You are able to select how many outline points you want the assistant to provide or let it choose for you. Similar to the other assistants, you are able to specify an audience for your results.

After clicking generate, the assistant will provide a full Outline with a summary of the passage, some suggestions about how to apply and approach the sermon, and recommended resources for further study. The Outline will be presented in a way that can be inserted directly into the Sermon document -- clicking insert will insert the entire outline text into your document and automatically create corresponding slides from the Outline headings.

As with all Sermon Assistants, the results are AI-generated and not intended to be used verbatim. Instead, they should serve as a catalyst to help generate ideas or inspire further exploration as you prepare your message.

Please note: We are still considering potential adjustments to enhance the utility of this tool for our Verbum customers using Homily Builder. We have taken many of your comments into consideration -- thanks again for your feedback!

I'm personally very excited about this assistant and would love to hear from you after you've given it a try. Let us know your thoughts.

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Comments

MJ. Smith

Initial reaction: I would like to see it take into account the notes I have gathered in my study for the sermon. Without that, it is too close to a machine driven sermon rather than a Holy Spirit driven sermon.

Morgan

Initial reaction: I would like to see it take into account the notes I have gathered in my study for the sermon. Without that, it is too close to a machine driven sermon rather than a Holy Spirit driven sermon.

Amen.

I tried it for a morally ambiguous figure, Ehud, in Judges 3:11-31. Based on that alone I was given the most bland "God raises up deliverers" outline imaginable.

However, when I supplemented it with the theme "God hates deceit" it was much more on target for how I read Ehud. If I was able to integrate all the notes I have that support my reading of the text I would find this much more helpful. I'm not sure if the simple Sermon Theme prompt will be enough for different passages. Something like Google's NotebookLM in Logos would get me to go pro.

Justin Gatlin

This is an interesting idea, but I personally think it is taking the wrong approach. I'd rather see it go the same direction as the Smart Search and prioritize using AI to find outlines already in my library that aren't explicitly tagged as my text, or to use generative AI to outline sermon manuscripts in my library and present those, with a link to the original source.

I think that, as is, the sermon assistant doesn't do anything that chatGPT and Gemini don't do. Why not lean into what makes Logos unique and prioritize finding the high quality resources we already have?

GaoLu

I think that, as is, the sermon assistant doesn't do anything that chatGPT and Gemini don't do. Why not lean into what makes Logos unique and prioritize finding the high quality resources we already have?

[Y]

What we already have is pretty good.

Elivando Carvalho de Mesquita

Hi,

Using the Portuguese version of Logos, only: Application, Teaching are suggested, but nothing else is suggested. Even with several attempts, the Points do not appear as a suggestion.

Justin Gatlin

Hi,

Using the Portuguese version of Logos, only: Application, Teaching are suggested, but nothing else is suggested. Even with several attempts, the Points do not appear as a suggestion.

I was able to duplicate this bug. Bizarrely, mine also puts the content of what it does display in English (maybe because the sermon title is in English?):

[quote]

The Kingdom of God is Within You

‌
Aplicação: These passages remind us that the kingdom of God is not a physical place, but it is within the hearts of believers. It also encourages us to have faith like the persistent widow in prayer, knowing that God hears and answers our prayers.

‌
Ensino: The key teachings are the imminence of the kingdom of God and the power of persistent prayer. We are called to have faith and persistence in seeking God's will.

Matt Doebler

I typed this prompt into ChatGPT:

Generate a sermon outline for a sermon that is centered on the theme of "A Survey Through the Book of Acts." Include three major points that each focus on an important passage in Acts and include a brief summary of that passage and suggestions for how the hearers might apply it to their lives.

And it gave me this--at least equal to, if not better than, what the Sermon Assistant produced. Once again, I don't get who Logos Pro is supposed to be for. This is not a professional tool. This is not a tool for professionals. This is really not even a Logos tool. I agree with all the others who are voicing their concerns about the AI tools not truly being integrated into the Logos resources or other tools (like Notes) in a way that allows AI to truly "assist" a human initiated endeavor and not merely mimic one.

Anderson Abreu

I'm worried about this tool the way it's built. What would be the point of making a preacher do the work that is his to do and for which most receive a salary from the church? And within that, to discourage good research and meditation by creating a personal sermon for real people?

I can't agree that it's right to preach a sermon designed for one audience and preach to a totally different one, let alone preach a machine-made sermon. I'm worried about this being misused by bad preachers. The damage to churches would be enormous.

I agree with everyone who has expressed the opinion that at most the assistant should take the research notes I have already actively collected and suggest possible structures to me, but never prepare a sermon for me from scratch.

MJ. Smith

See Some thoughts on the Sermon Assistant from a Catholic perspective - Logos Forums for similar thoughts re: homilies but the possibilities regarding lessons.

MJ. Smith

or to use generative AI to outline sermon manuscripts in my library and present those, with a link to the original source.

I like this idea as a separate tool.

Jim Dean

Hi friends, in today's v34 beta release we are happy to introduce our new Outlines feature. ...

The Outlines assistant is intended to help you 'unblank the page' when getting started with a new sermon, ...

... You are able to select how many outline points you want the assistant to provide or let it choose for you. ...

... After clicking generate, the assistant will provide a full Outline with a summary of the passage

This Outline tool sounds really useful. Three questions:

1. Is it available off-line?

2. Can it be told how many outline "levels" to include if applicable?

3. (Most important to me) Does it draw from my many purchased resources that include Outlines for that passage?

#3 is valuable in that it would integrate the work of gifted teachers into a consolidated form, rather than asking the soul-less AI to create an outline of the God-breathed revelation.

Thanks!

DMB

Initial reaction: I would like to see it take into account the notes I have gathered in my study for the sermon. Without that, it is too close to a machine driven sermon rather than a Holy Spirit driven sermon.

I'm sure staff foresaw what the comments would be (though Logos and Holy Spirit do seem opposites ironically). But I've listened to pastor sermons and guessed the commentary used (true), or which sermons book used (also true), as a favorite stay-awake technique (confessing). I really 'rue the day' folks chat about which AI tool was used, (and worse), what badly averaged theology was presented.

MJ. Smith

But I've listened to pastor sermons and guessed the commentary used (true), or which sermons book used (also true), as a favorite stay-awake technique (confessing).

I've had the good fortune, prior to my last move, to spend 40+ years in a Dominican parish i.e. Order of Preachers parish. But I have seen what you are seeing when I've visited other parishes. My biggest concern with AI in developing sermons, lectures, or lessons is that AI will amplify popular theology rather than rigorous theology just as radio and TV modified content and style to attain listeners rather than challenge Christians.

David Vela (Logos)

1. Is it available off-line?

2. Can it be told how many outline "levels" to include if applicable?

3. (Most important to me) Does it draw from my many purchased resources that include Outlines for that passage?

No, this functionality is only available online.
You can tell the tool how many points the outline should have (from 1 to 7), but I'm not completely sure if that's what you're asking.
No, the outline generated by this tool does not come from your library (you can already achieve that functionality through the "Outlines" and "Thematic Outlines" guide sections).

John Graves

I typed this prompt into ChatGPT:

Generate a sermon outline for a sermon that is centered on the theme of "A Survey Through the Book of Acts." Include three major points that each focus on an important passage in Acts and include a brief summary of that passage and suggestions for how the hearers might apply it to their lives.

And it gave me this--at least equal to, if not better than, what the Sermon Assistant produced. Once again, I don't get who Logos Pro is supposed to be for. This is not a professional tool. This is not a tool for professionals. This is really not even a Logos tool. I agree with all the others who are voicing their concerns about the AI tools not truly being integrated into the Logos resources or other tools (like Notes) in a way that allows AI to truly "assist" a human initiated endeavor and not merely mimic one.

That's how I'm feeling about it.

Qualifier: The Chat GPT can be useful I guess in summarizing something but AI is not the same as actual preparation time. So I'm not worried about it writing my sermon for me. This tool seems to be a less powerful version of that one.

I don't know if it's possible but a tool that would do what the Lexham Research Commentaries do for a passage based off of our library, now that would be super helpful. I find the one on Romans and 1 Corinthians to be maybe the single most helpful resource I've ever used in Logos.

If the AI would do that for illustrations and applications using my library and previous sermons based on the current topic that would be extremely awesome. Basically what the quotes tool does now but quotes from my library and personal documents.

Otherwise I'm not sure what purpose the AI tools will ever have in my weekly study. Although that ready made outline is pretty nice to start out with just to give you a jumping off point. Just wish it used my library and personal documents to form it for me.

Harry Hahne

The title of the sample AI-generated sermon outline is extremely ironic. AI-generated text is quite the opposite of a creative work that is "empowered by the Holy Spirit." Perhaps this is an example of AI humor!

DAL

I'm worried about this tool the way it's built. What would be the point of making a preacher do the work that is his to do and for which most receive a salary from the church? And within that, to discourage good research and meditation by creating a personal sermon for real people?

I can't agree that it's right to preach a sermon designed for one audience and preach to a totally different one, let alone preach a machine-made sermon. I'm worried about this being misused by bad preachers. The damage to churches would be enormous.

I agree with everyone who has expressed the opinion that at most the assistant should take the research notes I have already actively collected and suggest possible structures to me, but never prepare a sermon for me from scratch.

The point is to make the job faster so you can get out there and evangelize instead of being an “office preacher” who all he does is prepare lessons and sermons under a roof with air conditioning. You worry me because you come across as if you think all you have to do is study to prepare lessons and evangelism and other tasks are not even in your “to do” list.

Use the tool responsibly and do more than just sit on an office chair preparing lessons. That’s how I see this. Instead of spending 10 hours on a lesson, now I can spend only 4 and still present a great spiritual feast for those who are starving for truth. And I also get to go out and visit and talk to people so I don’t gain weight by just sitting inside an office taking longer than I should prepping lessons.

DAL

Anderson Abreu

The point is to make the job faster so you can get out there and evangelize instead of being an “office preacher” who all he does is prepare lessons and sermons under a roof with air conditioning. You worry me because you come across as if you think all you have to do is study to prepare lessons and evangelism and other tasks are not even in your “to do” list.

Use the tool responsibly and do more than just sit on an office chair preparing lessons. That’s how I see this. Instead of spending 10 hours on a lesson, now I can spend only 4 and still present a great spiritual feast for those who are starving for truth. And I also get to go out and visit and talk to people so I don’t gain weight by just sitting inside an office taking longer than I should prepping lessons.

From your posts I understand that you didn't understand my point and that of others in this post. Besides, we seem to have different visions of what preaching is.

I also have visits and counseling to do weekly and most pastors are like that. And Logos and other software have been around for decades to save me time in preparation. If I hadn't used Logos and other software in these 17 years of ministry, I would have spent a lot more time on my classes and preaching in church. I don't think anyone here is advocating that we need to do everything from scratch without the help of something that is already ready as a starting point. Nobody dispenses with dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries etc and advocates that we should do everything from scratch and on our own. Just as no one today advocates that every family should plow, plant, harvest, cook, weave clothes, etc. and be completely autonomous and self-sufficient.

By using Logos we can shorten the path and time for many things and we should make good use of this.
The problem with this AI sermon builder is the same as taking a ready-made sermon from a book, or from a preacher on YouTube, or taking a commentary and simply preaching that to your church, although there may be rare exceptions where this can be beneficial if done well.

And here we come to what I said about having different visions of what preaching is.

And here we come to what I said about having different visions of what preaching is. Preaching is also about shepherding and caring for my flock in a collective but still personalized way, just as much as it is about visiting and counseling on an individual basis. These attitudes add up and don't compete with each other.

So, when preparing a sermon, I should think about how to communicate and apply that specific truth from the text to the particular reality of my community instead of taking a ready-made sermon/commentary/AI made by a third party that was good for another reality, but is not necessary and sufficient for the reality of my church. I need something designed for my church and not for another church. I know it's a lofty ideal and that we often fail even when we make a sermon designed for our church, but that's still my goal even when I fail.

Think about how a while ago I asked myself why we don't simply project a video of an excellent preacher in the church, with so many excellent preachers out there who are much better than us? Wouldn't that be easier and more practical? The answer is “yes”, if we think that preaching is just passing on information or moral lessons. But the answer is “no” if we understand that preaching is a message prepared by me, a flesh and blood pastor, for specific flesh and blood sheep with their own peculiarities in my church. My church doesn't merely want to know what John Piper thinks and believes! My church wants to know what I think and believe because they know me, because I walk with them, because they trust me even though I am an imperfect sinner.

A sermon made by AI and not based on what I have thought or on the parts I have collected from others, and which I have also judged to be pertinent for my church, goes against my vision of stewardship of my work as a teacher and as pastor of a specific flock entrusted to me.

MJ. Smith

The point is to make the job faster so you can get out there and evangelize instead of being an “office preacher” who all he does is prepare lessons and sermons under a roof with air conditioning. You worry me because you come across as if you think all you have to do is study to prepare lessons and evangelism and other tasks are not even in your “to do” list.

In my theological world, this would be an aberrant view. Dominicans, for example, are required to devote a minimum of one day a week to study. A major portion of sermon preparation is letting the passages under study mold you - you not your understanding. Time cutting measures cut the time you spend letting scripture permeate you, the tools directly or indirectly nudge your understanding in particular directions while you should let God nudge you in the direction He wants.

To me, it sounds like you're satisfied to give me a TV-dinner at the table of the Word; I am used to a fresh chef's dinner - sometimes delivered by young chefs learning their trade, sometimes delivered by chefs of great wisdom molded by God Himself.

And, yes, my criticism applies not just to AI outlines but also many other Logos tools. For example, I consider the focus on grammar to be a very good way to spend time studying so you feel you done your part while assuring that scripture isn't molding you into a better image of Christ. How many of us have really had grammar be the element of a text that really moved us, shook us, gave us a new way of seeing?

DAL

MJ and Anderson,

The problem is you guys are assuming that people will actually use AI outlines that are obviously raw and need reworking. You guys are acting as if you’ve never used someone else’s outlines in your preaching either. The tool, when used responsibly, can generate great ideas and better outlines if and when you put work into them. That’s the purpose of this tool. Whatever your assumptions are that’s all they “Assumptions!”

And whatever the Dominicans or the Puerto Ricans decide to do is very subjective and is not the norm to follow. 😂😂😁😁 You can still let the word of God permeate your soul in different ways. Besides, the longer you preach the easier it should be to let that happen and to build your lessons, whether you use AI tools or not.

Don’t let your assumptions rob you of taking advantage of a tool that can help you come up with ideas quicker and help you utilize your time more efficiently!

DAL