It's Thursday night. You know your text. You know your points. But that opening — those first 90 seconds that either hook your people or lose them — you've got nothing. You're not stuck because you have nothing to say. You're stuck because you have too many options and no clarity about which one is right. This week, we show you how to use AI to break through blank-page paralysis — not to write your sermon for you, but to help you find the thread you're already holding. Two copyable prompts in the show notes.

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Prompt — Sermon Intro Brainstorm:I'm preaching this Sunday on [Scripture passage]. My main point is [one sentence summary of your big idea]. The tone of the sermon is [encouraging/convicting/hopeful/urgent — whatever fits]. My congregation is mostly [brief description of your people]. I need help brainstorming my sermon introduction. Give me 5 different options for how I could open this sermon. Each option should be a different approach — for example, one could be a story, one could be a provocative question, one could be a current-event hook, one could be a personal confession, and one could be a visual illustration. Write each option as a short paragraph I could actually speak from the pulpit. Keep the language conversational and real — not preachy.

Prompt — Refine a Specific Direction:I like option [X] — the approach of [describe what you liked about it]. But I want it to feel more [personal/urgent/hopeful/specific to my church]. Can you rewrite that opening as if I'm [describe the angle you want — e.g., "sharing my own struggle" or "telling a story about something that happened in our town"]?

Tools Mentioned:Claude — claude.ai (free)ChatGPT — chatgpt.com (free)

Links:AI for Small Churches (book) - ⁠https://amzn.to/4r8Spig