Sermon notes template (free, simple, and built for action)
3 October 2026 · 4 min read
A good template makes note-taking easier during the service and far more useful afterwards. This one is deliberately short: seven parts, each with a reason to be there. Copy it into your notebook, your phone's notes app or a printed page.
- Date and preacher
- So you can find it again later.
- Main scripture
- The passage the message keeps coming back to.
- The big idea
- One sentence, in your own words.
- Key points
- Three to five short lines. Not word for word.
- What stood out
- A story, phrase or verse that landed with you.
- My confession
- One first-person sentence to say each day this week.
- This week I will
- One to three small, specific actions, with a day.
How to use it
- Fill in the date, preacher and main scripture as soon as the message starts.
- Listen for the big idea. Write it when it becomes clear, even if that's near the end.
- Jot key points and anything that stood out as you go. Short is fine.
- Before you leave your seat, fill in your confession and "This week I will".
- Look at the last two lines again on Monday and Wednesday.
The last two lines are what make this template different. Most notes stop at what was said. These end with what you'll do.
Tips for using it in a series
- Keep each series together, with the series name at the top of each page.
- At the end of a series, read back through your "big idea" lines. You'll see the whole message in a few sentences.
- Notice which action steps you actually did. That's your real takeaway from the series.
“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.”
Or skip the template entirely
If writing during service isn't for you, The Doer Life fills in this whole template for you. Record the sermon in the app, or upload a recording or a YouTube link afterwards, and you get the summary, key points, scriptures, confessions, prayer points and action steps, all organized and saved, with folders for each series.