Should Pastors Be Using AI to Write Sermons?

A video on the website claims you can just type a word (like “forgiveness”) into the sermon builder tool and “instantly have a sermon ready to preach” and if you like the sermon “copy it, paste it, you’re ready to preach.” In other words, as a pastor you don’t even need to go to the Bible yourself to prep for your sermon—AI will do it all for you.

There are many good uses for AI—this is certainly not one of them!

There are many good uses for AI—this is certainly not one of them! Yes, perhaps AI could be useful in pulling some cross-references, finding related passages, or pulling quotes to consider from church fathers (although resources to do all of these things already exist). But using AI to write sermons strips away a pastor’s wrestling with and studying of God’s Word. When a member of such a pastor’s flock comes to him for wisdom, counsel, and shepherding, he won’t know God’s Word to apply it properly!

And pastors surely should be praying (as any teaching pastor should do) for God’s guidance and wisdom as they build sermons. Be assured, AI doesn’t pray for any wisdom from God!

Contrast “copy, paste, preach” with these commands to pastors from God’s Word:

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. (1 Timothy 5:17)

Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2)

He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it. (Titus 1:9)

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. (2 Timothy 2:15)

The work of pastoring isn’t meant to be easy—it’s laboring; it’s having patience; it’s training to be ready.

The work of pastoring isn’t meant to be easy—it’s laboring; it’s having patience; it’s training to be ready. It’s a hard calling, but a worthy one for those who are willing to be trained by the Word of God.

If you’re a pastor, don’t take the easy way out. Labor in your preaching and teaching as God has commanded you to. Don’t outsource one of the most important aspects of your job—opening the Word for your flock—to a robot!

Pastors, Don’t Miss “Faith like Noah”

If you’d like to learn more about being faithful and obedient in these strange days we live in, I encourage you to attend our Answers for Pastors and Leaders conference, September 30–October 2, 2025, at the Ark Encounter (anyone can attend, but it’s geared toward pastors). A seven-day pass to both the Ark and Creation Museum is included with your registration.

I promise that the speakers—myself, Darrell B. Harrison, Alex Kendrick, Dr. Michael Reeves, Dr. Owen Strachan, and Captain Barry Wilmore—won’t be using AI to write our talks for us! Instead, you’ll be fed meat from God’s Word to better equip you to remain faithful and to encourage your congregation to do so.

Our early bird price ends this month, so be sure to register right away for this very popular conference sponsored by our friends at Nutramax Laboratories and the Herzog Foundation. We hope to see you there!

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying,
Ken

This item was written with the assistance of AiG’s research team.