Fill in your details
The script updates automatically as you type, click Play in ScriptScroller when you're ready
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Script text
What you'll need to fill in
This script has 11 details to fill in before you read it. Have these to hand — the customizer above updates the script as you type:
- theme
- Book
- X
- Y
- Scripture passage
- specific insight about the passage
- common but incomplete message
- the counter-message — what the passage r…
- point 1
- point 2
- point 3
It also contains 1 stage direction in grey. Those are instructions to you, not lines to say out loud — they mark where to pause, listen, or wait for a response.
That timing assumes about 130 words a minute, which is a normal conversational pace. If you are presenting to a room you will likely go slower; if you are nervous you will go faster. Read it aloud once and time yourself before it matters.
When to use this script
Use this for the passages that need to be exact. Most preaching lives on the connection between speaker and congregation, and heavy scripting can flatten that. But the opening, the scripture framing, and the closing call are places where precision matters, and those are worth writing out fully.
It is also useful when the message has to land in a fixed time. A written opening and close give you two fixed points, which makes the middle much easier to expand or compress live without losing the shape of the message.
Making it sound like you
- Put your own theology and voice into every line. A borrowed structure is fine; borrowed conviction is audible.
- Anchor the abstract points to something concrete from your own community and week.
- Keep sentences short enough to be spoken with force. Long subordinate clauses cannot be delivered with emphasis.
- Write the closing call plainly. This is the moment least served by elaborate phrasing.
Reading it out loud
Large text and short lines matter more here than in most formats, because you will be looking up frequently and need to find your place instantly. Mark your pauses, and give yourself permission to leave the script entirely in the middle — the written open and close will still hold the message together.
More on the setup side: Moving Text for Speeches, Moving Text for Reading, What Is a Teleprompter? Complete Guide.
Questions about this script
How long does this sermon opening script take to read?
The script runs to about 144 words, which is roughly 1 min at a normal speaking pace of around 130 words a minute. Your own pace will vary, so time one read-through before you rely on the number.
What do I need to prepare before using this script?
There are 11 details to fill in: theme, Book, X, Y, Scripture passage, specific insight about the passage, and a few more. Enter them in the customizer and the script updates as you type, then opens straight in the teleprompter.
Should a sermon be fully scripted?
Rarely. Most preachers do best with a written opening and closing and a looser middle, which keeps the delivery connected while making sure the framing and the call land exactly as intended.
How do I keep eye contact while using notes?
Use large text and short lines so a single glance recovers your place, and mark deliberate pauses where you intend to look up. Trying to read small, dense paragraphs is what forces a speaker's eyes to stay down.
