A Christian Guide to Using AI Sermon Tools with Wisdom & Integrity

AI sermon tools are starting to show up in more and more places—sermon prep, church offices, even casual conversations among pastors. Many of these tools are marketed directly to ministry leaders, promising faster research, cleaner outlines, or better illustrations.

That raises a fair question: How do we receive help from new technology without letting it crowd out the spiritual work preaching requires?

Before we talk about tools at all, it helps to be grounded in a clear understanding of God’s character. Pastoral decisions—especially under pressure—are shaped by whether we see God as patient, trustworthy, and good, or as demanding constant productivity. For a calm, Scripture-first treatment of this foundation, see God’s Character and Goodness at Shepherding Ministry.

It also helps to say this plainly at the start. Even many “Christian-branded” AI tools sit on top of the same large, secular AI models used across the wider tech world. That means the same limitations, blind spots, and biases are still present beneath the surface. A faith-friendly label does not remove the need for careful discernment.

What These AI Sermon Tools Actually Do

Most AI tools do not “understand” Scripture or listen to the Spirit. They generate plausible-sounding text by predicting language patterns based on enormous amounts of existing material.