Reading Time: 8 minutes
“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start” – The Sound of Music
Every step in writing your sermon is essential. Your points, movements, illustrations, and conclusion all communicate where you’re going and lead your hearers along with you. But wherever your sermon leads, your introduction is that critical first step. Without a solid introduction, your sermon can quickly veer from its point or fail to launch altogether.
There are times when the introduction flows easily, and other times when I’ve felt like I was never going to get the sermon to start. In those difficult times, it’s vital to write anyway—anything! Anything on the paper is better than nothing on the paper! And if it stinks, well, that’s what erasers are for!
For those times when you struggle to write the introduction or need to hone it to perfection, here are six tips for a functional introduction to your sermon.
1. Write the Introduction Last (or Almost Last)
I confess I’m lousy at taking this advice. I often start with a nearly fully formed introduction in my head. It might be a story, a clever turn of phrase, or an opening question that hits just right. The frustration comes when I realize it no longer fits the rest of the message. But by then, I’ve already fallen in love with it—and I don’t want to let it go! I end up doing my best to shoehorn it into the sermon before finally rewriting it in frustration.
Here’s the truth: your introduction is for your audience, not for you. It has little to do with your exegesis and everything to do with clarity and connection. That’s why it’s best to wait until you’ve done the deep work—studied the text, discerned the big idea, and mapped out your sermon’s movements—before crafting your introduction.
In a World . . . Where a Preacher Must Write an Introduction . . .
Think of it like writing the trailer after you’ve filmed the movie. The trailer doesn’t determine the story—it distills it. And just like a good trailer, your introduction needs to reflect the tone, urgency, and message of what follows.
And hey, if you come up with a great line for the introduction early, write it down! Just don’t get married to it before the sermon is done.
2. Introduce What Matters
Your introduction doesn’t have to say everything, but it should point to something. Are you introducing the text? The central idea of the sermon? A tension or question that the message will resolve? The introduction isn’t about warming up your voice or getting the congregation to warm up to you. It’s your opportunity to guide people toward where you’re headed.
Introduce the Need
In Preaching in a New Key, Mark Glanville writes that the introduction “takes us to the text by exposing a need, whether a deep human need, a tantalizing curiosity, or something else. It takes us to the through line, creating momentum that lasts, like the massive rolling boulder chasing Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark.” If you’ve developed the framework for your sermon, you’ve already identified the need the message will address—a hurt, hunger, confusion, or longing that the text speaks to. By naming that need from the start, you lay the foundation for resolution by the end.
More often than not, the introduction will also cue up the biblical text itself. Sometimes, you may choose to introduce the passage later but be careful. David Buttrick cautions, “If we do not include reference to the scripture we will be preaching within an introduction, then, when we do turn to scripture later, we may have to build a second mini-introduction into our sermon.” It’s worth considering whether your introduction should bring the scripture to the forefront right away—or risk needing a second take.
3. Match the Tone of Your Message
Your introduction sets the emotional temperature of the sermon. If it’s light and funny, but your message explores grief or repentance, the disconnect can leave your congregation disoriented. If your intro is intense and dramatic, but your sermon is gentle and hopeful, you’ve created tension that doesn’t serve the message.
The introduction should resonate with the tone and purpose of the sermon, not just in emotion, but in intent.
Set the Expectation for How to Listen
As Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert write in Preach: Theology Meets Practice,
“The reason we listen to sermons is to be instructed, encouraged, challenged, corrected, and spurred on in the faith; and the sermon introduction can be a valuable way of setting that expectation right up front.”
In other words, your introduction teaches your congregation how to listen. It says, “Here’s what kind of word this will be, and here’s how it will matter to you.” Think of it like the first note of a song—you can usually tell if it’s a lament, a love song, or a war cry immediately. The same should be true for your sermon.
So ask yourself: Does this introduction belong to the same sermon that follows? If not, adjust the tone before you set the table.
4. Start Distinctly
People need to know that the sermon has begun. In too many churches, the preacher serves as emcee—handling announcements, providing instructions for kids to head to children’s church, and, “If you’re driving an ’07 Dodge Durango, your headlights are on. Also you’re leaking oil on our concrete. Please be sure to park in the gravel lot behind the church.”
The sermon introduction needs to be distinct. It is not time for announcements, comments to the audience, or your weekly (weakly?) joke. Make sure they know the sermon has started. Remember, you actually have your listeners on your side here. With the possible exception of a few that dozed off during the previous song, the majority of people are there expecting a sermon to begin, and they’re ready to listen.
Mark the Moment with Your Posture and Presence
Achieving this distinction with your sermon may mean spending a few seconds in silence before beginning the sermon. If you must make announcements or other asides before the message, do them from the side of the stage. Step behind the pulpit or find another way to use your posture to signify that the sermon is beginning. Create a noticeable transition that signals, “Now we’re in the word.”
5. Connect Emotionally
People lean in when they feel something. Your introduction doesn’t have to be dramatic, but it should stir some kind of emotion—laughter, curiosity, conviction, even discomfort. If your introduction doesn’t move you, it won’t move anyone else.
John Stott puts it this way in Between Two Worlds:
“A good introduction serves two purposes. First, it arouses interest, stimulates curiosity, and whets the appetite for more. Secondly, it genuinely ‘introduces’ the theme by leading hearers to it.”
James W. Cox adds this insight in Preaching:
“Another purpose of the introduction is to gain the goodwill of the hearers. We cannot hope to accomplish much in the sermon if the people are against us.”
Those two quotes together form a kind of balance: an effective introduction builds anticipation and trust. It doesn’t just point to the topic—it invites the listener to go there with you.
Deliver the First Words with Intention
To that end, I recommend manuscripting your first sentence—or better yet, your first three. You can preach the rest from an outline, but the opening should be dialed in. Practice it until you can deliver those lines without looking down. Your tone, pace, and posture in those first moments can signal, “This is worth listening to.”
6. Make Your Introduction Shorter Than You Want
George Buttrick used to make his students write their sermon introductions in fifty words or less. That’s a tough ask—and truth be told, Buttrick’s own introductions weren’t usually that short—but the exercise had a point. It forced students to clarify what really needed to be said. You don’t have to stick to fifty words, but it’s not a bad place to begin. Start lean. Know the essentials. Then flesh it out—don’t fluff it up.
From his stand-up and public speaking background, Jon Acuff reminds us that you’ve got about five seconds to earn your audience’s attention. That’s a good word for preachers. You’re not writing a novel—you’re striking a match. Spark curiosity, but don’t douse the fire with unnecessary buildup.
After You Get Water, Stop Pumping
Haddon Robinson put it like this:
“Keep the introduction short. After you get water, stop pumping. Unfortunately, no percentages help us here. An introduction needs to be long enough to capture attention, raise needs, and orient the audience to the subject, the idea, or the first point. Until that is done, the introduction is incomplete; after that, the introduction is too long. An old woman said to the Welsh preacher John Owen that he was so long spreading the table, she lost her appetite for the meal.”
Robinson’s image is unforgettable—and convicting. So ask yourself: Is there anything in this introduction I don’t need to say right now? Or at all? Be brutal. Cut the fluff. Don’t make people lose their appetite for the meal.
Robinson’s classic text, revised and updated!
First Impressions Matter
Every great friendship, every lasting connection, starts with a simple introduction—“Hi, my name is . . .” And we’ll never know how many missed relationships, partnerships, or love stories never happened because the introduction didn’t land quite right.
Your sermon is no different
This list of six tips is far from exhaustive, but it’s a solid place to start. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, just choose one and work on it for your next sermon. Strengthen that area, and let the rest follow naturally.
Your sermon can’t go anywhere without a good introduction. Get that first minute right, and the rest of your message will follow with clarity, connection, and purpose.
