Sermon Design 3 is a tool built to help you prepare thoughtful, intentional sermons. It walks you through the process of thinking through the sermon, from considering its focus and purpose to writing the final manuscript. At the core is a visual outlining tool that helps you design your sermon’s flow, using movements like building blocks to construct a message that will fulfill its purpose.
Sermon Design uses a 5 phase process:
Plan: Think about sermons coming up over the next few weeks, months, or years!
Focus: Consider the heart of your sermon, distilling it’s core message.
Listen: Give attention to the text, asking question that get to heart of what the Word is for the people.
Structure: Build the frame of the sermon by giving consideration to the type of movements through which the sermon will move.
Write: Finalize the manuscript for the sermon you’ve been designing.
With the iOS version, you can capture ideas while on the go, crafting your sermon in the moments and times when inspiration comes to you.
Sermon Movement Library — Access 40+ predefined movement types including Opening, Transition, Anecdote, Exegesis, Theology, Application, Question, Metaphor, Prayer, and more.
Custom Forms & Templates — Create and save your own sermon structures. Build templates for recurring sermon types and reuse them across documents.
Guided Reflection Prompts — Explore textual, theological, contemporary, personal, and pastoral questions designed to deepen your engagement with scripture.
Session Timer — Track your writing sessions and maintain momentum with built-in timing tools that automatically split sessions at midnight.
iCloud Sync — Your planning data, custom movements, and templates sync across all your devices via CloudKit.
Export & Print — Print sermon plans and manuscripts with professional formatting. Export to PDF or RTF for sharing with team members.
**DESIGNED FOR YOUR WORKFLOW**
Whether you’re preparing Sunday sermons, special occasions, or teaching series, Sermon Design 3 adapts to your needs. Work on individual sermon documents while maintaining awareness of your broader preaching calendar. Create custom movements that reflect your unique preaching style. Build sermon structures that honor traditional homiletical practices while remaining flexible for contemporary approaches.
**CROSS-PLATFORM**
Available for Mac, iPad, and iPhone with adaptive interfaces optimized for each device. Use sidebar navigation on Mac and iPad, or tab navigation on iPhone. Keyboard shortcuts on Mac make phase switching and common actions quick and efficient.
**WHO IT’S FOR**
– Pastors and ministers preparing weekly sermons
– Lay speakers developing occasional messages
– Seminary students learning homiletical practices
– Preaching teams collaborating on sermon series
– Anyone seeking a systematic approach to sermon preparation
Steven Hovater 