Is it wrong for a pastor to use AI to create a sermon?

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a type of computer system that uses pattern recognition to analyze large amounts of data and can anticipate next steps in a process. Text-based AIs, also called large language models (LLMs), are “trained” with massive amounts of writing, formal and informal. LLMs analyze patterns in grammar, syntax, and even tone and style, mimicking those patterns upon the user’s request. Programs that use an LLM, like chatbots, can write essays, novels, plays, poems, letters, and even sermons.

Generally speaking, pastors are free to use time-saving tools in their sermon preparation. Digital Bibles, Bible study software, online commentaries, etc., provide a wealth of easy-access information. What used to take hours in a library with a card catalog can now take minutes with the right software. One of the most amazing time-saving tools available today is artificial intelligence.

Using an artificial intelligence-based chatbot, it’s possible for a pastor to simply type a command such as “Write a sermon based on John 3:16,” and in a few seconds he will have a full three-point sermon with introduction and conclusion, ready to be preached. But the question is should he create a sermon that way? There are ethical, moral, and professional concerns with taking such a route. For a pastor to use AI to create a sermon would violate certain important principles related to his calling as a pastor.

Principle #1: Sermon preparation is not merely an academic or technical task.

Preparing a sermon is a spiritual discipline that requires prayer, study, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. The content of a sermon should be biblical, clear, tailored for the audience, and governed by the Spirit.

Paul exhorts Pastor Timothy, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). A pastor must personally labor in the Word; he should not delegate that sacred responsibility to a machine, no matter how “intelligent” it may seem.

Ezra the scribe certainly saw the need for personal Bible study. Ezra “firmly resolved to study the Law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel” (Ezra 7:10). Ezra’s example lays out an important sequence for all Bible teachers to follow:

1. Study the Word privately
2. Obey the Word personally
3. Teach the Word publicly

Teaching God’s Word should flow from a heart devoted to study and obedience—not from automated content generation. The truth pastors present to others must first be internalized personally. Otherwise, their preaching becomes a sterile exercise in speech-making.

Principle #2: Pastors are called to be faithful stewards of God’s Word, not merely efficient communicators.

In this world, God works primarily through people created in His image. Human beings can love, discern, and be filled with the Spirit. Machines cannot.

A drawback to using artificial intelligence is that it can make mistakes. According to an article in Popular Science, “The most advanced [AI] models are failing basic logic tests. . . . Large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT show reasoning errors across many domains. . . . The human brain is miraculously deft, while LLMs are not and cannot be” (Delbert, C., “Scientists Found AI’s Fatal Flaw,” www.popularmechanics.com/science/a70328740/ai-fatal-flaw, 2/18/26, accessed 5/14/26). Further, various chatbots might have been “trained” with untrustworthy source material, making their output unreliable.

Pastor Timothy’s charge was to “preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction” (2 Timothy 4:2). There’s a lot of wisdom and nuance involved in correcting, rebuking, and encouraging—actions beyond the capability of any large language model. AI may serve as a secondary tool, but it cannot replace the “careful instruction” required of a pastor.

Principle #3: The pastor’s heart must be in tune with the message he delivers.

The process of sermon preparation shapes the preacher as much as the resulting message shapes the congregation. When a pastor outsources the writing process to AI, he bypasses the sanctifying work that comes through wrestling with God’s Word personally.

A pastor who uses AI to replace prayer and his own Spirit-led study neglects his calling in some sense. Pastors are to shepherd God’s people through God’s Word, not through algorithms. The faithful pastor must depend on the Holy Spirit, not artificial intelligence, to proclaim the living Word of God.

Using AI to write a sermon may be convenient, but convenience can lessen the impact of more important lessons to be learned. If AI or any other shortcut dulls one’s dependence on the Holy Spirit, then it’s a hindrance, not a help. The pastor’s message must rest on God’s power, not human wisdom or machine-based outputs.

Paul noted that his “message and . . . preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith would not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power” (1 Corinthians 2:4–5, BSB). Artificial Intelligence can construct eloquent words and satisfying outlines, but it cannot produce Spirit-empowered truth.

In practical terms, a pastor might use AI responsibly to do the following:

• Check the grammar or clarity of his notes.
• Summarize historical or linguistic background information.<
• Generate outlines or ideas that he then fleshes out and refines through prayer and Scripture.
• Suggest illustrations or examples.

Used the proper way, AI is similar to commentaries, books, and other research tools—it’s just a newer technology. But never should a pastor let AI compose the sermon itself or determine its message. The sermon must come from his own personal engagement with God’s Word. AI cannot discern truth, commune with God, or be led by the Spirit.

A pastor’s sermons are expected to reflect his own convictions based on his own understanding of Scripture, amplified by his own relationship with the congregation. A pastor can use AI responsibly if he treats it as a tool, not as a teacher. Turning to AI for assistance should be like opening a commentary, not hiring a ghostwriter.