The AI Sermon Outline Generator, released in January 2023, now uses GPT-4 Turbo (unveiled a week ago) to generate its thesis statements and outlines instead of GPT-3. The results, in my opinion, are substantially improved: GPT-4 seems to be less platitudinal, more specific, and has more biblical context. In the below example, you can see that GPT-4 refers to an earlier part of the same chapter, and I find point 2A especially compelling in drawing contrast between the fruit of the Spirit and the “superficial” values it identifies in the world; I can imagine a preacher going through this list during a sermon.
Generated outlines for Galatians 5:22-23 (the fruit of the Spirit) with the theme of “beauty”
| GPT-3 (old) | GPT-4 Turbo (new) |
|---|---|
| Thesis: The fruit of the Spirit is a higher form of beauty than any outer beauty that does not reflect the Spirit’s character. 1. Thesis: The fruit of the Spirit is a higher form of beauty than any outer beauty that does not reflect the Spirit’s character. 2. Point: Our fallen state has caused us to be blind to the beauty of the Spirit. A. We are often drawn to the outer beauty of people and things. B. We are easily deceived by our own desires and the deceptions of the world. 3. Point: We can rediscover the beauty of the Spirit by embracing his fruit. A. The fruit of the Spirit is manifest in the character of Christ and his followers. B. These traits are rooted in the love of God and lead to peace, joy, and contentment. 4. Point: We must strive to be transformed by the Spirit in order to experience true beauty. A. We must allow the Spirit to change our hearts and minds. B. We must submit ourselves to the Spirit’s will in order to experience the true beauty of the Spirit. Conclusion and Application: 1. The fruit of the Spirit is the highest form of beauty. 2. Our fallen state has caused us to be blind to the beauty of the Spirit. 3. We can rediscover the beauty of the Spirit by embracing his fruit and striving to be transformed by the Spirit. | Thesis: Cultivating the fruit of the Spirit in our lives is an act of defiance against the world’s superficial values, showcasing the enduring beauty of godly character that has no law against it. Introduction: In a world obsessed with external appearances, God calls Christians to cultivate a beauty that comes from within. 1. The true beauty of the Christian life is the fruit of the Spirit, not worldly glamor. A. Galatians 5:22-23 describes the characteristics that define the essence of Christian inner beauty. B. This fruit is in contrast to the ‘acts of the flesh’ earlier in Galatians 5, highlighting a distinction from the world’s values. 2. Each aspect of the fruit of the Spirit defies the world’s superficial values, revealing the divine blueprint for human behavior. A. Love counters cultural self-centeredness, joy overcomes despair, peace contradicts chaos, patience resists immediacy, kindness opposes harshness, goodness defies corruption, faithfulness challenges fickleness, gentleness rebuts violence, and self-control tempers excess. B. Collectively, these qualities reveal the holiness of God and his transformative work in us. 3. The beauty of godly character, rooted in the Spirit, is timeless and universal, with no law against it. A. The concluding phrase ‘against such things there is no law’ asserts the eternal and unassailable nature of these virtues (Galatians 5:23). B. As believers grow in these qualities, they mirror the image of Christ and present a powerful witness to the world. Conclusion: By intentionally nurturing the fruit of the Spirit, Christians display an inner beauty that reflects God’s love and transcends temporal, worldly aesthetics. |
Some stats
The generator has created about 46,000 thesis statements and 14,000 outlines (with 6,500 expressing a denomination: 2,400 Baptist, 1,800 Pentecostal, and the other denominations all around 300) since its launch.
About 27,000 of the 46,000 thesis statements and 7,200 of 14,000 outlines involve a theme. Below are the most-popular ones. “Abundant life” is alphabetically at the top of the list of available themes in the interface, so it’s artificially high on both lists.
Most-popular themes
| Rank | Thesis theme | Outline theme |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | abundant life | faith |
| 2 | faith | prayer |
| 3 | prayer | abundant life |
| 4 | anger | discipleship |
| 5 | worship | obedience |
| 6 | sin | salvation |
| 7 | boldness | evangelism |
| 8 | anxiety | God is in control |
| 9 | adultery | God’s plan |
| 10 | waiting on God | end times |
| 11 | end times | courage |
| 12 | addiction | anxiety |
| 13 | discipleship | worship |
| 14 | salvation | death |
| 15 | marriage | blessings |
| 16 | time management | love |
| 17 | God is in control | perseverance |
| 18 | blessings | trusting God |
| 19 | obedience | sin |
| 20 | evangelism | forgiveness |
Most-popular passages
| Rank | Thesis | Sermon |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Psalm 23 | John 3:16 |
| 2 | John 3:16 | Psalm 23 |
| 3 | Psalms 1-150 | Galatians 5:22-23 (fruit of the Spirit) |
| 4 | Matthew 1-28 | Isaiah 1-66 |
| 5 | Psalm 1 | Luke 9:23-26 (“Take up their cross daily”) |
| 6 | Romans 12:2 (“Do not be conformed”) | Genesis 11:1-9 (Tower of Babel) |
| 7 | John 1-21 | Genesis 1 |
| 8 | Acts 2:38 (“Repent and be baptized”) | Psalms 1-150 |
| 9 | Isaiah 1-66 | Psalm 1 |
| 10 | Matthew 6:33 (“Seek first”) | 2 Samuel 6:20-23 (Michal’s unhappiness with David’s dancing) |