Sermon Titles - Important or Not

I just completed a five page overview of what a few homiletics teachers had to say about sermon titles. It is interesting that some think it is very important and others think it is not important at all. Click on the link below to see the paper in PDF format.

There seem to be two basic issues in the literature. The first is whether the title should be based on the text or in human experience. The second is whether or how much the title should guide the sermon
preparation process

Here are the Keys for Preachers taken from the paper:

1. If one has a title, it should relate to the sermon in some way. Whether it is from the
   text, the major illustration, or some other hook, one should see the connection when
   the sermon is completed.
2. If one has a title, it should not overpower the sermon by either promising too much
   or giving the whole sermon away. Perhaps this is a little induction in me, but I
   agree totally with Long's and Webb's idea that the sermon title should only fully be
   understood at the end of the sermon.
3. A good title can help to orient the people before they get to the church.

Sermon Title Creation Method

For more information on sermon title creation, I would ecourage you to look at my simple method for the creation of a sermon title. Learn More Here..,
Learn the secrets of Good Title creation at my own "sermon title handbook" for a method for putting together good sermon titles.