I hate titling sermons. Some churches have creative teams that assist the pastor in creating a sermon title or series that will attract hearers...
Comeback!
Overcoming the Storms of Life!
Seven Secrets to Sabotage Selfishness!
I think creating themes like this is smart and fits the old adage,
"If you can't describe your sermon/speech/essay in one sentence, you did it wrong."
So why do I struggle with sermon titles? I can generally summarize each of them with a sentence, so it seems like the title would come pretty easily. However, truth is a deep well. People can drink of it, and be impacted in different ways. I can preach a message on financial stewardship and instead see someone walk past their past in an unrelated area of sin, pleading for Jesus to save them (true story).
Peter, Paul, and even Jesus didn't title their sermons. We did it for them, trying to provide a summary of each section of each chapter of the Bible. Have you ever read one of those subheadings like "Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand" and realized His feeding of the multitude wasn't the point?
SPOILER ALERT: The point was 12 weak-faithed disciples had to pick up, hold, and stare into 12 baskets of leftovers. The miracle wasn't to feed hungry people, but to feed the faith of these future missionaries/pastors/church planters.
Preacher: Next time you write a sermon, don't become so focused on a theme or title that you dry up the various truths that tend to leak out around the edges and speak to people in profound ways! Don't focus on how another pastor does it. Focus on how God has called YOU to do it.
Hearer: Next time you sit to listen to a message, don't presume the sermon title is all God may potentially want to talk with you about.
