One of the things I have learned through the years is that a sermon notebook is not only for preaching sermons. Sometimes it is for listening to them.
Most of the time, when I talk about my Leather Sermon Notebooks, I am thinking about the man standing behind the pulpit, the Sunday School teacher with his lesson prepared, the evangelist carrying a message into a jail or rescue mission, or the pastor stepping into the sacred responsibility of opening the Word of God before his people.
But there is another side to it.
There are times when I am not the one preaching. I am sitting in the pew. I am listening. I am praying. I am trying to catch something from the message that the Lord is using in my own heart. In those moments, I still want my sermon notebook with me.
I have found that I love having small lined journals inside my half-size Leather Sermon Notebook. They give me a place to write down sermon notes, Scripture references, quotes, thoughts, prayer burdens, and those little statements that stick with you long after the service is over.
As I have used mine, I have found that it becomes more than just a place for one kind of note. During the week, it may hold a few devotional thoughts from my daily Bible reading. Then it may have the outline from a message I heard at my home church. A few pages later, there may be notes from a revival meeting, followed by a thought about a potential message that has been stirring in my mind. Then, tucked in among all of that, there may be a journal entry from something that happened with my family.
At first glance, those things may seem disconnected. But sometimes, when I step back and review them, I begin to see a thread running through them. A Scripture from my morning reading, a statement from a sermon, a burden from prayer, a thought for a future message, and even something from family life may all seem to point in the same direction. There are times when I get the sense that the Lord may be preparing me for something, giving me insight for a decision that lies ahead, or quietly leading my heart in a direction I might have missed if I had not written it down.
That is one of the reasons I wanted these refills. I wanted a simple way to keep those thoughts together.
The problem was simple: I could not find what I wanted.
I could find plenty of small A5-style journals. I could find lined notebooks in different colors. I could find inexpensive packs of them on Amazon. But I could not find them already punched with the three-hole layout needed for my half-size Leather Sermon Notebook binders.
So I decided to make them available myself.
These Half-Size Journal Refills are softcover lined journals that have been punched to fit our half-size Leather Sermon Notebook binders. Each one has 30 lined sheets, or 60 pages, giving you a simple place to keep writing without having to cut, measure, or punch anything yourself.
They are not only useful for preachers. They can be helpful for church members, Bible teachers, Sunday School teachers, small group leaders, missionaries, evangelists, and anyone who wants a clean, simple way to keep sermon notes, Bible study notes, and personal reflections in one place.
You can use them for:
- Taking notes during preaching
- Writing down sermon outlines
- Keeping Bible study notes
- Recording prayer requests
- Preparing Sunday School lessons
- Capturing devotional thoughts
- Making notes from conferences, revivals, or ministry meetings
- Preserving thoughts from your own personal walk with the Lord
I also like the fact that they can be removed, replaced, and archived. When one journal fills up, you can take it out, put in a fresh one, and keep going. That fits the way I actually use my notebook.
These refills are available in Brown Kraft, Navy Blue, or a mixed pack, and each pack includes four journals.
Like most things I add to the Leather Sermon Notebook website, this came from a practical need in my own life. I wanted something that fit the binder, looked right with the leather, and served a real purpose. I figured if I needed it, there might be others who would find it useful too.
The Half-Size Journal Refills are now available on the website as a helpful accessory for those using the half-size Leather Sermon Notebook binders.