Sermon Search Indexing: Find Drafts Faster
“Sermon search indexing” means each sermon is stored in a fast search index so lookups by title, passage, or tag return quickly and stay in sync after you edit.
I added this because scrolling through a long list of drafts is a waste of time when you remember a single phrase or passage.
What gets indexed in sermon search
Here is what the sermon index looks at when you search.
| Indexed field | Example query |
|---|---|
| Title | ”Hope in Romans” |
| Plain text | ”forgive as the Lord forgave” |
| Primary Scripture | ”John 15” |
| Tags | ”Advent” |
| Series name | ”Prodigal series” |
How sermon search updates work
Your sermons are indexed on create, update, and delete. Save a draft and it becomes searchable without a manual step.
If you run the admin “Full Re-index,” it will rebuild the sermon index from the database.
When to run a full re-index
Use a full re-index if:
- You imported a large batch of sermons.
- You fixed search data and want a clean rebuild.
- You recreated Typesense collections.
Limits and honest caveats
- Search uses your own sermon library, not public sermons from other users.
- Semantic search uses a trimmed text window (up to 8,000 characters) for embeddings.
FAQ
What does sermon search indexing do?
It stores sermon text in a search index so your queries return fast results.
Does search update after I edit a sermon?
Yes. Indexing runs on create and update so changes show up without extra steps.
Will a deleted sermon still appear in search?
No. Deleting a sermon removes it from the index.
Do I need to run full re-index to see new sermons?
No. Full re-index is only for bulk rebuilds or recovery.
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