Adding Messages

This guide covers adding, organizing, and managing sermon content in CP Sermon Library.

Note: The default admin menu label is Messages. If you’ve renamed your content label (e.g., to “Sermons”), your menu will reflect that name instead.

Adding a New Sermon

To add a new sermon to your library:

1. Navigate to Messages → Add New
2. Enter the sermon title
3. Add the sermon content in the main editor
4. Configure sermon details in the metadata panels:
   • Upload or embed audio/video
   • Select the speaker
   • Assign to a series
   • Add scripture references
   • Set the sermon date
   • Specify topics and seasons
5. Click “Publish” to make the sermon available on your site

Organizing Sermons with Categories & Filters

CP Sermon Library provides multiple ways to categorize and organize your sermons for easy navigation.

Speakers

Speakers help visitors find sermons by a specific pastor or guest speaker:

1. Navigate to Messages → Speakers → Add New
2. Enter the speaker’s name
3. Add a biographical description
4. Upload a profile image
5. Click “Publish”

When adding sermons, you can select the appropriate speaker from the Sermon Details panel.

Topics

Topics allow categorization of sermons by subject matter:

1. Navigate to Messages → Topics
2. Click “Add New Topic”
3. Enter the topic name and description
4. Click “Add New Topic”

Apply topics to sermons using the Topics panel when editing a sermon.

Book of the Bible (Scripture)

Scripture references help visitors find sermons based on biblical passages:

1. Navigate to Messages → Scripture
2. Add new scripture references or select from existing ones
3. Organize by book, chapter, and verse

Apply scripture references to sermons using the Scripture panel when editing a sermon.

Date

All sermons include a date field for chronological organization. This date is used for:

• Sorting sermons chronologically
• Filtering sermons by date range
• Displaying sermon publication date

Seasons

Seasons can be used to organize sermons by church calendar, sermon campaigns, or other time-based groupings:

1. Navigate to Messages → Seasons
2. Click “Add New Season”
3. Enter the season name and description
4. Click “Add New Season”

Apply seasons to sermons using the Seasons panel when editing a sermon.

Using Series to Group Sermons

Sermon series allow you to group related sermons together:

1. Navigate to Messages → Series → Add New
2. Enter the series title
3. Add a description
4. Upload a featured image
5. Set the series date
6. Click “Publish”

When adding sermons, assign them to the appropriate series using the Series dropdown in the sermon editor.

Uploading Sermon Audio & Video

Audio Files

To add audio to a sermon:

1. Edit the sermon
2. In the Sermon Details panel, click “Add Audio”
3. Upload the audio file or select from the media library
4. The plugin automatically generates an audio player

Video Files

To add video to a sermon:

1. Edit the sermon
2. In the Sermon Details panel, click “Add Video”
3. Upload the video file or enter a video URL (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.)
4. The plugin automatically generates a video player

Embedding Sermon Audio & Video

Instead of uploading media files directly, you can embed videos from external services:

1. Edit the sermon
2. In the Sermon Details panel, find the Video URL field
3. Paste the URL from YouTube, Vimeo, or other supported platforms
4. The plugin will automatically embed the video player

Adding Sermon Transcripts

Manual Transcripts

To add a manually created transcript:

1. Edit the sermon
2. In the Transcript metabox, enter or paste the transcript text
3. Use the formatting tools to structure the content
4. Update the sermon to save the transcript

YouTube Auto-Pull (If Configured)

If you have configured the YouTube integration:

1. Edit the sermon with a YouTube video URL
2. Click “Import from YouTube”
3. The transcript will be automatically retrieved and added
4. Edit as needed and update the sermon

Searching & Filtering Sermons

Site visitors can search and filter sermons using:

• The sermon archive page search functionality
• Sermon filter widgets
• Custom shortcodes with filter parameters

As an administrator, you can filter sermons in the admin area by:

1. Navigating to Messages → All Messages
2. Using the filter dropdowns at the top of the sermon list
3. Filtering by date, speaker, series, or other taxonomy

Controlling Sermon Visibility

You can control whether individual sermons appear in the main sermon list:

Sermon Visibility Settings

1. Edit a sermon
2. Locate the “Visibility Settings” panel in the sidebar
3. Use the “Show in Main List” checkbox to control visibility
4. When unchecked, the sermon will be hidden from the main sermon list
5. The sermon will still be accessible via direct links, archives, and search

Inherited Visibility

A sermon’s visibility may be controlled by its parent entities:

• If the sermon belongs to a hidden Series, it inherits that visibility setting
• If the sermon belongs to a hidden Service Type, it inherits that visibility setting
• When visibility is inherited, the control will be disabled with an explanatory message

Visibility vs. Deletion

• Hidden sermons are not deleted — they remain in your database
• Hidden sermons still appear in their Series or Service Type archives
• Hidden sermons can still be accessed via direct links
• This feature is ideal for organizing specialized content while keeping main lists clean

User Roles & Permissions

CP Sermon Library uses WordPress’s default post capability type. Access to sermon management follows standard WordPress role permissions:

• Administrator — Full access to all sermon features and settings
• Editor — Can create, edit, and delete all sermons, series, and speakers
• Author — Can create and edit their own sermons
• Contributor — Can create sermons but not publish them
• Subscriber — No sermon management capabilities

Only Administrators can access the plugin settings.

Quick Edit

For rapid single-sermon edits:

1. Hover over a sermon in the sermon list
2. Click “Quick Edit”
3. Modify sermon details including the sermon start timestamp
4. Click “Update” to save changes