The Curious Case of the Illusive Illustration

Personal illustrations can be powerful if used with discretion. People are touched by the transparency of a preacher who is not afraid to be vulnerable. However, no congregation wants to hear about the preacher and his family every week. Too, no minister’s family likes being the source of sermon fodder Sunday after Sunday.

Try depersonalizing and universalizing personal experiences. Instead of saying, “Last weekend my son and I were on a hunting trip and …,” try this: “Have you ever been on a hunting trip with your son and ….” You are able to translate the personal experience into a common-life situation with which many of your people can relate. The anecdote becomes their story, not just your story, evoking memories and emotions.

Historical illustrations can be useful provided they do not require contextual knowledge. Any reference to a historical event or character should be self-contained if possible, making the point whether the hearer knows the historical context or not. Preachers wanting to connect with postmodern hearers will not limit themselves to church history, since most listeners will not be familiar with pages from seminary textbooks.

Biblical illustrations have their place but are best if self-explanatory. A biblically illiterate congregation may not understand references to Hagar or Haggai. If you use Hosea and Gomer in trying to describe unconditional love, some of your people may think you are talking about Gomer Pyle. If you must explain the biblical illustration’s context, you may divert attention from the primary text of the sermon.

Keep Your Homiletical Antenna Up

Every day, we read, see, hear and watch countless illustrations. Like Holmes’ friend, Dr. Watson, we see but do not observe. We miss valuable material because we are not looking for it. Lacking a database, we tend to focus on finding illustrations for next Sunday’s sermons rather than realizing that what we are seeing might be exactly what we need in

six months.

The morning newspaper, weekly magazines, the evening news, even those annoying forwarded e-mails—all contain potentially potent illustrations. You might not need them right now, but sooner or later they will come in handy. The key is recognizing good material when you encounter it and immediately plugging it into your database for future use.

Consider these possibilities:

1. Newspapers and Magazines

• Look for human-interest stories that move you emotionally. Identify the story with a particular topic or issue common to people’s everyday experiences—love, hate, sin, grace, family, jealousy, kindness, etc.

• Watch for statistics of all types, but be sure to date the source. Statistics change quickly. You do not want to use numbers from 1973 in 2009!

• Don’t overlook anything—even the obituaries. One obit I found was eight column inches long, noting the deceased’s wealth and numerous civic activities but no faith affiliation. I compared that person with another of the same age who died without wealth or fame, but whose history testified to a lifetime of service to Christ. The point? Which would you rather have as your obituary? Who laid up treasure in heaven?