Make them personal. Probably nothing else we say about illustrations will be as debatable as this piece of advice, but we are great believers in using tasteful, appropriate personal illustrations. Other kinds of stories and anecdotes may work fine, but you will be amazed to discover that the people who give you their time every Sunday morning are most interested in your personal stories. They enjoy hearing about your struggles, your victories, and even your thoughts. They don't have to be stories of earth-shattering drama or personal crisis, just little insights that shed some light on the subject of the text.

Once while preaching through the Book of Colossians, I came to that wonderful passage that includes the end of chapter 2 and the beginning of chapter 3 — the great text in which Paul explains that you cannot be holy by keeping the law, but that holiness comes through focusing on Christ and heavenly. things. He goes on to explain that the "old man," that person who existed before we trusted Christ, is actually dead, but that we must go on to put off the things that are related to the old man — his deeds and desires — and that we must clothe ourselves in the things that belong to the "new man." I wanted to illustrate that God has clothed us in the righteousness of Christ and that our deeds must match it like a pair of shoes should match a suit or a dress.

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I related that Tanya had forced me to get rid of an old, worn-out, dilapidated pair of topsiders that made my feet feel wonderful — but they looked disgusting! The soles were separating from the shoe so that they seemed to talk with every step! Months after I thought she had thrown them away, I was getting ready to preach one Sunday morning and was rummaging in my closet looking for something when I was delighted to find my favorite pair of shoes. I was elated! It was like running into an old friend. I already had on my suit pants and shirt, but I had to run out to the car for something, so I just stepped into those old ugly shoes. I felt as though I was stepping into warm water when I put those shoes on.

Later that morning as I was preaching, just as I was making a dramatic point, my eyes fell to my feet and, to my horror, I realized that I was still wearing those shoes. Right in the pulpit, in front of hundreds of people and a television audience, and with a nice suit, I was wearing ugly, frayed, and frazzled topsiders because I had forgotten that I was wearing them. To say the least, I was terribly embarrassed.

So when preaching the passage about putting off the things that belong to the old man, I told that story and then I made my point: "Have you ever rummaged through the forgotten store of memories long hiding in the corner of your mind, when suddenly you discovered the memory of a sin long past, long ago forsaken. But instead of repulsion, it brings delight to your mind. You remember it fondly rather than in shame. You think of it as pleasurable, and before you know it, you have fallen into it again. You are still a child of God, still clothed in the righteousness of God, but you have slipped into the comfort of past sin, and it doesn't go with what you are wearing now. It belongs to the old man."