The solution is to become a human vacuum cleaner, sucking up interesting stories and tidbits as you go through life. Look for them in the vehicle registration line. Observe human behavior and interaction. Look for the quirks and challenges of life. Listen to the songs your teenagers are playing. Watch TV Keep up with what is happening in the culture. Read the books on the New York Times bestseller list. Peruse the movie reviews in your local newspaper. Find web sites that provide daily or weekly headlines. Subscribe to news magazines. All of these things put you in touch with the culture around us which is an abundant source of material for illustrating sermons.

We also recommend quirkier sources. Learn to look for illustrations where no one else is looking. We particularly like books about strange and unusual oddities and peculiarities of history or culture. Odd and quirky dead Englishmen seem to be the exception to the rule. They still hold the interest of an audience, even though they are from distant centuries or cultures. Condemned To Repeat It: The Philosopher Who Flunked Life and Other Great Lessons from History by Wick Allison, Jeremy Adams, and Gavin Hambly (New York: Viking, 1998) is a great example. Filled with lessons drawn from strange or little-known history events, the book is a treasure of great illustrations and lessons. Charles Panati wrote Extraordinary Origins of Everyday Things (New York: Harper & Row, 1987) and Panati's Extraordinary Endings of Practically Everything and Everybody (New York: Harper & Row, 1987). These books provide endless sources of ideas, humor, and ways to make biblical ideas come to life.

Advertisement

Typhoid Mary's spread of death can be compared to the Judaizers of Galatians. Earl Tupper's innovative way of turning his fledgling company into an economic power through empowering individuals to host "Tupperware parties" can illustrate the power of personal evangelism or home Bible studies. The most famous and humorous "last words" recorded in history make a great introduction to just about any of Paul's epistolary conclusions. We have already noted non-fiction books like Into Thin Air and Ghosts of Everest which are endless supplies of material. Kent Hughes's Preaching the Word series is an excellent source of supporting material, complete with references so you can look it up for yourself.

Using contemporary movies or television for illustrations demands sensitivity to the conscience of others. As a general rule, don't refer to movies or television shows that you cannot recommend. Stay away from references to R-rated movies or other forms of offensive entertainment, even if you did not personally see them. By the time you explain to everyone that you did not see the movie and that you don't go see objectionable movies but that you happen to know about this one because you read the reviews, you have so weakened the power of the illustration as to make it ineffective.