Preacher to Preacher: Windows Are Better than Paintings!

Finally, windows are better than paintings because they call us to look beyond the moment. One of my computer screensavers is a picture of "Napoleon's Nose" on Cavehill, a penetratingly high basalt mount, 1,200 feet above sea level on the outskirts of my hometown. Jim and Audrey, my sister-in-law and her husband, have a better deal. A wide window in their Belfast living room allows me to see "Napoleon's Nose" across the bright evening lights of the city skyline when we go there to visit.

The screensaver picture is a nice reminder of home—worth the proverbial thousand words—until I see the real thing in loving color through Jim and Audrey's window. Now that is worth more words than I could ever count! There just is no comparison between a picture and a window.

Similarly, an illustration is not acceptable because it is compelling, humorous, encouraging or convicting. An illustration is only acceptable to the degree that it helps us see the real thing, moving biblical truth from the abstract to the concrete, from the page to the heart of a believer. Preachers should prepare every message with the presupposition that listeners always assume the application of biblical truth is meant for someone else.

You may have heard that story about the wife who poked her husband's ribs with her elbow when a visiting evangelist preached against chewing tobacco. Yet when the preacher spoke against gossip she exclaimed, "He has moved from preachin' into meddlin'!"

Sermon illustrations move our preaching into meddling. They therefore must not be clichéd, vague or general but rather precise, vivid, real-world stories that keep real people from personally evading the force of what is being communicated. Effective illustrations are a primary means to communicate to hearers, "I am talking to you." They substantiate our message. They make it concrete and unavoidable so that our hearers are forced to do business with God in the power of the Holy Spirit.

So go look out a window, allow the fences of your imagination to disappear, and go preach! Paintings are nice. Windows are better!