Illustrating Well

Preaching Sermons that Connect

Jim L. Wilson

• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Year: 2022
• Print ISBN: 9781683595892
• eBook ISBN: 9781683595908
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Ministry

"In Illustrating Well, Jim L. Wilson provides pastors with the tools to effectively use sermon illustrations to help them communicate the Bible's teachings. To reach the hearts and minds of their congregations, preachers must do more than explain the truth; they must demonstrate how the truth relates to real life. In this book, preachers will find all the principles for crafting compelling illustrations as well as a variety of effective examples"--

Section 1

Using Sermon Illustrations Effectively

1

Four Metaphors for Sermon Illustrations

Preachers and homileticians often use metaphors (or similes)1 to speak about how illustrations function in sermons: bridges, windows, light, and pictures. While each of these falls short of capturing the full essence of sermon illustrations’ efficacy, they all contribute to our understanding of how illustrations function in a sermon.

Sermon Illustrations as Bridges

When used well, sermon illustrations build a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar, the clear to the unclear, the known to the unknown, and, ultimately, the people to the message. Paul’s sermon at Mars Hill (Acts 17) is a good example.

At the time of his visit to Athens, Paul was not on trial for his beliefs or behavior (that would come later), but he was asked to defend his views on Jesus and the resurrection before the Court of the Areopagus—a gathering of intellectuals with jurisdiction over educational and religious thought. The pressure was on. In this intimidating arena of high culture, he was surrounded by accomplished rhetoricians. He was not one of them. By reputation (2 Cor 10:10) and his own admission (2 Cor 11:6), Paul was not a skilled speaker. However, his sermon on Mars Hill is a masterpiece of persuasive preaching and a model for how to use illustrations to overcome communication obstacles. Paul’s sermon illustration worked in concert with the rest of his sermon. From beginning to end, Paul worked to move the people from what they already knew to what he wanted to teach them:

Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said, “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands. Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things. From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live. He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ Since we are God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

“Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.” So Paul left their presence. However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. (Acts 17:22–34)

Sermon illustrations do not stand alone. They interact with other sermon elements to accomplish the preacher’s goal. In this case, Paul was introducing himself and his message in a cross-cultural ministry setting. He was on his audience’s turf, not his, and he needed to connect personally with them and then preach the gospel before he could call on them to act on its claims. Notice how Paul’s illustration functions in the sermon, working with the other elements to connect the people to the speaker, the message, and, ultimately, to God.

In the introduction, Paul connects with his audience by setting the proper tone and preparing them to hear his message. Though the multiple idols he encountered in the city had troubled him (Acts 17:16), he frames his observation in an inoffensive way. He speaks of the citizens as being “extremely religious.” In addition, Paul refers to the inscription on one of their idols “to an unknown god” to grab and hold their attention—he was in the Acropolis that day to tell them about the God they did not yet know. This is not to say that he put his stamp of approval on what he observed. He did not.2 What he did was find a way for him to connect with them and them with him. Without the connection, the people would have immediately dismissed him, but worse still, they would have dismissed the gospel.

In the body of the sermon, he shares his deep theological convictions that their “unknown god” created the world (17:24a), is sovereign over all (24b), providentially cares for all (25), is responsible for all human life (26), is transcendent and yet personal (27), and is the center of creation’s very existence (28a).

After stating his succinct, theologically rich message, he illustrates it with a reference to familiar literature: Greek poetry.3 The illustration was familiar, clear, interesting, and appropriate for his audience, and as a result, it was convincing. Because he illustrated the message out of their world, he continued to bridge a relational gap between him and them, but he also created a bridge between their experiences and his message. Essentially, he helped them to understand an unfamiliar message by rooting it in what was known, loved, and already embraced in their culture—a bridge from the familiar to the unfamiliar. The illustration helped them understand and relate to his message, which allowed them to apply it to their lives.

Paul pivots from the illustration to proclaim that God is not in idol form (29) and asks the listeners to turn away from idol worship and turn to him (30). He concludes by showing the relationship of what he has preached to the question at hand—the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the proof that God will be the final judge of all life (31).

Paul’s sermon—encompassing the introduction, body (explanation and illustration), and the conclusion—was effective. The full force of the message resulted in some hearers embracing the message and becoming Christ followers (34). Specifically, the illustration he used made the explanation more accessible and believable to them. It was consistent with his tone and tied the whole sermon together. Throughout the sermon, Paul tore down obstacles and built bridges. He did it especially well with his sermon illustration. Good illustrations—well-chosen, appropriate illustrations—do that; they bridge understanding, culture, and worldviews to help listeners understand, apply, and experience the message.

Sermon Illustrations as Windows

People often use the metaphor of windows in everyday conversation. In modern parlance, we speak of:

•windows of opportunity—a short time to accomplish something

•windows on the world—going past a provincial point of view

•window dressing—a frivolous decoration that adds no depth

•window shopping—just looking without being intent on buying

•flying out the window—a missed opportunity.

While each of these might add to our understanding of sermon illustrations (for instance, illustrations can prop up a poor sermon and essentially become window dressing), Charles Spurgeon used the window metaphor to emphasize two aspects of sermon illustrations: 1) they let in light and 2) they allow fresh air to circulate. In Lectures to My Students, he writes:

A building without windows would be a prison rather than a house, for it would be quite dark, and no one would care to take it upon lease; and, in the same way, a discourse without a parable is prosy and dull, and involves a grievous weariness of the flesh.… Our congregations hear us with pleasure when we give them a fair measure of imagery: when an anecdote is being told, they rest, take breath, and give play to their imaginations, and thus prepare themselves for the sterner work, which lies before them in listening to our profounder expositions.4

Spurgeon’s window metaphor explains that sermon illustrations bring light into the room, keeping the sermon from feeling like a prison. The etymology of the word “illustration” involves the casting of light,5 so it is appropriate that Spurgeon uses a metaphor that includes shining light on the biblical truth.6 That is also how twentieth-century homiletics professor Andrew Blackwood utilizes the metaphor: “A first-class illustration is like a window which lets the morning sunlight stream into the dining room. A poor illustration is like a sham window which admits no light, and permits no person to look out.”7 Blackwood uses the metaphor to differentiate between first-class and poor illustrations. The effective ones let in the light; ineffective ones block a person’s view.

The observation that windows let in light does not exhaust the usefulness of the window metaphor. Windows do not simply let light in; they also allow a refreshing breeze to circulate in a room. Spurgeon’s quote spends very little space speaking of light but a great deal speaking of the breeze. Without the illustrations, the sermon’s prose would be “dull,” and it would make the flesh of the listeners “weary.” Just as a cool breeze coming through a window is refreshing on a sweltering day, sermon illustrations refresh the mind so it can grasp weightier matters. Spurgeon goes so far as to say that without the window, people would likely stay home and read instead of listening to a sermon “made up of solid slabs of doctrine.”8

Spurgeon uses the window metaphor from the perspective of being in the room seeing the light and feeling the breeze. Others have expanded the metaphor by shifting the point of view to the outside looking in. “Illustrations are like the windows of a house. They allow you to look inside, see, and remember what you saw.”9 Sermon illustrations do more than provide light; they provide insight.

Sermon Illustrations as Lights

The window metaphor includes light, inasmuch as a window lets light into a room. However, many preachers and homileticians use light as a standalone metaphor for sermon illustrations. To some, shedding light makes “the meaning plain”;10 to others, it “clarifies”11 or “illumines” the truth.12 Veteran pastor Silas Krueger uses the light metaphor to speak of the effect of an illustration to enlighten “once-darkened minds.”13 So ultimately, the light metaphor shows that sermon illustrations function to highlight the text and enlighten the minds of the hearers.

The light metaphor not only provides guidance for what illustrations do; it also warns of a potential threat that arises from using inappropriate illustrations: to overpower the sermon’s message. Seminary professor Murray Capill writes:

By definition an illustration is intended to throw light on a subject. If the light itself draws all the attention, it is self-defeating. When people leave after a message, remembering some great stories and anecdotes, but unable to recall what the stories illustrated, they have effectively looked into a floodlight while failing...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Section 1: Using Sermon Illustrations Effectively
• Section 2: Using a Variety of Illustration Types Well
• Conclusion: Four Encouraging Words
• Bibliography