I was speaking with another pastor once and they told me they felt that there were two different kinds of preachers: there are those who fill their messages with personal stories and anecdotes and those who give their congregations the meat of the Word of God. The disdain with which he described the people in the first camp made it clear to me that he felt that illustrations diluted a message. The more Bible the better. I understood his point, but I don’t think the two extremes he compared or the conclusions he drew were helpful. Let me explain what I believe to be the purpose and value of illustrations, so if you’re ever asked to teach a Bible lesson or give a talk to a youth group or seniors meeting, you’ll know when to use them and how.
Some people love to dig into the original setting of the Bible passage they’re teaching. When done poorly, these messages can sound like history lectures. Other people are determined to be more relevant. It feels easier to apply, but it’s not always clear whether the message came from the Bible or whether something was lost in translation. Let’s consider how to cross the bridge into the setting of the Bible and then back across the bridge into the present context.
I thought that the goal of a message from the Bible was to tell people what the Bible says and how it applies to our lives. But I was missing a crucial step that’s essential to avoid losing people as you speak. I didn’t realize the importance of organizing my talk around a central idea. Let me share why that’s important and how you can do it.
Just because you’ve sat through a bunch of sermons and Bible studies, it doesn’t mean that you understand what makes them work when they do or fall apart when they don’t. Let’s dissect some of the most common reasons an otherwise interesting Bible message lacks power or impact. Then, hopefully, next time you have an opportunity to give a talk, you’ll know where to start.
