4 Useful Keys for Effective Sermon Illustrations

I attended Cedarville University where there were chapel speakers every day. Each speaker had their own style of preaching, some more effective than others. One of the things that interested me most is how speakers used sermon illustrations.

Oftentimes Pastors opened with extended personal anecdotes to “connect” with the room full of college students.

Others interrupted the flow of their own sermon to tell a humorous story.

The key question which entered my mind was: When and for what purpose should a preacher use a story, illustration, or anecdote?

In my opinion, there are several keys to deciding whether to use a sermon illustration or not.

Key 1: Don’t use sermon illustrations merely to entertain

One of the fundamental responsibilities of a preacher is to lead the congregation in worship. There is nothing more distracting than a funny story to open up a service where we are worshiping the living God.

If you are making your sermon and decide you want to tell a funny story at some point during your preaching, please reconsider.

The preacher is a mouthpiece to communicate truth to the congregation. It is a responsibility. A lot of your credibility as a pastor is based on how seriously you yourself take that truth.

At college, I often thought one of the main reasons speakers told entertaining stories was to seem relatable or relaxed or casual or accessible.

Preaching is not about making yourself seem accessible, it is about making the truth of God accessible to your listeners.

Most often, the longer and “funnier” the story, the more jarring the transition to actually preaching the Bible. 

I am not arguing for a joyless service. By no means! But when the Church is gathered for worship the joy should be from the genuine delight we have in the gospel.

Our culture and to a great degree the day to day lives of your congregants is over-saturated with entertainment. Netflix. Disney+. Social media.

Do your congregation a favor and never use an illustration that distracts from the gravity of the Church gathering for worship.

Show your congregation that there is more to life than entertainment. Don’t use illustrations to entertain.

Key 2: Don’t use an illustration that detracts from the main point

I think many of the pastors I have heard who interrupt themselves with illustrations really think they are doing their listeners a favor. It gives their listeners a break from the really dense exposition of scripture.

Sometimes this may be true. But I found that it is better not to try to illustrate a point if you can’t do it well.

A poorly made illustration will cause the listener to fail to grasp the full weight of the text of scripture.

If you can’t think of a useful illustration, don’t manufacture one. Instead maybe try to restate the point using other words.

Or clarify it by going to another part of scripture.

If your illustration is less interesting or impactful than the truth you are presenting, skip it. Too many illustrations I have heard sound forced or overly long.

Especially frustrating is when a speaker makes a long-winded side illustration only to barely connect it to the point at hand. 

The old principle of “when in doubt, leave it out” certainly applies here.

If your illustration is not obviously connected to the point you are trying to make, leave it out or think of a better illustration.

A half baked example or personal story will do more harm than good. You will leave your listeners more focused on the story than the point itself.

Preaching is nothing if not heralding the truth in clarity. Anything which doesn’t serve this purpose must be cut.

Key 3: Don’t use sermon illustrations that complicates your point

A classic example of these are all the different supposed illustrations of the trinity. I refer you to this video for an accurate take on them.

Sometimes, well meaning illustrations take simple points which should simply be affirmed and make them even harder to grasp.

Specifically, your illustration needs to match up as close 1:1 to the point you are trying to illustrate.

A bad illustration can cause your listeners to ask more questions than give answers. For example, should you attempt to illustrate the trinity with a three leaf clover, you are not only teaching partialism, but inviting your listeners to evaluate your analogy.

“How is the trinity like a clover?”

“I thought the Bible said there is one God? Are there three parts to him”

It would be easier if you simply presented the truths scripture declares and exhort the congregation on the necessity of faith and the transcendence of God.

Recognize that certain Biblical truths defy analogy. Simply affirm them.

Reflect on your illustration. Is it simplifying your point? Or adding a layer of complexity?

To put another way, will your listeners immediately grasp your illustration? Or will they spend more time trying to understand how your illustration relates than actually thinking about the text?

Now, these are all pitfalls to using sermon illustrations. How should you use them?

Fundamental Principle: Sermon illustrations exist to communicate abstract truth more clearly to your congregation.

For a good book on how humans use analogical thinking, see here.

The bible is full of metaphors, illustrations, and analogies. They are taken from nature, from other parts of scripture, and from the culture around them.

And in every case, the purpose is to take abstract spiritual concepts and make them tangible and accessible.

For example, in Isaiah, God doesn’t say “Your sins against me are an offense to my holiness and because I am infinite in majesty you deserve infinite judgment in proportion to that offense. However, even though this is your state, I will deal with this problem so you will not meet the infinite judgment you rightly have earned. Additionally, I will conform you to my holy and righteous standards.”

Instead, God uses a metaphor: though your sins are scarlet, you shall be made white as snow.

God graciously condescends to our finite minds by giving us truth using pictures that are common to our lives.

By understanding sin as a stain that must be washed away, you as the reader immediately grasp the truth of our guilt and God’s holiness in fewer words.

And that is how you preacher should use illustrations.

Don’t use them to entertain or make simple points excessively long.

Also don’t always relate the point to your own personal life or experience.

Take spiritual realities and make them clear by connecting them with the common things in your congregation’s life. 

Now, recognize also not every abstract truth can be made into an analogy. The trinity and the virgin birth are just a couple biblical truths that defy analogy.

But just as limitations of illustrations should make you wary of using them excessively, seeing how God uses them in scripture to communicate to His people should make you want to use them when you can.

If you want to use illustrations effectively in your sermon, you must study the Bible. God is the original and best illustrator of spiritual truth.

Any comments or thoughts? Feel free to contact me!