Notes on Illustration in Preaching

Following are notes from a seminar on the use of illustration in preaching.

Illustration is the art of illumating a thought by means of allusion to something already familiar to the hearer. Illustration in preaching is not essential – that is, preaching can be preaching without any explicit illustrations – but the lack of it will almost certainly impoverish any spoken message. Some contexts where illustrations may be less needed are discussed towards the end of this session.

 What is the purpose of illustration?

A non-exhaustive list:

1. Illustrations aid understanding – bringing clarity of thought, particularly though not exclusively for those less able or inclined to follow lengthy addresses.
2. Illustration makes thoughts accessible
   • Some people need a hook to grab a hold of a thought
   • This can occur in the act of preaching, where the preacher infers from the posture of the hearers that his point is not landing, perhaps due to some difficulty in understanding it.
3. Illustrations create firm impressions which will last beyond the duration of the sermon
4. Illustrations bring conviction
   • In this sense, they can be seen as a means of application.
5. Illustrations aid memorization
6. Illustration provide an opportunity for reflection
   • Particularly in a denser sermon, illustrations can provide respite from the auditory onslaught, a window to enable enlightening
7. Illustration aids application
   • Illustration is the handmaiden of application
   • Illustration is helpful for self-examination

Illustration is more than word pictures

Many preachers will talk of illustration purely in terms of sight; however, illustration should include a reaching into all five senses, recalling smells and sounds as well as sights.

Jay Adams is helpful in this regard. The below is inspired by his work Preaching with Purpose: The Urgent Task of Homiletics.

Jay lists several supports to his point:

1. Illustration is not just an appeal to sight.
2. Illustration should trigger the memory of sound, smell, etc.
3. Illustration should appeal to the whole of human sense, including:
   • Evocative language
   • Story-telling (including mini stories)
   • Sound (intonation and dynamics)
   • Gesture

Some examples of these four points from our Lord:

Mark 10.1-31

Story-telling: Verse 25 “camel through the eye of a needle” Gesture: “Looking at him and loved him”

This second instance is interesting, for the love is contained in the look. Thus we can learn for our preaching that eye contact with our hearers is simply a must. Looking aids the connection between preacher and hearer, and often communicates a great deal in itself.

Luke 12.1-34

Story-telling: Parable of the Rich Fool

Evocative language

V1 “the leaven of the Pharisees”

This is an intentional misuse of language. Leaven itself is especially well-known to the hearers in that day, being a society whose daily need could be described as “daily bread” (Matthew 6.11). Leaven is added to the dough and works its way mysteriously through the lump (Matthew 13.33). The phrase “leaven of the Pharisees” therefore immediately creates intrigue in the minds of the hearers. Then, as possible senses begin to settle in the mind, our Lord lands the blow to the midriff: “which is hypocrisy”.

A similar “misuse” of language is found in v28: “…clothes the grass…”.

V2-3 Juxtaposition of light and darkness

Here, our Lord uses a barrage of four metaphors to elucidate the one truth:

1. covered up-revealed
2. hidden-known
3. dark-light
4. whispered in inner rooms-proclaimed from the rooftops

Darkness is something we are innately wary of even from an early age. In it is mystery, chaos, and threat. Spurgeon tells the story of being in a carriage which, some time after the sun had set, was at once illuminated by the lighting of a candle by a fellow traveller. All eyes were drawn to the lightsource from instinct.¹

Gesture

V6 “Consider the sparrows” – one can well imagine the Lord gesturing to a sparrow with His hand. Perhaps some had even that moment graced a nearby tree, and drawn some hearers’ attention away from His own words. “Not to worry, they too can illustrate My point”.

Sound

V32 “Fear not, little flock, …”

The meaning of “Fear not” need not only be conveyed by the content of the words, but also the manner of delivery. It would seem greatly incongruous for our Lord to seek to comfort a “little flock” with fearsome and harsh tonality. When the content of our messages changes, let the sound of our message reflect, support, and emphasize this change.

 From where are we to gather our illustrations?

There are those who would counsel all young preachers actively to seek out little stories and analogies to add to a filing system. Whilst it is not wrong to do this, it is certainly not required. In fact, the seeking of an illustration in this manner may be hazardous, for if a perfect fit cannot be found, it may end up with a preacher in despair, a stodgy sermon, or a confusing illustration majoring on the incorrect point.

To be prompted to an illustration in the memory is likely better.

To this end, we should consider that most of our illustrations shoud come from the Scripture.

• We are preachers of the Word of God which is full of stories, let us use them.
• Every piece of evocative language in the Scripture is inspired.
• The content of Scripture is simply brilliant (gripping, fascinating, and true stories).
• Alluding to Scripture teaches and clarifies more Scripture.
• The Bible itself appeals to all the senses.

The Bible was delivered to aural peoples, in contradistinction to ours of the written word (or possibly, an increasingly unlettered people). To that end, it is not streching words too far to state that all of Scripture is in some sense sermonic.

Potential caveat: Be wise and discriminate in the use of Scriptural allusion. The point is not to refer to the lesser-trodden paths with the inevitable result of (1) not clarifying your point and (2) inculcating a feeling of inadequacy in your hearers.

Draw illustrations from:

• Daily life
• Nature
• Personal interactions (yours and observed)
• Personal experience (see below)

As preachers, our vocation is one of shepherding. Therefore, let us not see things as they appear only, but rather dig to find the root from which the behaviour originates. This is necessary if we are effectively at every opportunity to draw and shepherd our hearers on to a higher level no matter where they currently are. Stuart Olyott’s work Ministering like the Master is particularly helpful on this point.

Personal experience can be a source of illustration, however it may be advisable for young preachers to avoid this for fear of drawing too much attention to the preacher rather than his point.

Practical advice

 Reading aloud

Practice reading the Scripture as if to be heard. Seek not to read the Scripture as quickly as possible. Rather, seek to embody the grammar, stress, and emphases of the text in your reading of it. In general, read aloud if at all possible.

comment: <> (A whirlwind is full of sight and sound (and possibly flying debris).)

 Use of Gesture

Use the body to convey truth. This is not to say we should all disrobe & marry a harlot, or lie on the ground for however long, but these extreme inhabitations of the principle help to make it real to us.

 “Bring me a coin” (Mark 12.15)

Our Lord’s reply to his aggressive inquirers regarding the paying of taxes was to use a physical gesture, the raising of the coin – which they had: He did not – in order to confound them. The physical act of showing them from their own coin His point was a communication of meaning in itself – especially as they will then recall the teaching whenever they use such a coin (i.e. every day). (See also: the list at the start of this session.)

This is not necessarily to advocate the use of props.

Use of stories

We naturally latch on to stories much more than bare propositions. The use of stories can therefore greatly enhance the reception of a sermon.

The use of extended stories is generally permissible, but the story must be very well-suited to the point at hand. The more elaborate the story, the less likely this will be obviously the case.

Stories may be invented Creating a story for a purpose is perhaps somewhat unusual but can be done with excellent effect. After all, few believe that Jesus’s Parables were retellings of real events. Have a large degree of caution before embellishing any story based on Scripture, however.

Sourcing stories Church history and biographies are replete with useful stories. There may be a risk of hagiography in the use of biographical stories, which is distasteful.

Stuart Olyott brings six considerations in the use of stories:

1. Must be subordinate to the point
2. Must be clear
3. Ought to be brief
4. Should never offend common dignity
5. Should be varied (not another fishing analogy…)
6. Must be accurate – check your sources!

What may affect the amount of illustration needed

1. The type or context of the sermon

For example, if the sermon is to be heard by a great many unbelievers, referencing not-widely-known biblical stories may be unhelpful.

2. The nature of the passage

For instance, Paul’s dense theology may be illustrated well with OT stories. However, preaching an OT narrative may require almost no illustration as the text illustrates itself.

3. Amount of practical application required

More practical application requires less illustration, because application is inherently (personally) illustrative.

Final considerations

• Avoid overillustration – on this, Spurgeon is not a good model!
• Preaching is application, but preaching is not illustration – it is served by illustration.