Servant
School
November 16, 2003
Illustrations
Illustrations have been called the “windows” in a message. They help bring extra light onto the points
you are trying to make.
Another person has said that the goal of the teacher is to “get the cookies
off the top shelf so others can reach them”.
That’s what a good illustration will do.
A good illustration will take a theological truth or a practical
application and help it sink home into the heart of the listener.
An illustration will take a truth and walk the listener around the truth to
examine it from different angles. It’s
like taking a flat, two dimensional truth, and making it three dimensional.
I hate to say it, but as hard as you will work on your profound,
theological Bible Studies, the thing that most people will remember will be the
stories you tell.
Illustrations do not come easy for me.
It’s often one of the most difficult parts of preparing a message for
me. It’s something you have to work hard
at to be effective. For a typical Sunday
morning message, I may take an hour or two just working on illustrations.
Biblical examples of Illustrating
David and Nathan (2Sam. 12)
David was in sin. Nathan the prophet
showed up and told David a story about a rich man who stole and then barbecued
the only lamb of his neighbor. David
heard the story and was so drawn into it that he blurted out his judgment on
the wicked rich man. Then Nathan said to
David, “Thou art the man”. Perfect use
of illustration.
Sources of Illustrations
The Bible
The best source of illustrations is the Bible. Use the stories of the Bible to bring out the
truths in your text.
Real life
Jesus often taught using illustrations from real life that everyone could
relate to. They lived in an agricultural
society, and so Jesus talked a lot about farming and shepherding.
Use current events from the news, things from science.
Personal experiences
Share examples from your own life.
Be careful that you don’t make yourself out to be the perfect person. Some people love to tell stories about how
they have always done everything correct.
Yuck!
Also be careful that you don’t only talk about your failures either.
Stories
If you are going to tell a “true story”, be sure it is a “true story”. The world is ABOUNDING in hoaxes and “urban
myths” these days. The Internet has only
made it worse. Check internet stories at www.snopes.com.
It’s okay to tell a fictional story as long as you make it clear that it is
a fictional story.
Books of illustrations.
Internet/e-mail stories. Excerpts
from good books.
Making your point
1.
State the lesson.
You need to know what you’re trying to communicate first.
Before you ever get to the place of illustration, you need to understand
the passage and have your “lesson” defined.
That’s what we’ve looked at so far, understanding the history, culture,
and meaning of the language. As you do
this work first, you will see the “lessons” pop out at you.
I usually try to put the “lesson” into a short phrase.
I do this so that people who are taking notes will lock onto the phrase and
have something short and concise to write down.
I will often repeat the lesson several times as I’m talking about the
point to help it sink in.
2.
Support the lesson.
I will usually draw from other
Scriptures to support the point.
Don’t beat it to death. A common
problem among young teachers is to find twenty five verses that will all say
the same thing and then make everybody turn to each and every Scripture. Share one or two of the most important ones.
If it makes you feel better, footnote the other references.
Sometimes I make folks turn to the supporting passage, other times I just
read it myself. If I feel this is a
passage that people need to see with their own eyes, and give them a chance to
underline it or book mark it, I will make them turn to it.
3.
Illustrate the lesson.
Don’t tell stories for the sake of telling stories. It’s tempting, but try to stay away from it!
If you are going to tell a story, make sure it is appropriate to the
passage.
At the end of the story, if the connection isn’t ABSOLUTELY clear with your
point, then make it clear.
Homework assignment:
Assignment:
Outline John 8
Research word definitions (words are from King James Text):
John 8:4 – “in the very act”
John 8:6 – “tempting”
John 8:31 – “continue”
John 8:32 – “truth”
John 8:36 – “indeed”
Zero in on one idea from John 8 and do O-I-A;
Illustrate your point