Servant
School
November 23, 2003
Illustrations
From Illustration to Message
When you come across good stories, it’s important to make sure they fit
your lesson.
Biblical Illustrations
What could the following Biblical stories illustrate:
Cain and Abel
Lot in Sodom
Joseph and Potiphar’s wife
Moses parting the Red Sea
Stories
What kinds of things could these stories illustrate?
Illustration
Back when the telegraph was the fastest method of long-distance communication,
a young man applied for a job as a Morse code operator. Answering an ad in the
newspaper, he went to the office address that was listed. When he arrived, he
entered a large, busy office filled with noise and clatter, including the sound
of the telegraph in the background. A sign on the receptionist’s counter
instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned
to enter the inner office. The young man filled out his form and sat down with
the seven other applicants in the waiting area. After a few minutes, the young
man stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked
right in. Naturally the other applicants perked up, wondering what was going
on. They muttered among themselves that they hadn’t heard any summons yet. They
assumed that the young man who went into the office made a mistake and would be
disqualified. Within a few minutes, however, the employer escorted the young
man out of the office and said to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you
very much for coming, but the job has just been filled.” The other applicants
began grumbling to each other, and one spoke up saying, “Wait a minute, I don’t
understand. He was the last to come in, and we never even got a chance to be
interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair!” The employer said, “I’m
sorry, but all the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been
ticking out the following message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this
message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or
understood it. This young man did. The job is his.”
(from 1Samuel 3:10)
Illustration
Gentlemen:
Enclosed you will find a check for $150.
I cheated on my income tax return last year and have not been able to
sleep ever since. If I still have
trouble sleeping I will send you the rest.
Sincerely, A Tax Payer
(from 1Sam. 7:3)
Illustration
In his book Miracles in Black, Dr. John C. Wengatz tells of an
African convert who was left at a new mission station to carry on the Lord’s
work with a cannibal tribe. It was the
dry season when Joao Mbaxi took over, but soon the tropical rains would be
coming. Month after month went by,
however, without a cloud appearing in the sky. Then came the time for the
normal dry period. By now everyone was
suffering, and many were on the brink of starvation. In all the years they had worshiped their
ancient gods, the rains had never failed them, and so Joao was told that he
must leave the country and take “the white man’s God” with him. The courageous Christian refused to go. Then, flushed with anger, the chief sullenly
warned, “If your God is as good as you say and so powerful that He rules the
sky, why doesn’t He send us the needed showers?
If it doesn’t rain by sunrise tomorrow, we will drink your blood and eat
your flesh!”
Recalling the Biblical account of Elijah, Joao went to his hut and prayed
for divine help with the same urgency as that of the ancient prophet. Meanwhile the members of the tribe waited for
the dawn when the Christian leader would become the victim of their horrible
feast. Just before daylight, thunder was heard in the distance, lightning
flashed across the sky, and abundant rain refreshed the entire region! As a
result, the believer was able to continue his work for Christ.
(from 1Sam. 12:13)
Illustration
An archaeologist was digging in the Negev
Desert in Israel
and came upon a casket containing a mummy. After examining it, he called the
curator of a prestigious natural-history museum. “I’ve just discovered a 3,000
year-old mummy of a man who died of heart failure!” the excited scientist
exclaimed. To which the curator replied, “Bring him in. We’ll check it out.” A
week later, the amazed curator called the archaeologist. “You were exactly
right about the mummy’s age and cause of death. How in the world did you know?”
“Easy. There was a piece of paper in his hand that said, ‘10,000 Shekels on
Goliath.’”
(from 1Sam. 17:51)
Illustration
The Call of the Barnyard
A flock of wild ducks was flying in formation, heading south for the winter.
They formed a beautiful V in the sky, and were admired by everyone who saw them
from below.
One day, Wally, one of the wild ducks in the formation, spotted something
on the ground that caught his eye. It was a barnyard with a flock of tame ducks
who lived on the farm. They were waddling around on the ground, quacking
merrily and eating corn that was thrown on the ground for them every day. Wally
liked what he saw. “It sure would be nice to have some of that corn,” he
thought to himself. “And all this flying is very tiring. I’d like to just
waddle around for a while.”
So after thinking it over a while, Wally left the formation of wild ducks,
made a sharp dive to the left, and headed for the barnyard. He landed among the
tame ducks, and began to waddle around and quack merrily. He also started
eating corn. The formation of wild ducks continued their journey south, but
Wally didn’t care. “I’ll rejoin them when they come back north in a few months,
he said to himself.
Several months went by and sure enough, Wally looked up and spotted the
flock of wild ducks in formation, heading north. They looked beautiful up
there. And Wally was tired of the barnyard. It was muddy and everywhere he
waddled, nothing but duck doo. “It’s time to leave,” said Wally.
So Wally flapped his wings furiously and tried to get airborne. But he had
gained some weight from all his corn-eating, and he hadn’t exercised his wings
much either. He finally got off the ground, but he was flying too low and
slammed into the side of the barn. He fell to the ground with a thud and said
to himself, “Oh, well, I’ll just wait until they fly south in a few months.
Then I’ll rejoin them and become a wild duck again.”
But when the flock flew overhead once more, Wally again tried to lift
himself out of the barnyard. He simply didn’t have the strength. Every winter
and every spring, he saw his wild duck friends flying overhead, and they would
call out to him. But his attempts to leave were all in vain.
Eventually Wally no longer paid any attention to the wild ducks flying
overhead. He hardly even noticed them. He had, after all, become a barnyard
duck.
Edited from More Hot Illustrations for Youth Talks by Wayne Rice.
Copyright 1995 by Youth Specialties, Inc.
(from 1Sam. 6:10)
Homework assignment:
1. Outline John 9
2. Research word definitions (words are from King James Text):
9:16 “division”
9:22 “put out”
9:37 “seen”
9:38 “worshipped”
3. You’re doing a study, and the lesson you want to teach is: “Count on
Grace” (or, think about God’s grace, think about how wonderful God’s grace is,
think about God’s unconditional love)
a. Find a Biblical story to illustrate this lesson.
b. Find a story outside the Bible to illustrate this lesson.
4. Zero in on one idea from John 9 and do O-I-A;
a. State your point
b. Support your point with another Bible verse
c. Illustrate your point