When Sermon Illustrations Go Horribly Wrong
Everybody loves a great sermon illustration. I mean, that's why you're on this site right now, isn't it? A great illustration has the ability to drive home a point, make a lasting impression, and provide visual imagery that will linger in the minds of congregants long after the sermon is over.
But what happens when a sermon illustration goes terribly wrong — driving home the point, all right, just the wrong point driven in just the wrong place.
Well that's what happened to Pastor Scott Thomas of Free Life Chapel in Lakeland, Florida.
Cindy and I spoke on “Building A Marriage” and used a wedding cake for our illustration. To close the teaching, we stressed that if we build our marriages outside of God’s order… the whole cake (marriage) crashed!
All went well… until I slammed the cake upside down and SURPRISINGLY DISCOVERED that the cake company had implanted a dowel inside to hold the cake layers together.
When I slammed the cake upside-down the dowel pierced through the bottom of the cake and traveled completely through my hand! When I looked down… the dowel was sticking 5 inches out the back of my hand! I immediately pulled the stick out of my hand and tried to wrap my head around what just happened!
Cindy immediately slid me a towel… I wrapped my hand, finished the message and prayed to close out the session in the next 5 minutes.
Fortunately, Pastor Thomas is fine, with no lasting injury. And he and his wife were both able to laugh it off in the end. Yet it's an illustration that won't soon be forgotten.
Click here for video (ouch!).
As pastors and teachers we are all called to, "Do [our] best to present [ourselves] to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV).
To that end, we often employ sermon illustration to "drive home" our "point," even as Pastor Thomas so literally (albeit painfully) did. The right illustration can make just the right point at just the right time.
They won't all land quite the way we intended. They won't all be as memorable as we'd hoped. They certainly and hopefully won't be as painful as poor Pastor Thomas' was!
But a great bible teacher is always looking for ways to more dynamically communicate the truths of God's Word. To this end, if you've landed on this site, we applaud you! And we are blessed beyond measure to partner with you to that end!
Your Illustration Exchange Team
These Boots Were Made For Preaching
"I see you always wear boots when you preach." That was the statement made to me by a member at the South Stokes Church of Christ in King, NC. I was holding a meeting for them that week, and on the last night of the meeting, he and his wife had taken my bride and me to supper.
"Yes sir," I replied, "that is pretty much all I wear." He asked me what size I wore and I told him. He went on to explain that he had a brand new pair of Justin Ropers he wanted me to try. After services that evening I tried them on for size, and they fit. When I asked what he wanted for them, he said, "They are yours." As it turns out, he and his wife had bought them for their son's birthday the previous year. Their son, who was about my age, was killed in an automobile accident and they never got to give him those boots.
"Knowing you will be wearing them when you preach the Gospel would mean the world to me," he said.
In Exodus 13:3-10, the Almighty gave the Feast of the Passover to His people to remind them of what He had done, and to remind them to be faithful because of His blessing. In Genesis 28:18ff, Jacob anointed a stone to remind him of his vows to God. In Joshua 22, the tribes on the East side of the Jordan built a memorial for their sons to remind themselves of their responsibilities as God's children. In I Samuel 7, Samuel set up a stone as a reminder of what the Lord had done.
Of course, we also have such a memorial. In Matthew 26:22ff, Jesus instituted the Lord's Supper as a reminder of His sacrifice: a reminder that should stir us to be faithful. Perhaps there are other things you have accumulated that help reminds you of the importance of being faithful to God. Be it a Bible from a deceased family member, a picture of your baptism, or some other item that reminds you of your walk with the Lord. Cherish those subtle reminders and allow them to help you to remember.
Every time I put on those Justin Ropers I am reminded again of the precious gift that was given to me by two grieving parents. Every time I put them on, I am also reminded of the expectations of a father that I would be faithful to the Lord and His ministry while I wear them. It is one more reminder from the Father, who expects me to be faithful to Him and the ministry He has given me!
"How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!" (Romans 10:15).
Preaching Shakespeare
Max Anders, in his book 30 DAYS TO UNDERSTANDING THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, shares this story from the life of W.A. Criswell, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, TX.
He and a friend of his visited a church one Sunday morning, and the preacher was preaching from Shakespeare. After the service was over, Criswell and his friend went up to the minister and said, “Sir, we think that in a church a minister ought to preach from the Bible.”
The minister replied, “Oh, I preach from the Bible. In fact, I preached from it last year, but I finished it, and so this year I am preaching from Shakespeare.”
[Max Anders, is a former college seminary professor, who has pastored for over twenty years. He is the author of over twenty books and was the creator and general editor of the 32 volume Holman Bible Commentary series.]
There is no coming to the end of the preaching the Gospel to God's people. The work of the Word of God in the lives of people doesn't end until the work of God in the lives of people has come to an end.
"My soul is consumed with longing for your laws at all times" (Psalm 119:20).
"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage--with great patience and careful instruction" (2 Timothy 4:2).