The “thou shalt not’s” of Illustrations

Speaking as someone from the pews I am quite the fan of illustrations if used correctly.  One of the main reasons I am all for illustrations is because they help my leaky memory bank to memorize the great truth that is being conveyed.  Lately for some reason my short term memory has been out of wack.  I sometimes feel like I have the short term memory of a gold fish, at least of of late.  All that to say is a great illustration from the pulpit has huge benefits for this young lad.

Although illustrations are great there are some “thou shalt not’s” when it comes to illustrations.  Colin Adams has listed seven of them below.  Click here to read on each one.

1. Thou shalt not overuse them.
2. Thou shalt not underuse them.
3. Thou shalt not fail to illustrate the point.
4. Thou shalt not make them overly long.
5. Thou shalt not misuse humour.
6. Thou shalt not be pastorally imprudent.
7. Thou shalt not use overly powerful illustrations.

Keller and Stetzer on Evangelism (Audio)

Tim Keller and Ed Stetzer discuss the topic of Evangelism.  Click here for the podcast.  (Just a little warning it is a little difficult to hear Ed Stetzer but still worth listening to.)

LifeWay – Keller, Stetzer discuss Evangelism, belief in an age of skepticism by Chris Turner

Excerpt:

NASHVILLE, Tenn., 4/24/08 — A recently released LifeWay Research study reveals that more than 70 percent of unbelievers surveyed agree that “Jesus makes a difference,” but more than 70 percent also affirmed that “the church is full of hypocrites.” One prominent author understands why both questions would elicit such strong responses.

“They almost have to feel that way because the view from the outside is that if you aren’t living like Jesus Christ you won’t go to heaven,” said Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Manhattan and author of the New York Times bestseller, The Reason for God: Belief in an age of skepticism. Keller’s comments came in a recent Inside LifeWay podcast with Ed Stetzer, director of LifeWay Research. Both the unchurched study and the podcast can be found at LifeWayResearch.com.

“When they see Christians saying they are born again and they don’t see an incredibly changed life they assume you are a hypocrite,” Keller said. “They have to believe that, and the fact that they are critical of us we have to say partly that’s our fault, but on the other hand, it’s partly their inability to understand the gospel. We have to be patient with that.”

Keller said that even though there is growing prominence in arguments for atheism through such books as Richard Dawkins’ The God Delusion, the reality is that it is pretty easy to challenge the belief that there is no God or that all gods are the same.

“Of all the objections to Christianity, saying God is the same as all the others is the weakest and easiest to disprove,” he said. “There are two ways to go about it. The practical way is that all other religions have someone who says ‘I am a prophet come to show you the way to God.’ Only Christianity was founded by a man who said ‘I’m God come to find you.’ Now if Jesus said that…then either Christianity is either a superior or inferior way to God, but it can’t be equal [to all the others]. You ask any rabbi or imam or anybody who knows anything about their religion they’d say the same thing.

(HT: Ed Stetzer)

Caution: Never Be Wise In Your Own Sight

John Piper:

If a twelve-year-old makes A’s in school and generally makes wise choices, how would you help her apply this verse to herself?

Never be wise in your own sight. (Romans 12:16)

You might say:

1. It means that you gladly admit that all true wisdom is from God. It is his, and not finally ours.
2. It means that you recognize that any sense of superiority comes from comparing yourself only with your inferiors. But the most important person to compare yourself with is God, and he is infinitely wiser than you. Not only that, there are a lot of people in the world wiser than you.
3. It means that you feel humbled by the fact that you are a sinner deserving of God’s wrath, and that you are amazed at the grace that gives you eternal life. This humility and amazement swallows up a sense of pride.
4. It means that you do not count yourself worthy of being served, but rather “empty yourself” and become obedient and serve others, both the wise and the foolish.
5. It means that you are mainly not thinking about yourself at all but taken up with how admirable Jesus is and how wonderful his works are and how interesting and needy others are.