# Humor in Sermons



## hammondjones

Regarding the use of humor in sermons, is that something that arose during the 2nd Great Awakening, or is there evidence of it before that time?


----------



## SolaScriptura

When you refer to "use of humor" do you mean "telling jokes" or are you intending it more broadly?


----------



## Backwoods Presbyterian

There are elements of irony (that must have caused the hearers to crack a smile) in Puritan sermons and similar rhetorical devices, but not for the sake of getting a laugh and being irreverent.


----------



## hammondjones

Primarily I mean going out of your way to, say, break the ice, or something.
Not, for example, a humorous comment on how the ostrich is a stupid bird, or a self-deprecating remark about someone falling out of a window because the preacher was boring.


----------



## reaganmarsh

I'm not sure when the modern practice of icebreakers or "funny pastors" began, but I read once that no less a heavyweight than C. H. Spurgeon was criticized for the occasional witticism. 

His response was enlightening to me. He said, "I would rather cause a half-moment's chuckle, than a half-hour's profound slumber."

Food for thought...


----------



## Free Christian

I will never pretend to know anything about preaching but I have been in churches where they made jokes and I sat there thinking "why did you say that, we're here to hear about God?" I have heard some make jokes about biblical things. I thought "you wouldn't make a joke about something your Prime Minister said to you in front of him so why do that to God?" To me, me only saying this, we should go to church prepared to hear the Word of God and not have a need to have the ice broken. I guess its the purity of worship issue with me, and being that man is what he is, subject to sinning, its easy to start a wrong with a trickle and end with a flood.


----------



## KMK

Here are some humorous quotes from Spurgeon.



> A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.
> 
> Of two evils, choose neither.
> 
> There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write “damnation” with your fingers.
> 
> I heard one say that he was sorry that he had lost his temper. I was uncommonly
> glad to hear that he had lost it, but I regretted that he found it again so soon.


----------



## SolaScriptura

I don't believe in telling jokes in sermons, but I do believe in the use of humor.


----------



## reaganmarsh

SolaScriptura said:


> I don't believe in telling jokes in sermons, but I do believe in the use of humor.



Amen to that!


----------



## Hamalas

SolaScriptura said:


> I don't believe in telling jokes in sermons, but I do believe in the use of humor.



Well said!


----------



## Free Christian

SolaScriptura said:


> I don't believe in telling jokes in sermons, but I do believe in the use of humor.


Yep, that's where im coming from.


----------



## Matthew1344

> Originally Posted by *SolaScriptura *
> I don't believe in telling jokes in sermons, but I do believe in the use of humor.



Everyone else is reposting it.


----------



## Stephen L Smith

I do find it humourous that Americans do not know how to spell humour. Spurgeon agrees with me on this one


----------



## SolaScriptura

One of my problems with employing jokes - especially at the beginning in order to "loosen up the crowd" - is that a joke, properly told, is a fully-contained unit. The punchline wraps it up and puts a tidy bow on top. So there's no natural segue into whatever it is you're talking about. So you tell the joke, (maybe) get some laughs, but then at the conclusion you're still where you were at the beginning: you still have to introduce whatever it is you're going to talk about. What's worse, telling a joke is risky: you risk offending, alienating, or it falling flat. In any case, unless he's a natural "comedian" the risk is quite high that the joke-teller will wind up looking like a buffoon. 


So I see joke telling as an unhelpful time-killer... and a dangerous one at that.


----------



## Bill The Baptist

SolaScriptura said:


> unhelpful time-killer...



That is the problem, simply seeking to fill time rather than conveying a message. I am not a fan of Andy Stanley, but there is one thing he said that I think is a good point. He pointed out the fact that people who give sermons are always worried about having enough content to fill whatever amount of time they think they should preach for, however the listener is almost never worried about that. Say what you have to say, and when you are done, stop preaching. Don't seek to simply "fill time." If that translates into an hour and a half, may God be all the more glorified. If that translates into 20 minutes, so be it. It is better to preach 20 minutes of solid, biblical content than to preach an hour of fluff.


----------



## fredtgreco

I don't believe jokes are appropriate, mainly for the same reasons that Ben articulates. But I do believe humor is a (nearly) essential element in a sermon (or any long-ish presentation). I use humor, usually around in an illustration to a Biblical point, and almost always drawn from the humor in life (how siblings interact, how things frustrate us, etc.). I do it intentionally to get people's attention - or to draw attention to a point of application from the text that I am making. Rather than have a joke with a punch line that ends the joke (as Ben aptly puts it), I immediately follow it up with my point (or reiteration of my point). I have found this an effective way to help the congregation remember the point of the text.


----------



## jwithnell

After many years of listening to our pastor, I've noticed a mannerism attached to humor (and rarely a joke if it directly supports a point). He'll draw his fingers down the outside of his mouth and down his chin to suppress a smile either out of the humility of not laughing much at one's own joke or to move into a serious point. The move itself is funny to me, and I have no idea if it's on purpose.


----------



## deleteduser99

Sometimes a piece of humor in a sermon has made the message itself more memorable, and made the point stick. I one time heard a preacher say that you ask most people what they think Samson looked like they almost always describe a Jewish Arnold Schwarzeneggar. I remember the main points of the message and why it fit so well, so it was profitable. Another man, who is a very serious preacher, talking about being in a church where maybe half are converted and half are converted made the remark, "I suppose the Lord could give me great grace if I have to look at the butts of the goats for a while." (He might have said "deal," but that is how I heard it). It was very difficult to not laugh when I heard that, but in no way did it break the power in his message, and I'd say the line contains a sermon in itself. Sobering night.

Though, I've also seen good points and weighty subjects obliterated by an ill-timed wisecrack. A real life example, I heard one preacher make a splendid point from the account of Abraham and Isaac at Moriah, and then follow it up with a reference to mac and cheese. It was abrupt and awkward after the gem of insight (though others found it funny), And I can't remember the point that he made.

We need care too, because sometimes humor can be a preacher's way of trying to be in the favor and acceptance of his audience.


----------



## Caroline

I know a dear person who fills our pulpit sometimes and always starts with a joke. I won't judge him a bad preacher for it, but I will say that it makes me miss our regular pastor. I'll side with the person on this thread who said jokes are really hard to manage without falling flat or insulting someone. When the response is a weak bit of forced laughter, it starts the sermon off on a really bad foot. There have been studies on humor that show that a bad joke provokes people to anger even when it isn't an insulting or offensive joke. So it isn't as though the audience's feelings on joke failures are neutral--it actually makes a negative mark that is hard to erase. Even from a purely practical standpoint, it is a bad idea to start ANY public speaking with a joke unless you are a successful and practiced comedian, and even then, you might want to ask yourself what it lends to the presentation.

My husband was once making an announcement in church and made an opening joke about how his wife begged him not to make any jokes. The response was stony silence, broken only by our pastor whispering behind him, "Oh, you are in trouble now." It was actually pretty funny, although I was the only one who thought so.


----------



## hammondjones

Ok. Then would it be fair to say that the idea of having a planned joke would be right in-line with the kinds of ideas that developed during the 2nd Great Awakening and the conflation of preaching and entertainment? Would that be similar to the practice of having 'special music' - basically a concert for the congregation? (This is not my church, by the way).


----------



## Free Christian

If I were pressed to answer if I agreed, yes or no, with the use of jokes full stop in a service I would say no.


----------



## KMK

hammondjones said:


> Regarding the use of humor in sermons, is that something that arose during the 2nd Great Awakening, or is there evidence of it before that time?



I am curious as to why you mention the 2nd Great Awakening. I have not read a great deal of sermons from that time. Did they use a great deal of jokes?


----------



## hammondjones

KMK said:


> hammondjones said:
> 
> 
> 
> Regarding the use of humor in sermons, is that something that arose during the 2nd Great Awakening, or is there evidence of it before that time?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I am curious as to why you mention the 2nd Great Awakening. I have not read a great deal of sermons from that time. Did they use a great deal of jokes?
Click to expand...


Because I'm reading The Democratization of American Christianity, and I'd been thinking about its impact on the present day.


----------



## MarieP

Harley said:


> Sometimes a piece of humor in a sermon has made the message itself more memorable, and made the point stick. I one time heard a preacher say that you ask most people what they think Samson looked like they almost always describe a Jewish Arnold Schwarzeneggar. I remember the main points of the message and why it fit so well, so it was profitable. Another man, who is a very serious preacher, talking about being in a church where maybe half are converted and half are converted made the remark, "I suppose the Lord could give me great grace if I have to look at the butts of the goats for a while." (He might have said "deal," but that is how I heard it). It was very difficult to not laugh when I heard that, but in no way did it break the power in his message, and I'd say the line contains a sermon in itself. Sobering night.



I agree! I actually believe the best sermon ever preached, by the world's greatest preacher, includes irony that's meant to be humorous. See Matthew 6:27, for example.

I've heard sermons that use humor needlessly, such as beginning with a joke that has nothing whatsoever to do with the sermon. But I also think it can be quite helpful.

Take, for example, my pastor's sermon on the account of poor Eutychus (whose name ironically means Lucky). His main take-home point was that, even with Eutychus being restored after his accident, the focus in Luke's account was on the worship of God. It was a part of his series on Acts, and we happened to be in this text on what the world calls "Super Bowl Sunday." He began by saying, "Well, today's the big day, isn't it? It's the day when millions in our nation and even around the world have been anticipating all week long. Today, gatherings will take place in public buildings, and in homes, and even outdoors. Families and friends and sometimes even complete strangers are going to come together, and they will eat, and they will drink, and they're going to focus their attention upon that one compelling event. I'm speaking of course about the corporate gathering of God's people on the Lord's Day for the worship and commemoration of Christ's death in the Lord's Supper. What'd you think I was talking about?" We all laughed.

Another time, my pastor was talking about how we can have this idea that there are two types of lost sinners, "mostly dead" and "really dead." He likened it to, if he were preaching and had a heart attack, we would just need to go get the defibrillator. But if he were preaching and his head exploded (kaboom!), "we wouldn't be getting the defibrillator." His point was that all lost sinners are of the "exploded head variety."

Now, the overall tenor of my pastor's ministry is not humorous. But he does use humor to make a valid point. And he knows there are times it shouldn't be used. So I think it's more complex than saying, "A sermon should not include a joke."


----------



## Alan D. Strange

I think that we can all agree that jokes to induce humor are distractions, at best (profane, at worst).

However, a humorless sermon, one that intentionally shuns anything that might cause hearers to smile (or even laugh) in recognition of God's greatness, our meanness, and His never-failing love in spite of our unworthiness, is not really biblical. The Bible has humor of various sorts throughout its pages. And the sermon should mimic that in appropriate ways. 

There is a certain sort of piety that eschews any sort of humor as improper but such misguided pietism should neither keep us from appropriate expressions of it nor induce us to react against it with joke-telling and other sorts of inappropriate humor. 

Peace,
Alan


----------



## SolaScriptura

Alan D. Strange said:


> I think that we can all agree that jokes to induce humor are distractions, at best (profane, at worst).
> 
> However, a humorless sermon, one that intentionally shuns anything that might cause hearers to smile (or even laugh) in recognition of God's greatness, our meanness, and His never-failing love in spite of our unworthiness, is not really biblical. The Bible has humor of various sorts throughout its pages. And the sermon should mimic that in appropriate ways.
> 
> There is a certain sort of piety that eschews any sort of humor as improper but such misguided pietism should neither keep us from appropriate expressions of it nor induce us to react against it with joke-telling and other sorts of inappropriate humor.
> 
> Peace,
> Alan



This was almost poetic in its beautiful sublimity.


----------



## reaganmarsh

MarieP said:


> Harley said:
> 
> 
> 
> Now, the overall tenor of my pastor's ministry is not humorous. But he does use humor to make a valid point. And he knows there are times it shouldn't be used. So I think it's more complex than saying, "A sermon should not include a joke."
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Very well put.
Click to expand...


----------



## Kaalvenist

David Murray addressed this topic in the Puritan Reformed Journal a few years ago: PRJ 3, 1 (2011), 328-338.

Thoughts?


----------



## Reformed Covenanter

Kaalvenist said:


> David Murray addressed this topic in the Puritan Reformed Journal a few years ago: PRJ 3, 1 (2011), 328-338.
> 
> Thoughts?



While I would concur with his general point, I do wonder to what extent Dr Murray's "take" on these issues is determined by a clash between the religious culture of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and that of the United States. I am also unsure as to whether or not his exegesis really supports his case, but there are others here better qualified to judge that than I am.

On a somewhat related topic, a couple of years ago I decided to leave all humour out of research papers that I was presenting unless it was absolutely essential to the argument of the lecture. I did this because I had increasingly noticed that people would turn up at seminars, present papers that were of virtually no intellectual significance, but the audience would think it was great because of the number of amusing anecdotes. At which point I said to myself, "We are not doing stand-up comedy, but academic history. Our job is not to assess how humorous a lecture is, but to judge its worth as a piece of historical research." Ultimately, I wanted my work to be judged for its academic merits, not as a piece of stand-up comedy. Can the same principle be applied to preaching? Do we judge sermons on the basis of their faithfulness to Christ or scripture, or, on the basis of how funny they are? Although I would not want to go so far as to say that all humour is absolutely excluded from preaching, a healthy sense of perspective does no harm.


----------



## fredtgreco

Kaalvenist said:


> David Murray addressed this topic in the Puritan Reformed Journal a few years ago: PRJ 3, 1 (2011), 328-338.
> 
> Thoughts?


He proves his point too much. It is obvious he is Scottish, which is not synonymous with Reformed. He sets up his point by explaining (after a fashion) what Scots are like, and why we should be like them. His point is very correct with respect to telling stories (humorous or not) instead of preaching the text. But it is not true that preaching is devoid of humor - the Bible is full of humor in the sense of mockery of those who rebel against God, showing the foolishness of sin, etc.

One obvious and classic example:



> And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
> (1 Kings 18:27 ESV)



Was Elijah a bad "Johnny Carson" preacher? I think not. In fact, the entire episode is hilarious.


----------



## Toasty

I remember hearing a preacher say, "Birds in L.A. don't sing; they cough."


----------



## SolaScriptura

Toasty said:


> I remember hearing a preacher say, "Birds in L.A. don't sing; they cough."



Now _that's_ funny!


----------



## Reformed Covenanter

fredtgreco said:


> He proves his point too much. It is obvious he is Scottish, which is not synonymous with Reformed. He sets up his point by explaining (after a fashion) what Scots are like, and why we should be like them. His point is very correct with respect to telling stories (humorous or not) instead of preaching the text. But it is not true that preaching is devoid of humor - the Bible is full of humor in the sense of mockery of those who rebel against God, showing the foolishness of sin, etc.
> 
> One obvious and classic example:
> 
> And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
> (1 Kings 18:27 ESV)
> Was Elijah a bad "Johnny Carson" preacher? I think not. In fact, the entire episode is hilarious.



Fred, thanks for your comment. What did you think of Dr Murray's remark concerning that passage: "I can’t see many people laughing on Mount Carmel." (p. 336)? To my mind, that seems a bit hard to believe.


----------



## fredtgreco

Reformed Covenanter said:


> fredtgreco said:
> 
> 
> 
> He proves his point too much. It is obvious he is Scottish, which is not synonymous with Reformed. He sets up his point by explaining (after a fashion) what Scots are like, and why we should be like them. His point is very correct with respect to telling stories (humorous or not) instead of preaching the text. But it is not true that preaching is devoid of humor - the Bible is full of humor in the sense of mockery of those who rebel against God, showing the foolishness of sin, etc.
> 
> One obvious and classic example:
> 
> And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.”
> (1 Kings 18:27 ESV)
> Was Elijah a bad "Johnny Carson" preacher? I think not. In fact, the entire episode is hilarious.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Fred, thanks for your comment. What did you think of Dr Murray's remark concerning that passage: "I can’t see many people laughing on Mount Carmel." (p. 336)? To my mind, that seems a bit hard to believe.
Click to expand...

If he is talking about the Baalites, then absolutely he is correct. But I would think that true Israelites would have guffawed at the statement in 1 Ki 18:27


----------



## Reformed Covenanter

fredtgreco said:


> If he is talking about the Baalites, then absolutely he is correct. But I would think that true Israelites would have guffawed at the statement in 1 Ki 18:27



 With all due respect to the venerable Dr Murray, I think this is a case of reading too much Highland culture into scripture.


----------



## JackSparrow

I am still new so I hope I don't ruffle any feathers, but this is something Ive heard a lot about recently. I sometimes get the impression in some churches that in an effort to show distance between the charismatic movement, the use of any humour is shunned. Its as if enjoying oneself is somehow a slippery slope. A Dutch church I attended for a while had a guest pastor speak on serving others and how we shouldn't give out the bare minimum. At that pooint he made a joke about the Dutch being cheap. I cracked a smile, but I saw a number of people in the congregation gasp and then frown (although I saw others trying to stiffle a giggle which was amusing). It saddened me because I don't think it was anything other than a dry remark that helped the message be memorable. It wasn't stand up comedy, it was a rhetorical device.

While we obviously know that we should reverently praise our God, enjoying oneself or smiling doesn't neccisarily mean we are somehow "relying on feelings" or "using man made devices for worship." I fully expect there to be laughter and joy in heaven, and I think these are things gifted to us from God. Its like food having a taste, it doesn't need to, but God in His great love and mercy made it so for us. 

My two cents, I hope it is received well.


----------



## thbslawson

I can't help but think that when Jesus in Matthew 7 gave the illustration about the man walking around with a beam in his eye, picking specks out of another's eye, that it caused a chuckle or two.


----------



## Alan D. Strange

I, too, appreciate what David is saying with respect to our culture, given over largely, as it is, to frivolity, flippancy, absurdity, and the like. 

And we must deliver the Word of the Lord in an appropriate way. It is indeed a solemn and weighty thing. 

But it is also a profoundly joyful thing, which prompts smiling and even laughter.

Because our age is a particularly flippant one does not mean that we should reject humor altogether in the pulpit. It is a very natural part of the fabric of our lives and there is a natural movement from the very grave to the more lighthearted and back again. Unrelenting gravity is as unattractive, and unnatural, as ceaseless humor and a refusal to take anything seriously.

We need, as Spurgeon said, men who most live in the pulpit and who are their truest selves. Our truest self is not a humorless one.

Peace,
Alan


----------



## fredtgreco

Alan, you make an excellent point, and perhaps that is what Dr. Murray is saying - frivolity is to be avoided in our culture. Frivolity is not humor, however.


----------



## Semper Fidelis

One of the things I appreciate about Lloyd-Jones book _Preaching and Preachers_ (actually a set of lectures turned into a book) is the reminder that the work of preaching is serious business. This does not mean that the sermon may always be devoid of the humorous but I am "allergic" to anything that tends to detract from the gravity of what is being preached.

I don't find humor to be out of bounds but I find it often used at times when it's not appropriate. There are times when the weight of our sin and the need for repentance and turning to Christ is at hand and I've seen some blow it by lightening the situation with poorly placed humor.

I agree with much of the wisdom here by Ben, Fred, Alan, and others. I'm not trying to detract from anything said. I think there is tremendous drama in the good preaching that, used by the Spirit, causes everything to stop around it. A minister of 45 years described moments when "...everyone stops coughing." That is, the issue is so weighty, the moment is so pregnant.... I fear that some don't ever develop the weighty drama of a particular text because thy keep lightening things up.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a somber person. The humor of parts of Scripture is not lost on me. That said, I want the drama of the Scriptures to be taking my thoughts and emotions captive and not ill-placed humor.


----------



## Unoriginalname

I remember an article by Carl Trueman where he laments that Protestants aren't funny when compared to Catholic writers such as Chesterton. His point which I agree with is that the use of humor and a command of irony is a powerful rhetorical tool. Many times a witty way of tying something together is the most powerful way to make a point. Of course plenty of evangelicals feel that they need to be their own opening act when they get on "stage." The Lord Jesus has a tremendous grasp of irony and I find plenty of the things he said poignantly funny. He perfectly mocks the sinfulness of sin in a way that can invoke more sorrow than a dry exposition could. I know a feel have mentioned his discussion of the blank in one's eye which I think is a good example of this. I think if a minister is able to use humor, wit, and satire to the benefit of his sermon and in driving home a point it is very appropriate.


----------



## Stephen L Smith

Semper Fidelis said:


> One of the things I appreciate about Lloyd-Jones book Preaching and Preachers (actually a set of lectures turned into a book) is the reminder that the work of preaching is serious business.



Yes Lloyd-Jones is very helpful on this and few preaching books can match this for the important emphasis on preaching. Another is John Carrick's "The preaching of Jonathan Edwards" which also emphasises that the work of preaching is serious business. Lloyd-Jones modeled his ministry on Edwards.


----------



## deleteduser99

MarieP said:


> Harley said:
> 
> 
> 
> Sometimes a piece of humor in a sermon has made the message itself more memorable, and made the point stick. I one time heard a preacher say that you ask most people what they think Samson looked like they almost always describe a Jewish Arnold Schwarzeneggar. I remember the main points of the message and why it fit so well, so it was profitable. Another man, who is a very serious preacher, talking about being in a church where maybe half are converted and half are converted made the remark, "I suppose the Lord could give me great grace if I have to look at the butts of the goats for a while." (He might have said "deal," but that is how I heard it). It was very difficult to not laugh when I heard that, but in no way did it break the power in his message, and I'd say the line contains a sermon in itself. Sobering night.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I agree! I actually believe the best sermon ever preached, by the world's greatest preacher, includes irony that's meant to be humorous. See Matthew 6:27, for example.
> 
> I've heard sermons that use humor needlessly, such as beginning with a joke that has nothing whatsoever to do with the sermon. But I also think it can be quite helpful.
> 
> Take, for example, my pastor's sermon on the account of poor Eutychus (whose name ironically means Lucky). His main take-home point was that, even with Eutychus being restored after his accident, the focus in Luke's account was on the worship of God. It was a part of his series on Acts, and we happened to be in this text on what the world calls "Super Bowl Sunday." He began by saying, "Well, today's the big day, isn't it? It's the day when millions in our nation and even around the world have been anticipating all week long. Today, gatherings will take place in public buildings, and in homes, and even outdoors. Families and friends and sometimes even complete strangers are going to come together, and they will eat, and they will drink, and they're going to focus their attention upon that one compelling event. I'm speaking of course about the corporate gathering of God's people on the Lord's Day for the worship and commemoration of Christ's death in the Lord's Supper. What'd you think I was talking about?" We all laughed.
> 
> Another time, my pastor was talking about how we can have this idea that there are two types of lost sinners, "mostly dead" and "really dead." He likened it to, if he were preaching and had a heart attack, we would just need to go get the defibrillator. But if he were preaching and his head exploded (kaboom!), "we wouldn't be getting the defibrillator." His point was that all lost sinners are of the "exploded head variety."
> 
> Now, the overall tenor of my pastor's ministry is not humorous. But he does use humor to make a valid point. And he knows there are times it shouldn't be used. So I think it's more complex than saying, "A sermon should not include a joke."
Click to expand...


That's also a great way to magnify the significance of the Lord's Table. Was he referencing the Princess Bride in the second line?


----------



## reaganmarsh

Because mostly dead is partly alive. Let me guess. He owed you money. 



I preached an evangelistic sermon this morning from Acts 17.16-34. In one part of the sermon, I briefly referenced the scene from Talladega Nights where they're about to pray, and they discuss how they like to think about Jesus. A couple of our people snickered but I didn't laugh about it (I don't think it's funny at all, and I didn't reference it as a humorous thing). I made the point that though the actors intend the scene to be funny, it exposes in unintended fashion the truth about how our society -- and too often, we in the church -- think about Jesus after our own imagination (v. 29). We don't bow before him as he is, as Scripture reveals him to be, in his sovereign majesty and saving glory. 

So perhaps this may contribute to the discussion an example of using a "humorous" / contemporary thing in a way that exposes underlying idolatry. 

(For the record, 2 disclaimers: 1. I've not watched the movie. A friend sent me that clip a while back and said "you need to see this because I'm sure you'll use it in a sermon somehow, and 2. I didn't use the video clip as part of the sermon!)


----------

