# Be Careful of Sermon Illustrations



## SolaGratia (Jul 7, 2008)

Why?

Here:
[video=youtube;iY4khRpG8O8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY4khRpG8O8[/video]


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## panta dokimazete (Jul 7, 2008)

Rofl!!!


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## BobVigneault (Jul 7, 2008)

That was terrific. One of the best parodies I've seen and heard.


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## JonathanHunt (Jul 7, 2008)

It is very good indeed.


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## bookslover (Jul 8, 2008)

John MacArthur has said that, the longer he is in the ministry the fewer sermon illustrations he uses. And that the ones he does use tend to come from the Scriptures rather than other sources.


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## danmpem (Jul 8, 2008)

bookslover said:


> John MacArthur has said that, the longer he is in the ministry the fewer sermon illustrations he uses. And that the ones he does use tend to come from the Scriptures rather than other sources.



And he typically uses them repeatedly. That would be an interesting poll, "How many Johnny Mac sermon illustrations have you heard more than once?"


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## Semper Fidelis (Jul 8, 2008)

Even the illustrations that Christ used were not meant to be easily understood without explanation.

Often times an illustration demonstrates to me how well a person understands a concept because the illustration they use is either apt to what they're trying to describe or completely misses the mark. It's not that the person utilized an illustration it's just that the illustration chosen was very poor because the person didn't really understand what he's trying to illustrate.

For that matter, then, a person could well utilize a Scriptural illustration (i.e. the Prodigal Son to illustrate the love of God) but, if his understanding is poor, then he'll misapply the illustration. It's not the story of a boy repudiating his father's house, spending all his money, returning in disgrace, and being welcomed back in open arms that really communicates the nature of God's care for the lost but it's how the teacher unpacks the story to draw the appropriate inferences from that story.


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## SueS (Jul 15, 2008)

Funny video but boy, the message really hit home!!

Our former pastor used copious references to movies, especially "Patton" and a certain John Wayne movie and was also constantly discussing his family's foibles in his sermons, a practice which probably contributed to the eventual breakdown of his marriage.

The man who replaced him focused on himself, revelling in stories of how his father taught him how to mow grass, his exploits on the handball court, and one memorable time when he spent 25(!!!) minutes of precious pulpit time telling us about a trip to visit extended family in the hollers of West Virginia. He talked about himself far more than he did about Jesus!

We are now in a PCA congregation where the pastor rarely even mentions his family and his quotes are from Reformed commentators. He focuses on Christ and uses every minute of sermon time to faithfully proclaim the Word of God. What a blessed and much appreciated difference!!!


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