Here is what I have discovered: The best sermon illustrations are found on common ground between the speaker and the audience. When you speak about something you have experienced and your audience has also experienced the same thing, you connect with them on the deepest level.

A joke about something they all have experienced will make them laugh. An emotional story about something close to their hearts will bring them to tears. They will listen to you and think, “This is a down to earth pastor.” Or “This guy gets me.”

I discovered a great diagram as I was reading Haddon Robinson’s, Biblical Preaching, recently that looks something like this:

There are two kinds of experience that people have – Learned experience and Lived experience.

1. The best illustrations connect on lived experience.
2. Second best are when your learned experience connects with their lived experience.
3. Third is when your lived experience overlaps their learned experience.
4. Fourth is when both of your learned experiences overlap.
5. The worst is when the speakers lived or learned experiences don’t overlap with the listener at all.

For example, if I were to tell a story about watching a particular NFL football game of my favorite team, the Green Bay Packers, any Packers fans in the audience who also watched the game will immediately connect (#1). If they heard about the game or know a bit about football it will also connect on a smaller level (#3). However, if I traveled to England and told the same illustration, most people would look at me funny because American football and European football are two very different things (#5).

How does this impact your preaching?

Personal stories are usually the best stories. If you are similar to your people and you experienced it, there is a good chance that many of them have gone through the same thing.

Preacher stories, like the classic of the boy throwing starfishes back in the ocean, might connect with your audiences lived experiences, but chances are it will hit their learned experiences. So the next time you are tempted to tell a story about the first World War, ask yourself where it would fit on this diagram. Make sure it connects.

The key is knowing your audience. Are they rich or poor? Urban, suburban, or rural? Young singles, married with kids, or empty nesters? High school diploma, bachelors degree or masters? What are their biggest fears, temptations, and struggles?

When you know your audience, you will know which illustrations will hit home.

Homework

I challenge you to think about your audience and use this diagram to evaluate the illustrations for your next sermon. Try to find #1 illustrations first, then move down the list if you cannot. This might just be the game-changer your sermon needs.

“Man plans, God laughs”  (Yiddish Proverb)

I’m not preaching this week, but that wasn’t my original plan. And I tend to love my plans. I wonder if God laughs at me – more like a sympathetic chuckle, I imagine.  He knows my foolishness and loves me still. Even to alter my plans, even good plans, to accomplish His purposes. Thankfully, I’ll be preaching the week after. And then another week off, followed by a week on. And this is the pattern, which I did not want or choose, for the next 5 months or so.

Permit me to back up and explain.

Photo Credit: Kelly B cc

Towards the end of February, I knew my preaching series on 1 John was going to be wrapping up and then Easter would follow shortly thereafter. At that time my biggest concern was trying to figure out was I was going to preach on for a few weeks and also for Easter (well, a little more specific than the Resurrection). I primarily preach expositorily through books of the Bible, alternating between Old and New Testaments. All of which means that I can struggle sometimes when I have finished a series, but it’s not profitable to start a new one yet.

The other plan I was working on was getting a break the Sunday after Easter. I was going to take a few days of study leave and head to the mountains of Northeast Alabama for some extended prayer, reflection, and study. I was really looking forward to that time, especially knowing there was going to be some exhaustion from preaching the previous 13 weeks. As an aside, I think it’s healthy, where possible, to get out of the pulpit every now and then on weeks that aren’t vacation weeks. With the elders’ approval, I began making those plans.

“The Record Scratch”

And then the record scratched. My record. My plans. There was a colonoscopy, endoscopy, & CT scan at the very end of February to determine the cause of some health symptoms. The very next day, I received the call that no one wants to receive and that this 36 year-old did not expect (at least before the tests). Colon Cancer was confirmed, with surgery immediately forthcoming the next week. I got one last sermon in before surgery. And then all my plans, preaching or otherwise vanished. Poof. Gone.

We praise the Lord that the surgery was effective and the prognosis is very good. And yet, chemotherapy is deemed necessary, or at least strongly recommended; especially to better the percentages that reoccurrence will not happen.  This, as all thing are, are under the Lord’s sovereign and wise command. So, I began the chemo regimen a month and half ago and have completed three cycles to this point. And thus, the schedule reflected above.

On the weeks that I have chemo treatments I am unable to preach or do much of anything really. But the next week, as I begin to recover, I am able to do what I love on Sunday. Preach the Gospel! We are in a place right now where we must endure the hard days, but we also work to enjoy the good days.

“Tremble & Rejoice”

The Lord is teaching us (me, my family & friends, our congregation) much through this suffering.  One of those things that the Lord is graciously helping to remember, recapture, and learn is to tremble and rejoice that He has called me to preach. Let me flesh those two things out a little bit.

Tremble: Listen, I know the grind of preaching week in and week out – teaching Sunday School and then teaching again at Sunday Evening service too. I know how feels to just be glad you have something, anything to say, when you step in the pulpit to preach. And I know the double-edged sword of preaching a really good, or great sermon. You are thrilled, of course, when it all comes together. But the next week the pressure to do it again is merely added to the pressure you already felt. That and a thousand other things we’re thinking about it. And yet, it is pride and arrogance to merely step into the pulpit and think preaching is about us. Or to simply forget how great and awesome is the task at hand.

Think about it. You get to stand up in front of a local assembly of God’s people (and hopefully a few who don’t yet know the Lord) as the Lord’s spokesman. His mouthpiece. His servant. Tremble that the Lord would use us and tremble at how great a task he has entrusted (“Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! – I Corinthians 9:16). Tremble, that He know everything about us (“For He knows our frame, He remembers we are dust” – Psalm 103:14, ESV), he called us anyway. Tremble because, in yourself, you are incapable of doing what you have been called to do.

I am not suggesting that you should physically be shaking as you step into the pulpit.  That might be awkward. But inwardly tremble as you prepare and pray. Tremble before you get there, so that as you stand to preach, you do so as humble sinner redeemed by God and called according to His purpose.

Rejoice: But don’t just tremble because it’s a great and awesome task, but also rejoice. Again, rejoice, that the Lord would decide to use you. Even if it’s just every other week. Or maybe only when the Sr. Pastor is on vacation. Or just the Sunday after Christmas (also known as National Associate Pastor’s Sunday…sort of like Youth Sunday). And yes, every week, if that’s your calling. I do not want this post to come across as a guilt trip or a call to not take preaching for granted.

Let’s be honest, we take a thousand things for granted all the time. Including preaching. But I do want you to remember the joy of preaching. To be eager, even (Romans 1:15). To know and remember the joy of seeing someone nod or even shed a tear when we have proclaimed the truth of God’s Word and have touched somewhere in their hearts. The joy of unfolding the great story of redemption and love that is woven through the whole tapestry of the Biblical storyline week after week. And on and on. Not too mention, that rejoicing is a great antidote for our preaching pride, self-sufficiency, and forgetfulness. What a task, but also what a privilege!

I do not know the number of days that the Lord has ordained for my life, nor for my time in the pulpit. This awful trial has helped remind me to cultivate my trembling and my rejoicing. And I hope even the same for you.

Because of this, I like sharing some of the preaching articles that I read around the internet. I share articles every day on Twitter and Facebook.

Photo Credit: Danny Hope cc

But I have realized that many people don’t read everything I tweet. And that’s OK, because that means you are probably busy doing something awesome. So I thought I would experiment with taking some of the best articles I find every week and sharing them with all of you right here:

Here are some links to my favorite articles this week:

Why some preachers get better and others don’t
The difference is calling, teachability, reckless abandon, and a willingness to pay the price.

4 Popular Preaching Myths
Does more study time equal a better sermon, one bad sermon equal less attendance next week, open feedback hurt your preaching, or deeper teaching mean more academic message?

7 things pastors should tell their people often
Some great reminders here of what we need to constantly reinforce with our people. Jesus is the only savior of the world. The Church is essential to God’s plan. If you have faith, you will pray. A church exists by evangelism like a fire exists by burning. I may even add a few more to this list. What are you constantly reminding your people?

No pastor goes unnoticed
Your work matters, no matter how big or small the impact of your ministry.

Contagious pulpit boredom.
God is not boring. The Bible is not boring. Why are many preachers boring?

How to preach a text when you don’t know what it means
All scripture is God-breathed and useful. However, when the Bible isn’t clear, many pastors avoid the text completely and stick to what they know. How can we handle these difficult passages of scripture?

What about you? What articles have you read this week? Have you written a post on preaching? Please feel free to share.

Many youth pastors and speakers are careful to study and prepare their content well. Some even take the time to rehearse and practice their message a few times before delivering it to a group of students. There are those, however, who consistently struggle with closing their message effectively. They work hard to deliver a solid message for 20-30 minutes, then seem to fall flat during the final 5 minutes of their talk.

Photo Credit – Benny Lin cc

Someone once said, “People remember best whatever you say last.” How can you shore up the end of your message and close strong?

Let’s examine four different methods that a youth pastor or speaker can use to close a message effectively:

1. The Platinum Illustration

This is not just your run-of-the-mill story, but a well-told, life-altering, world-changing illustration where the main character has a major catharsis or makes a significant sacrifice to impact others.

2. The Token Response

When appropriate, consider giving the students a physical “token” that reminds them of the main theme of the message and the practical application that it should have in their life. On one occasion, when speaking about the merchant who traded everything for the “pearl of great price”, we gave each student an actual pearl (that we had picked up on the cheap during a mission trip to the Philippines) to represent their commitment to give up everything to follow Jesus Christ.

3. The Human Video

Be careful not to overuse this method with your students; however, when used sparingly, it can serve as a powerful pattern interrupt to you speaking and effectively reinforce the main theme of your message. A human video is simply a pantomimed skit set to a song. A great example of this in action is the viral Everything (by Lifehouse) video on YouTube. Aside from this type of dramatic element, you can also close your message with a monologue, dialogue or full-blown skit.

4. The Gospel

It’s always appropriate to take a few minutes and explain how the theme of your message connects to the Good News of Jesus. Intentionally sharing the truth of the Gospel plants seeds or waters seeds in the lives of your listeners; moreover, you never know when God will choose to “harvest” seeds that have come to fruition through the preaching of the Word.

PRACTICAL TIP FOR STRENGTHENING THE CLOSE OF YOUR MESSAGE:

The next time you are preparing a message, take some extra time to brainstorm with a few other communicator’s some creative ideas for a stronger closing. Don’t stop there. After you have chosen a solid closing, take some time to rehearse it with that same group of communicators and get their feedback. Tweak it until you feel like it you are comfortable sharing it without the use of a manuscript or notes. This will allow you to connect more with your audience and close your message in a much more confident way.

Well, there is a new free app on the market promising to deliver a new way to pray – the Ora App.

I recently downloaded it, and I’m very pleased with what I have found.

Ora is like a social network for prayer. You create a profile and instead of posting a status or tweeting, you post prayer requests.

You can invite your friends to join, and divide them into groups. So you can get your small group together, a group of pastors you to pray for, or even a group for your entire church.

Once a prayer is posted, you can comment on prayer requests and swipe the request to let them know that you have prayed for it.

You can also mark your prayers as answered and keep track of God’s faithfulness.

Another cool feature is that you can also set an alarm to remind you to pray every day at a specific time.

So far I am loving the concept of this app. It is still new, so we need to spread the word about it and invite the people we would like to pray for to join. However, once this catches on I plan on making it a part of my morning ritual. Drink coffee. Read the Bible. Then open Ora and pray for my friends, family and fellow pastors.

I am already thinking of a hundred different ways to implement this in ministry to help emphasize the importance of prayer.

So check it out. It’s free!

Like Facebook and Twitter changed the way we interact and stay in touch with friends online. Ora really could change the way we pray and get prayer requests.

Have you tried it yet? What do you think?