Make This One Tweak to Drive Your Illustrations Home

A great illustration is when people get the point before you give the point. 

Master this one thing and you’ll be a master illustrator. 

Let’s say you are teaching from Matthew 24 where Jesus says, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, or the Son, but the Father only…Then two men will be in the field; one will be taken and one left. Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one left. Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:36, 40-42).  After you read these words, you make the point that just because two people are in the same place does not mean they will experience the same things. And then you tell this illustration:

One of the frustrating things about microwave popcorn is you place a bag where all of the kernels are in the same place and experience the same heat, for the same amount of time. Finally, when the microwave alerts you, you remove the bag and empty its contents in a bowl, and it’s at this moment where you experience one of the great mysteries of life…some of the kernels have been transformed, while some have remained exactly the same. Doesn’t it just drive you crazy to think that being in the same place does not always guarantee the same result? And just like microwave popcorn, so many people assume that coming to church with other people, singing songs, hearing messages and learning in small groups will bring about the same results that others experience. Being in the right environment no more guarantees your transformation than being in a microwave means you’ll get popped.

Great communicators tell illustrations in such a way that their audience beats them to the punchline. 

What I read last week:
A Brand from the Burning: The Life of John Wesley

What I’m reading now:
Playing from the Rough, Jimmie James

What I’m reading next:
On Speaking Well, Peggy Noonan