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Illustrations for Biblical Preaching It's a dangerous mission to preach to a king. It's even more dangerous to preach to a king nursing a guilty conscience. It is most dangerous to preach to a king with a guilty conscience who has already murdered a man as a cover-up for his sin. When Nathan, a prophet, confronted David, his king, about adultery, he thought about the dynamics of the situation-and he told David a story. Actually, the story itself was the sermon. Like the sword in the umbrella, it had a sharp point. And David, with all his defenses up, could not avoid its penetration. When preachers stand up in the pulpit, they face audiences with their guard up. A few in the congregation wait eagerly for the sermon to begin. Most wait eagerly for the sermon to conclude. Like Nathan before them, the preachers have to smash through barricades erected by indifference, confusion, comfort, and guilt. Preachers must turn ears into eyes and free listeners to think with pictures in their heads. Appropriate illustrations do that. They do everything a sermon must do to communicate-explain, prove or apply a truth. Effective preachers stalk and store illustrations to tell the truth in fresh ways. The anecdotes, quotes, poems and observations in this book are the best on the market today.
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