Dear Preacher,
Yes, this is meant for my fellow ministers of the Gospel. However, feel free to make use of this advice wherever it is applicable.
You may have not given the subject a lot of thought, but if you are new to public speaking or preaching, you may have experienced the struggle to find good illustrations. But don’t worry, that’s OK! Even veteran public speakers usually have at least one or two books of illustrations in their library.
However, it is very important to distinguish between a story, a joke, and a true illustration. They are not all the same. Depending on the context, using one at the wrong time or the in wrong place in your sermon may do more harm than good, if not outright damage.
Comedians like to say, “timing is everything.“ But when it comes to sermon illustrations, timing is not as important as making the truth understandable. The difference a story or a joke and an illustration is that the story informs; the joke elicits a response (a laugh); while the illustration helps to clarify or illuminate.
So be careful. Icebreakers meant to warm up a crowd or not illustrations. In most cases, jokes are not illustrations. A story, unless it helps the listener to better understand or apply the truth that you are trying to communicate, is not an illustration, but a time waster.
Keep in mind that time is irreplaceable. It may be necessary to break the opening tension with a joke or a story that relates to your audience, but understand that you only have so much time to communicate a life-changing truth. The reason rabbit trails should be avoided is because even though what you say might be important or even entertaining, it may not serve to communicate the main point of your sermon. In all likelihood, it will only distract.
You don’t have time for that.
Bovinating: verb: derived from bovine (cow); meant to express in a more elegant way the slang term BS (“You’re just bs-ing me.”). Not to be confused with Bloviate.
The Recovering Legalist 