Sermon Illustrations: Where to Find Them and How to Use Them Well

Sermon illustrations are stories, images, comparisons or examples that help listeners see and feel the truth you just explained from the text. A good one makes an abstract idea concrete: grace, faith or repentance suddenly look like something people have touched in their own week. The best illustrations for sermons are usually simple, true and close to home, and they always point back to the passage instead of drawing attention to themselves.

Jesus preached this way. He talked about seeds, coins, lost sheep, bread, weddings and storms. His listeners went home and saw the kingdom of God in their fields and kitchens.

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

Matthew 13:34 (KJV)

Why do sermon illustrations matter?

Most people do not think in propositions. They think in pictures and stories. A point like God pursues the lost may be fully true and still slide past the ear. Tell about a mother calling a child's name across a crowded park, and the same truth lands. Illustrations do at least four things for a sermon:

• They clarify. An image explains what a definition cannot.
• They help memory. People forget outlines but remember a well-told story for years.
• They give rest. After a dense explanation, a short story lets the room breathe before the next point.
• They open the heart. The prophet Nathan used a story about a stolen lamb to reach King David before he ever named the sin (2 Samuel 12:1-7).

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;

2 Samuel 12:7 (KJV)

Where can you find good preaching illustrations?

Books of illustrations have their place, but the strongest material usually comes from paying attention. Keep a note on your phone and write down anything that makes you think of a biblical truth. Over a year you will have hundreds of ideas. Here are the richest sources.

1. Scripture itself

The Bible is full of illustrations for its own teaching. Preaching on faith in Hebrews 11? Abraham leaving Ur is your illustration. Preaching on forgiveness in Ephesians? Joseph and his brothers. Using Scripture to illustrate Scripture teaches people the Bible at the same time.

2. Ordinary daily life

Traffic, grocery lines, a child learning to ride a bike, a phone battery running out, a smoke detector chirping at three in the morning. These are the places your people live. When you illustrate from them, Monday becomes a reminder of Sunday.

3. Your congregation's world

Think about the jobs, hobbies and seasons of the people in front of you. A farming community knows planting and drought. A suburban church knows commutes and youth sports. A rural congregation knows hunting season and the county fair. Speaking from their world says you know them.

4. Creation

Jesus pointed to birds and lilies to teach about worry. Weather, seasons, trees and stars still preach. They are also free of the risks that come with personal stories.

And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

Matthew 6:28-29 (KJV)

5. History and biography

Stories from church history or well-documented events can be powerful. Only use what you have checked. Repeating a famous story that turns out to be false damages your credibility, especially with younger listeners who can look it up during the sermon.

How to use illustrations in a sermon: a simple test

Before an illustration goes into your notes, run it through five questions. If it fails one, fix it or leave it out.

1. 1
   Is it true?

   If it is a real story, be sure it happened as you tell it. If it is a made-up example, say so: picture a man who, or imagine for a moment. Never present an invented story as something that happened to you.

2. 2
   Is it clear?

   If you need two minutes of background to set it up, it is probably too complicated. The best illustrations are understood in one hearing.

3. 3
   Is it short?

   Most illustrations should take one or two minutes. A long story can overshadow the text it was meant to serve.

4. 4
   Does it connect to the point?

   Ask what exactly this story shows. If you cannot finish the sentence this illustrates that, in one line, the connection is too loose.

5. 5
   Is it respectful?

   Never use a church member's story without permission. Be careful with stories about your spouse or children. Avoid anything that would embarrass someone in the room.

Sermon illustration examples you can adapt

These are not stories to copy word for word. They are patterns you can fill with details from your own life and community. Each one is presented as an example, not as something that happened.

Where should illustrations go in a sermon?

A helpful rhythm for each main point is explain, illustrate, apply. First you show what the text says. Then you help people see it with an illustration. Then you show what it means for their week. Putting the illustration in the middle keeps it tied to Scripture on one side and to life on the other.

Illustrations also work well at the start of a sermon to raise a question the text will answer, and at the end to leave one final picture in people's minds. Our guides on sermon introductions and sermon conclusions show how to use a story at each end.

How do you tell an illustration well?

A good story can still fall flat if it is told poorly. Delivery matters as much as the material. These habits help any illustration land with more force.

1. Start in the middle. Skip the long setup. Begin with the moment that matters: the phone rang at two in the morning.
2. Use one or two concrete details. A red coffee mug or a cracked windshield makes a scene real. Ten details make it tiring.
3. Slow down at the key line. Pause before the sentence that turns the story toward the truth, and let it sit for a second.
4. Make the bridge explicit. End with a simple sentence that connects the picture to the text: that is what Paul means when he says.
5. Practice it out loud once. Stories you have only read silently tend to wander when you tell them from the pulpit.

If you are short on preparation time, these habits matter even more. A simple illustration told clearly does more than a brilliant one told in a rush. For help fitting all of this into a busy week, see how long it takes to prepare a sermon.

Common mistakes with sermon illustrations

• Too many. A sermon with a story every three minutes becomes a string of anecdotes with no weight. One per main point is usually enough.
• The hero is always the preacher. If every story shows you being wise or faithful, people will tune out. Let some stories show your own need for grace.
• Borrowed stories told as personal. Telling a story you read online as if it happened to you is dishonest, and people often find out.
• Illustrations that need explaining. If you have to explain the illustration, it has failed at its job.
• Stories that outshine the text. If people remember the story but not the truth, the illustration took the spotlight. Always land back on the passage.

Keep a simple file of illustrations organized by theme, such as grace, prayer, suffering, hope and forgiveness. When you start a new sermon, check the file before you search anywhere else. Over the years it becomes one of the most valuable tools in your study.