A sermon I listened to recently illustrated what I think is a common preaching error. The speaker, who had a charming communication style, told a long (10+ minutes) closing story that had little to do with his text or his main sermon thrust.
Was it a good story? Yes, it was quite powerful partly because it came from his personal life. Did he tell it well? No question about that. You could hear the congregation respond at various points. Did it have an emotional impact? Absolutely! But did it fit his text and the point he had established early? Not really!
Later in the week I saw a neighbor and told him that I had seen the back of his head in church, even though I didn’t get a chance to say hello. “What did you think of the guest speaker?” he asked.
“I liked him as a person” I responded, purposely attempting to remain positive. He had a really winsome personality. “What about you?”
“Well, he certainly kept my attention.” he said. “But I couldn’t figure out what his last story had to do with his overall sermon. It seemed rather forced.”
“I had that same reaction.” I said, glad that someone else had noticed what was so obvious to me.
A great illustration helps make a sermon powerful only if the two mesh properly. I have observed numerous situations where this has been the case, and I’ve also heard any number of times when it hasn’t been.
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