by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Jan 10, 2023 | Preaching, Sermon Illustrations
For most of us “seasoned preachers,” when we come to the conclusion that we need a sermon illustration, our minds instantly think “story.” Many preachers use the words interchangeably, but as we will see, there are quite a few different kinds of ways to illustrate a...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Dec 29, 2022 | Essentials-Sermons, Sermon Illustrations
Sermon Illustrations on jobs Background Stories Studies Humor More Resources Background A Highly Mobile Way of Life By the time they have turned eighteen, most Americans will have moved at least twice. Most thirty-year-olds will have moved six times. By the...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Nov 2, 2022 | Preaching, Sermon Illustrations, The Founder's Desk
Something I’ve noticed over time is that, while we Protestants try to live “sola scriptura (by scripture alone),” a large number of traditions have crept into our theology and praxis over time. One of those areas is in the realm of preaching. When I was in seminary,...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Jan 21, 2021 | Beauty, Death, Reconciliation, Sermon Illustrations
In their excellent book on reconciliation, Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice share a story about how small acts of beauty, done well, can lead to reconciliation: A friend told us of visiting a very large religious community with a long history of activism and service....
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Jan 18, 2021 | Sermon Illustrations
Most of us in the United States know the famous “I have a Dream” speech Martin Luther King Jr. gave at the Lincoln Memorial as part of the 1963 March on Washington. On a sweltering, humid day in the nation’s capital, some 250,000 people came to hear King speak on the...
by Stuart Strachan Jr. | Jan 12, 2021 | Deception, Sermon Illustrations
In one fascinating study some years ago, subjects were presented with evidence suggesting that there was a correlation between heavy caffeine use and breast cancer. Subjects were then asked to report on whether or not (or to what degree) they found the evidence...