Preaching Illustrations

Good Preaching Helps Us Take God Seriously with Billy Wilson

https://youtu.be/7SWcllDUmmo

Mar 12, 2025  Radically Christian Podcast = What would we be like if we really took God seriously? Today's discussion centers around a profound statement Billy Wilson made at a preacher's retreat: "It's a good thing none of us take God seriously. If we did, we would never stop laughing." He explains that understanding God and seeing the world through Jesus' eyes reveals the joke of human striving—how so much of what we chase after is futile in light of God's kingdom. Through biblical examples, Billy illustrates how Jesus infused his ministry with humor and deeper theological meaning, helping believers grasp the true nature of reality.

The conversation shifts to preaching, where Billy critiques modern sermons that focus more on behavior modification than on revealing the magnificence of God. He argues that if preachers truly immersed themselves in knowing and proclaiming God, congregations would be drawn to the Lord, not just to self-improvement strategies. He recounts personal experiences, including a pivotal moment with Jim McGuigan, who helped redirect his faith simply by talking about God's greatness.

The episode concludes with a reflection on John 17:3—"This is eternal life, that they know you." Billy emphasizes that eternal life isn't just about knowledge about God, but about truly knowing Him in a relational sense. If believers took this seriously, it would reshape their lives, anchoring them in joy, meaning, and unwavering trust in God’s sovereignty.

In this episode, Wes McAdams welcomes Billy Wilson, a preacher with a rich history of ministry in Scotland, Australia, and the United States. Billy shares his personal journey, including his experiences with adoption, fostering, and his unexpected return to full-time preaching after swearing it off for years. His story highlights God's providence and the unique congregation in Mineral Wells that drew him back into pulpit ministry.

Graduation Banquet 2025

https://youtu.be/OaSs-CREZJY?t=65

A Preacher’s Classic

When I preach there are some who say
They could listen to me all day
Others think I preach too long,
And some think I go about it wrong.
Some say my sermon is much too deep
To others it’s shallow and they go to sleep.
Some report I hold them spellbound,
While others squirm and look around.
Some believe I have no light,
And others think I preach just right.
Some affirm that I’m too bold,
While others wink and say I’m cold.
Some used to say I was much too young,
But others declare my spring has sprung
Some folks tell I have met success.
Others think my work’s a mess.
Some have said my pay is too low,
When they discover the pace I go.
Still others say it’s above the peak
“Why, he only works three hours a week!”
From all of this it is plain to see,
That as a preacher, I’m up a tree.
Condemned if I do,
Condemned if I don’t.
Criticized if I will,
Criticized if I won’t.
I can’t please men of such discord,
So I’ll just keep trying to please the Lord.

Preaching Methods

Thoughts about preaching

Expository Preaching

Expository Preaching

Let me invite you into the preacher's head so that I can share with you my basic approach to preaching.

My first preference in preaching is to do what are called "expository" sermons. This kind of lesson "exposes" or reveals the teachings of a certain text of Scripture. It uses as its basis one particular passage of Scripture, develops the ideas that are presented in the passage, and applies those ideas to our daily lives.

The main alternative to expository preaching is topical preaching. A topical sermon begins with an idea or topic (for example: "Love", or "How to Be a Better Christian", or "Things Young People Should Avoid") and then finds several verses throughout Scripture that provide ideas related to the topic.

The advantages of expository preaching are many. For one, it presents the teachings of Scripture the way they were written: in context, presenting the ideas as the inspired writers presented them. Although I might add stories, illustrations, and applications, I try to present the main idea that is presented in Scripture. I enjoy preaching through books of the Bible because, again, I am presenting the Word of God the way God presented it to us. Dealing with the Scriptures this way also forces us to consider the difficult passages, maybe the ones we would rather not think about or have always had questions about. Studying them in context often helps us find the answers we need.

Expository preaching also helps me avoid my weaknesses in preaching only topically. If I preach on topics, I find that I wind up pounding the same drum over and over - the drum of my favorite topic, you see. If I just do topics, I might pull a verse out of context to try to make my point, and that isn't a good way to study Scripture. Also, I can easily just deal with the "hot topics" and not get beyond the "current issues" to deal with the more central matters. Expository preaching gets to the issues, but it does so in the context of how those issues are addressed in Scripture. Topical preaching also tends to start out with man's thinking ("What topic can I come up with?" "What topic do I think people need to hear about?), whereas expository preaching starts out with God's thinking ("What has God revealed to us in this passage or book?").

I certainly preach topically on many occasions. For one thing, people think topically. We usually don't wonder "What does Matthew 21 say?" but we want to know, "What does the Bible say about this or that topic?" In addition, the Bible is sometimes written topically. Paul sometimes gathers up several passages to prove the point he is making. But as we today try to get across the message of Scripture accurately, we need to think of books and passages and contexts. That will give us a good grasp of the Scriptures so that we can understand what the Bible says about the topics we want to know about.

Articles:

The Crisis in Expository Preaching Today
By Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.

Negativity From The Pulpit

Church leaders must banish this negativity from their pulpits or they will continue to wonder why people keep leaving. For the full article, follow the link below.

http://forthright.net/2012/10/09/negativity-from-the-pulpit/

Preacher Work

Preacher at work.

https://youtu.be/XGOkWoaa7WI

Duck Church

There is an old preaching illustration that I feel is still relevant for us today. There was a community named Duckville populated completely by ducks. On Sunday, all the good ducks waddled off to duck church. While at church they would sing duck songs and listen to the duck preacher.

One Sunday the duck preacher decided to give a lesson about how God had given them wings so they could fly. He pounded the pulpit and said, "With these wings, there is nowhere we ducks cannot go! There is no God-given task we ducks cannot accomplish! With these wings we no longer need to walk through life. We can soar high in the sky!"

The ducks quacked, "Amen!" throughout the duck congregation. The duck preacher concluded his message by exclaiming, "With our wings we can fly through life! WE ... CAN ... FLY!!!!" More ducks quacked out loud "AMENS!" in response. Every duck loved the service. In fact all the ducks that were present commented on what a wonderfully convicting message they had heard from their duck preacher.

Then when they left the church they waddled all the way home. They didn't fly like the duck preacher told them they could do. They went home just like they came - waddling.

Many times we are no better than the ducks going to duck church. We sit and listen to the preacher tell us from God's word about the power and abilities God has given us through His Spirit. We hear him tell us of the lives God desires us to live and how we need to change. But when it comes right down to it, too many times we go on acting the same way and doing the same things as when we came in. Let us not be like the ducks waddling away. Instead let us take heed of what we learn and spread our wings and fly.

Questions to Ask Before Preaching a Sermon

Discussion of the importance of asking the question to communicate the message of God more powerfully.

Click here to listen to the message.


Kevin

Fresh Air for a Desert People

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/fresh-air-desert-people-tom-sims-pyvic/

Say More in Less Time - The Two-and-a-Half Minute Version of a Thirty-Minute Sermon

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/say-more-less-time-two-half-minute-version-thirty-sermon-tom-sims-sxycc/