Send us Fan Mail

Most preachers know they need illustrations. Fewer know what makes an illustration actually work.

The problem isn't that preachers don't tell stories — it's that they tell stories that entertain without landing. The illustration ends, the congregation moves on, and the truth it was supposed to drive home never quite arrives.

In Episode 10 of the Clear Preaching Podcast, Jonathan McClintock breaks down the three elements every illustration needs to move from abstract to concrete and relevant — so it doesn't just help people see the truth, but understand it and act on it.

The three elements:

• Key Phrasing — The language of your Take-Home Truth must thread through the illustration itself. Your congregation needs to hear the connection, not assume it. Bryan Chapell calls this "raining down" the key phrasing through every movement of the message — and that includes the story you're telling.
• Concrete Language — Too many preachers stay too high on the ladder of abstraction. "God is faithful" is true. It's also too high to land. The preacher's job is to bring that truth down to the bottom rung — a specific person, a specific moment, a specific word from God. Like Abraham at 99, Sarah barren, and God saying "this time next year."
• Relevant Application — The best illustrations help the listener see themselves in the story. Not a generic listener. The single mom in row three. The person carrying secret doubt. The one who's been burned. A brief direct bridge after the illustration — "if that's where you are this morning, this is for you" — is what turns a story into a sermon moment.

An illustration that doesn't land the truth is just a story. All three elements, every illustration.