You Only Need ONE Illustration Per Sermon

You only need ONE sermon illustration per message.

I realize that we're used to having three, four, or five illustrations, metaphors, or images for our messages.

Maybe we start with the introduction, then add one for the first point, second, third, maybe one for our application, or a wrap-up in the conclusion.

It takes so much time to come up with so many illustrations that we end up spending more time on illustration curation than we do actually working on the content of our messages.

But what I want to show you is that you only need one, and why.

When you use just one illustration (I call it the anchor illustration) to hold everything together in the sermon, you're actually giving people a handle to carry the message with.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗨𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗹𝗹𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
The idea is to introduce this anchor illustration early and then use it throughout your message. You use the same illustration, not in the exact same way, but exploring different facets of it for different purposes.

For example, you can weave it through your sermon structure like this:

The Principle: Use the illustration to explain the text.
The Problem: Use it to expose the problem.
The Redemption: Use an angle on the illustration to show how Jesus redeems the problem.
The Response: Use the illustration to invite people into a response.

𝗘𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗕𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘆
One example of how this worked is when a pastor in our community was preaching on John 15 and union with Christ.

He used a simple illustration of a cell phone and its battery. He had the congregation actually pull out their phones and check their battery levels. Most batteries were full, but not all were. The idea was, if your battery is on 10% or 5%, how does that feel?

He simply pivoted that into the spiritual reality of what it feels like to be fully connected, versus feeling drained. This set up the message, and he used that simple illustration throughout:

- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲: A thriving spiritual life is about spiritual connection.
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺: How we live spiritually disconnected lives.
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗹: Jesus is the one who was actually cut off so that we could be connected and grafted in.
- 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲: Because you are now connected to the Father through Jesus, you don't have to live on 2%. You don't have to fear being cut off.

All the benefits and applications of this could then be discussed in a way that was grace-motivated, love-saturated, and Spirit-empowered for the people who are connected.

All of this because of one simple illustration! Talk about stickiness in a sermon. It gives them, like we've said, a handle on the message they can take with them and share with others.

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝟯𝟲𝟬™ 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽
If you need help with this, Preach360 is designed to walk you through finding the anchor illustration and weaving it throughout your message.

It doesn't do the work for you. It's like a Socratic coach, asking the right questions along the way to help you build out a message that is uniquely grace-fueled for your people and has a handle they can remember.

What's your ONE illustration this Sunday?