ILLUSTRATIONS ILLUMINE
Illustration serves either explanation or application, and is therefore not considered a separate functional element of preaching. Its verb form, “illustrate,” comes from the Latin illustare, which means “to cast light upon.” A sermon illustration has a specific, narrowly assigned, and limited role: to cast light on one or more facets of an explanation or application. It is interesting to note that the nature and importance of an illustration are much more far-reaching than its role definition suggests. Since the most remembered portions of most sermons by most congregations will usually be the illustrations, they must be strongly related to the explanation or application they are meant to illuminate. Note, then, the paradox that an illustration, by its very nature, often outshines the material to which it refers. Illustrations must therefore be chosen carefully so as to fulfill their “servant” role without diminishing explanation and application. From Essentials for Biblical Preaching, by Al Fasol, published by Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1989,…
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