Scripture is filled with stories of captivating characters whose lives help us better understand God's truth. What must it have been like to be Joseph, alone and abandoned in an Egyptian jail, yet still clinging to faith? What was it about Joshua and Caleb that allowed them to stand against the majority when they returned from spying in the Promised Land? What would it have been like to be Hosea, with an unfaithful wife and a call from God to take her back again and again? Those are the images that will stay with our congregations long after they have forgotten the points of our homiletical outlines.
Don?t be afraid to take time to tell their stories, and allow your listeners to be pulled into their lives.
If preaching has a future in our culture it is the telling of the great stories in scripture.
Great storytellers have always used detail to make their tales come to life. Why shouldn't those of us who proclaim the greatest story ever told take advantage of every tool available? The great African-American preachers are masters of this art; they use words to paint a picture that grabs our attention and makes us see.
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