Product Description

How many times have you listened to a sermon and can remember the illustrations used by the preacher but not the point of them! or listened to an illustration that makes an entirely different point to the one that the preacher is trying to put accross. Using illustrations has an art but Jack Hughes makes it easier for you to by studying a master it too.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #364107 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 304 pages

Customer Reviews

Preaching to be Understood
If you are a Bible expositor, what is your aim for your sermons? Are you preparing and delivering your sermons so that the people of God would, not only hear, but UNDERSTAND and thus obey what God has said. "We want the people of the pews to understand and remember as much of our sermons as possible. We should not be content with firing over people's heads, but with aiming at their hearts," (pg 44)...so says the author, Dr Jack Hughes (MDiv from Master's Seminary and Doctorate of Ministry from Westminster). "Sometimes expository preachers can give their people exegetical data and fail utterly to give them understanding." (pg 69) Dr Hughes has written this helpful book so that expositors might put appropriate emphasis on communicating God's word effectively.

One tool to communicate God's truth is the use of Word Pictures. A Word Picture is any "word, phrase, story, analogy, illustration, metaphor, figure of speech, trope, allegory, graphical quotation, historical reference, cross reference, or comparison used to help the listener, see, imagine, experience, sense, understand, remember and/or relate to abstract facts." A working definition is that a Word Picture "...describes the many ways words can be used to communicate abstract truth in a picturable, understandable, and memorable way." (pg 33) Throughout this book, Dr Hughes draws from Thomas Watson's many potent uses of Word Pictures.

I took special note of Dr Hughes' tips for being a better communicator:
- Start training your mind to think comparatively (pg 47)
- Cultivate your imagination (pg 50)
- Begin the sermon with an illustration for your hearers to understand to know WHY they need to know something (pg 73)
- Use Word Pictures drawing from: the narrative portions of Scripture (pg 103), the Law (pg 110), the prophetic books (pg 117), from the Gospels (pg 122), and from the epistles (pg 129)
- Notice how others use Word Pictures in their writing and speaking (pg 141)
- Ask God to help you think of simple, effective ways to express the truth of his word as Jesus did (pg 150)
- Use Word Pictures from nature (pg 151)
- Consider what is `like' or `as' the truth that you are teaching (pg 155). If nothing comes to mind, get some rest and try again.
- Practice thinking of word pictures during moments of free time (ex: when driving around) (pg 158)
- Reduce the truth that you are trying to teach to a basic concept, then think of persons, places, and things that illustrate that truth (pg 159)
- Practice taking a person, place, or thing & try to think of as many spiritual parallels as you can (pg 160)
- Think how you would communicate what you are teaching to a new believer or to a child who has little or no Bible knowledge (pg 162)
- Avoid entertaining (pg 167), over-illustrating (pg 171), over-complicatiing (pg 174)

Other great quotes:
- "Ear ticklers do not need to worry much about abstract truth because their sermons are void of theological substance." (pg 60)
- "If the people in your church aren't listening to your sermon, it's your fault!" (pg 68)

I found Appendix B (page 195-290) as a helpful tool for future reference - it is an alphabetized list of topics that contain the "cream" of Thomas Watson's Word Pictures. This list will stimulate my thinking on possible Word Pictures for a given topic.

Helping Preachers to Not Get in the Way
Preaching has fallen on hard times in our day. Many insist that pulpit ministries are boring, ineffective, outdated, and irrelevant. And if you listen to a sampling of sermons from various pulpits, there is an element of some truth to the frustrations.

So how does the preacher who wants to preach the word of God not get in the way and make the sermon become the Sunday morning equivalent to the flight attendant's reading of the pre-flight safety instructions?

Author and pastor Jack Hughes has some ideas. He has written a very helpful book entitled Expository Preaching with Word Pictures. Hughes is convinced for the need of more colorful and descriptive preaching in our day. To help with the task he enlists the pen of Puritan Thomas Watson. Watson is renown for his ability to carve spiritual truth into our minds through powerfully weighted words.

Consider these examples:

"Zeal in a minister is as proper as fire on the altar. Some are afraid to reprove, like the swordfish which has a sword in his head, but is without a heart. So they carry the sword of the Spirit with them--but have no heart to draw it out in reproof against sin. How many have sown pillows under their people, Ezek. 13:18, making them sleep so securely, that they never awoke until they were in hell!"

"The sins of the wicked pierce Christ's side. The sins of the godly go to his heart."

"A godly man loves the Word preached, which is a commentary upon the Word written. This day-star has risen in his heart, and ushered in the Sun of righteousness. The Scriptures are the sovereign oils and balsams; the preaching of the Word is the pouring of them out. The Scriptures are the precious spices; the preaching of the Word is the beating of these spices, which causes a wonderful fragrance and delight."

Hughes labors to prove the Scriptural basis to use (and not abuse) word pictures and illustrations. He interacts with many of the popular objections and then continues to demonstrate biblically the need for such a practice in the pulpit.

In the chapter entitled "Do is yourself Word Pictures" Hughes endeavors to help preachers find illustrations and word pictures in their lives and world around them. This is a most helpful chapter for preachers. He follows this chapter with a word of caution to those who may be given unto excess and misuse the pens of word pictures by scribbling over and veiling the very text they intending to highlight.

Finally, Hughes includes a 100 page appendix of topical organized quotes from Thomas Watson. This is a very helpful resource for the Bible teacher; if you can't think of something on your own you can cruise on back to Watson's pantry and borrow some of his supplies.

Expository Preaching with Word Pictures is a helpful tool for preachers; I found it very encouraging and instructive.

A must read for expositors
If you are an expository preacher then you should read this book. There's a lot more to expository preaching than just dumping exegetical data on your congregation. This book will teach you how to make your sermons (and more than that God's word) stick in the hearts and minds of your hearers. I strongly recommend this book.