Finding sermon illustrations can sometimes seem daunting. In my own process, finding an illustration is often the last task that keeps my sermon from being complete. Authors have made a boatload of money churning out books of illustrations, but a sermon illustration doesn’t have to be complicated to be great. It just needs to help your sermon transition from the exposition of the text to the application of the text.

Think of the illustration as the transmission of your car. The source of power for your car is the engine, but for your car to travel effectively and efficiently, you need something that will translate that power into energy that can be applied to the wheels in a way that is appropriate for the conditions you are traveling in. All things being equal, if you had two identical cars—same model, same engine, even the same driver, but one had a six-speed transmission and one had a three-speed transmission—the six-speed would be faster and more efficient. Why? The transmission would allow it to apply the engine’s power more effectively and consistently.

This is what a good illustration can do: provide the mental shift from understanding the text in abstraction to applying the power of the text in the life of the believer. A great sermon illustration helps make that transition.

Find the point of connection

Some think that for an illustration to be good, it must be a personal, powerful story, but almost anything can serve as an illustration: the workings of nature, history, current events—the list can go on. The key here is the illustration doesn’t have to be an incredibly powerful example, nor an allegory of the point. Instead, you just need to find the point of connection between the potential illustration and the point of your sermon. In fact, the closer the illustration and the point of the sermon are to one another, the more memorable and effective the message tends to be.

Keep your illustrations common

Illustrations should generally be familiar to your congregation. Since your illustration is meant to help your audience grasp the point, it doesn’t help if they have to work to understand your illustration. But if it is something they have experienced, they can immediately identify. Moreover, if you pick something common to their life, it can serve as a subtle reminder of the point.

To this day, I think about the resurrection every time I eat pancakes. Why? Because 14 years ago, a chapel speaker illustrated the logical chain that Paul built in 1 Corinthians 15:12–19 by comparing it to the steps necessary to be able to eat a pancake: If there was no visit to the store, then there would be no pancake batter in the pantry and, thus, no pancakes. In the same way, if there is no resurrection of the dead, then there was no resurrection of Christ, and thus no hope. It’s simple, familiar, and constantly reminds me of the centrality and necessity of the resurrection.

Keep illustrations in their proper role

When we illustrate, there are two pitfalls to be aware of. First, it is possible to let the illustration drive the sermon. Sometimes it comes from trying too hard to “work in” a specific illustration. Sometimes it happens without us even realizing it. But if we let the illustration start making the point instead of supporting the point, it could ultimately lead us into misreading the text and misleading our flock. So, when you are seeking an illustration, make sure the point you are making is crystal clear before you look for the illustration.

Second, if we use a personal story as an illustration, we run the risk of making someone other than Jesus the hero of our sermon. But if you keep Jesus as the hero, the text’s point as the sermon’s point, and you find an illustration that will help you transition to application, then your illustration will have served its purpose well.

Illustrations can be useful tools in our preaching ministries, but don’t go overboard. Preach the text of God’s Word and let illustrations be a support, not the main point.

There are many ways to fail as a pastor. In the last few years alone, we’ve witnessed moral failure, theological error, and cultural accommodation destroy the ministries of men like us. However, one insidious failure that is often overlooked is prayerlessness.

While most pastors are good at remaining vigilant against temptation and guarding their theology, many frequently neglect prayer. A recent Lifeway Research study found that nearly 75% of pastors say they need to invest more time to become consistent in prayer.

The New Testament, however, knows nothing of prayerless spiritual leaders. Consider that Jesus prayed for His disciples and all those who would be joined to Him by faith (John 17:17–21). In the early days of the church, the apostles refused to allow worthwhile ministry needs to shift their focus from “prayer and the ministry of the Word” (Acts 6:4). Paul told the Romans that he “unceasingly” mentioned them in his prayers (Romans 1:9-10), as he did the Ephesians (Ephesians 1:16) and Philippians (Philippians 1:3–4).

Jesus and the apostles consistently express their dependence on the work of God to build the church through prayer. Derek Prime and Alistair Begg argue in their book, On Being a Pastor: Understanding Our Calling and Work, that prayer is the “principal and main work” of pastoral ministry since it is the first way we exercise care for our people and the foundation of an effective teaching ministry.

Brothers, when we can do ministry without prayer, we are in dangerous territory, unanchored to our biblical calling, guilty of prideful self-sufficiency, and on the way toward a fall. But God is gracious in forgiving us of our prayerlessness and gives us a guide for prayer in His Word.

I have found the following prayers from Paul’s letters particularly helpful in cultivating humility and dependence on God for my ministry. Each prayer challenges the belief at the root of prayerlessness—namely, that I can fulfill my calling without God’s help.

We should pray for unity among our people (Romans 15:5-6) 

Because conflict is a normal part of church life, many pastors have grown adept at navigating it with careful and loving leadership. However, the unity that glorifies God is a work of His Spirit (Ephesians 4:3). Therefore, we should pray for God’s blessing of unity and harmony among our people.

We should pray that our people would have insight into spiritual truth (Ephesians 1:15–20) 

While we should never neglect the faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word to His people, we know their spiritual insight must come from the illuminating work of God’s Spirit. As we prepare our sermons and lessons, we should pray that our people receive spiritual benefit from what they hear and ask God to bless their personal time spent in the Word.

We should pray for the sanctification and perseverance of our people (Colossians 1:9–14)

Though we’d like to think our sermons are weighty enough to equip our people for faithfulness throughout the week and that our advice can give them victory over sin, we are poor replacements for the Holy Spirit, whose work is to sanctify them. We should ask the Spirit to continue the good work He began in them and strengthen them to live godly and fruitful lives.

We should pray that God would glorify Himself through our people (2 Thessalonians 1:11–12)

God has entrusted the people in our churches to us for a season, but we should never forget they belong to Him. Their lives, therefore, are not merely reflections of our ministries but of the God who saved them by His grace. We should pray that God works in them to glorify the name of Jesus.

We should thank God for our people (Philippians 1:2–7; 1 Thessalonians 1:1–3)

Finally, as we lift our people up to the Lord in prayer, we should consistently thank Him for the privilege of shepherding them and for their partnership in the gospel. Our church members are created by God, redeemed by Jesus, and indwelt by the Spirit. Every conversation and interaction we have with them is a gift!

None of us is as consistent in prayer as he would like, but we owe it to ourselves, our people, and to God to persist and grow in this essential task. The fruitfulness of our ministries depends on it. Let us, therefore, recover the biblical and historical commitment to pray for the people we lead, and let’s watch as God hears our prayers and answers them for His glory.

As I sat down with a young pastor in our region recently, he shared with me the latest challenge at his church.

It was growing.

I believe growing people grow a church, so I was elated when he shared this news with me. But that wasn’t exactly how this brother was feeling. He was distraught.

Being in his first pastorate, this pastor was happy his church was growing. But he loved the feel and experience of being in one service, and he knew growth in corporate worship would cause his elders to consider adding an additional worship service. He was concerned how adding a second service would affect the unity of the church, as well as the impact multiple worship services would have on recruiting volunteers.

I reminded my pastor friend that unity is driven by consistently declaring the gospel, clarity of vision, and a trust in the Holy Spirit—and not necessarily by having everyone in one room together—and that offering an additional service would not only provide more opportunities for others to serve, but no longer force them to choose between attending the worship service or volunteering.

As we sat there and I considered what this brother was sharing with me, I asked him this: “Do you care more about your preferences for the church or the mission of the church?” My point was that if he wanted to continue to reach more people, he was going to have to create space for more people, and one of the ways to do that was with multiple worship services.

Here are two things to think about when implementing multiple worship services:

Timing matters

Consider when it would be best to add a new worship service. I would suggest choosing a natural break in the church calendar, like the beginning of a school year or the new year. Typically, these are the seasons average attendance increases, which might help you gain momentum to grow each service.

When thinking about the schedule of your services, there are several options to consider. One option is to have two services on Sunday morning with Sunday school or groups meeting during both hours. If your Sunday school program is strong, it might be good to adopt this model so that as your groups grow, you have the appropriate space to accommodate everyone.

Another option is to have two services with Sunday school or groups meeting during the hour in-between. If you have families with young children and want to ensure church members are “seeing” each other, this is wonderful. The constraint will depend upon your facilities, which will over time become an issue, Lord willing!

A third option is to add a second service on a Saturday night or Sunday evening, or at an alternative venue at the same location. This can be a good option if your church is full of commuters or people in need of a variety of options, but it may not work in most settings.

Whatever you choose, don’t forget to consider what is most optimal for guests and what kind of programs need to be offered during each time slot. If you have a strong children’s ministry program, for example, consider scheduling your services when families are most likely to attend. Timing matters, so choose wisely.

Trust the process

When you are making the decision to move to multiple services, go in knowing there will be a significant amount of work, including coordinating with staff, volunteers, stakeholders within the church, and ensuring those outside the church know of the changes. You’ll need to think through all the logistics: times of service, worship service format (different styles, lighting, arrangement), parking, greeters, ushers—the list of things to consider feels endless.

But you need to trust the process. This will be a significant stressor and strain on your resources, staff, volunteers, and even your people. You’ll hear positive and negative about the switch. Therefore, it’s important to have a plan to address these concerns and help each person feel heard. The church must ensure others feel heard so you can maintain unity.

Trusting the process will allow you to absorb the common objection and fear of not knowing everyone anymore. But the reality is, when a church grows beyond 120 people, it is difficult for anyone to know everyone. By trusting the process, you can help church members remember that the mission is the Great Commission—sharing the gospel and making disciples—not keeping the church a small, close-knit community.

Moving from one service to two is a major decision for any church regardless of size. Nobody has it down perfect. It is indeed an exciting time of transition and a great opportunity to reach more people who are far from God to become followers of Jesus.