Can you remember where you were and who you were with when you saw The Passion of the Christ for the first time? You might be surprised how many people would be able to tell you everything about that experience. People who heard that same story told hundreds of times suddenly remember everything about their experience with Mel Gibson’s film. Why? Because stories make sermon stick. Preachers need to be good storytellers and luckily for those of us who aren’t great storytellers by nature, there are lots of prompts, strategies, and tricks to tell better stories. In this episode of Hello Church! Podcast we share how to elevate your storytelling through 7 different types of storytelling, as well as a list of storytelling, fails you will want to avoid. The last thing you want when telling a story, whether it’s yours or one from scripture, is to get in the way of the core message and miss out on the impact it could and should have on listeners.
CHAPTER MARKERS:
0:19 Welcome to Hello Church!
1:12 Sponsored by Sermonary 2.0
2:30 Introduction to Storytelling for Preachers
3:48 Why Stories Are Important
7:50 Who Is the Hero?
9:09 Storytelling Fails
13:49 7 Types of Stories You Can Use
24:08 Previous Episodes & Upcoming Episodes
24:30 Recap of Storytelling for Preachers
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Sermonary — https://mnstry.co/3yb
Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker — https://mnstry.co/riy
Full Transcript
Wade Bearden (00:05):
Welcome to Hello Church! We’re excited about this new episode. We’re continuing our Season 2 topic, The Sermon and this is our third installment. Justin, we’re going to be talking about storytelling. I kind of jumped ahead. I’m Wade Bearden for those who don’t know me.
Justin Trapp (00:21):
And I’m Justin Trapp. Today, we’re going to be talking about, you’re right, seven types of stories that pastors can share in their sermon. But also I’m going to be sharing some storytelling fails, like what not to do when sharing a story.
Wade Bearden (00:35):
It’s a really interesting topic because telling people that tell stories better can oftentimes be like you tell people to be funny. If you try too hard, it doesn’t work. But if you utilize some of the story structures we’re going to tell you about, maybe steer clear of the story fails, you’ll find yourself becoming a better storyteller. We’re not just talking about sharing personal stories, but also looking at the stories of the Bible and sharing them. They’re written so well, these stories in the Bible, there’s a reason why we share them over and over again. If we’re not careful though, we can kind of get in the way of that, so we’re going to be talking about storytelling.
Wade Bearden (01:12):
This episode is sponsored by Sermonary. Sermonary 2.0, Justin is coming out, here soon. Depending on when you listen to this, it might already be out. It’s coming out February 22, 2022. Make sure to check that out. I personally believe, Justin, that Sermonary will help you become a better storyteller and I’ve gotten multiple emails this week from people who use Sermonary, and they’ve talked about just how much it saved them time, helped them become a better communicator. It’s really wonderful.
Wade Bearden (01:48):
Sermonary is a online cloud-based word processor designed for pastors, so if you haven’t checked it out we won’t go on and on about it, but if you haven’t checked it out, you need to do that today. It really is incredible.
Justin Trapp (02:01):
Yeah. So check out Sermonary 2.0. It comes out 2/22/22 on a Tuesday.
Wade Bearden (02:08):
On a Tuesday.
Justin Trapp (02:09):
All the twos at once.
Wade Bearden (02:10):
If it’s past that, if it’s past February 22nd and you’re listening to this, you don’t have to wait.
Justin Trapp (02:16):
Somebody’s probably watching this video in 2024. Hello from the past.
Wade Bearden (02:21):
Get ready for Sermonary 3.0. That’s coming your way. It’s probably available. So we all want to tell good stories, Justin. That’s kind of the topic of our episode. As we’re thinking through during this season how to write, how to put together a strong sermon, we want to look at scripture and we want to tell those stories with power.
Wade Bearden (02:42):
When we share stories about testimonies in our own life, in the lives of others, we want to tell those stories well. We want to use them as good illustrations. We want to find stories from the world to help illustrate God’s word, help people to understand God’s word. But sometimes that’s not easy. There are some pastors who are like, “Oh, I’m a great storyteller,” and then others are like, “Man, I could do research all day long, but it’s just hard to tell stories.”
Justin Trapp (03:09):
And then there’s some pastors that think they’re great storytellers.
Wade Bearden (03:13):
They’re like, “Man, that was a great story.” I feel like in my personal life I’ve had to really work hard at stories and one of the things that’s helped me the most is becoming a film critic and studying stories in movies and the structure of stories, it’s really helped me. In a little while, you’re going to actually kind of go a little more in depth on the seven different types of story structures or types of stories that might be helpful. But I just want to, I guess, introduce the audience to the power of stories by giving just, I don’t know, just thoughts on stories. Why are stories important?
Justin Trapp (03:58):
Well, I mean, stories allow you to walk through a passage in a cinematic way. You think about the Garden of Gethsemane. You think about the parting of the Red Sea. You think about the Good Samaritan. Jesus told stories. I think it was Brady Shearer I heard say one time that 35% of Jesus’ words in the New Testament were spent telling stories.
Justin Trapp (04:19):
Jesus understood the power of a cinematic narrative to an audience, trying to teach them a concept, trying to teach them a lesson and he would use stories to do that. The woman with the two coins, the prodigal son. Jesus, all of his stories in the parables were just so amazing and really hit it home the point that he was trying to make and I think that’s really the why behind why pastors should use stories is because they allow us to make something come alive in a way.
Justin Trapp (04:53):
Have you ever been, Wade, in a sermon where the pastor is preaching on a particular message or there’s a particular part of the story and you’ve read the passage and you’re familiar with the story, but then you hear them preach through it and it just comes alive in a different way?
Justin Trapp (05:09):
I remember where I was when someone preached on the prodigal son, but it wasn’t about the younger son coming home. It was really about the attitude and how far the older son was in his relationship with the father and I remember sitting there that day going, “Man, I’ve grown up in church and I’ve never heard this perspective before.” It really, really helped and challenged me.
Wade Bearden (05:30):
Yeah. Well, it’s interesting. You mentioned the story of the Red Sea and the parting of the Red Sea. If you read the story, it’s like, “Man, that’s amazing. That’s a great story,” but when we’re retelling it, if we’re not careful, we can make it anticlimactic. And so being a good storyteller means digging deep into that story and helping it come alive.
Wade Bearden (05:52):
These people who were cornered, the army that had enslaved them for centuries was very angry. The Pharaoh himself was leading those soldiers into battle and here you are, backs against the Red Sea, not just an army standing there waiting to fight Pharaoh, but children, women who are going to be slaughtered when he gets there and then just to think through. The impossible happens. If you find a way to tell those stories well, it can just open up so much to the world of the listeners.
Justin Trapp (06:28):
Well, Hollywood, they’re masterful storytellers. Right? And I remember sitting in… We’ve had Christian iterations, Jesus films, so to speak. Right?
Wade Bearden (06:40):
Yeah.
Justin Trapp (06:40):
I’ve seen many Jesus films, but I remember when Mel Gibson directed and produced The Passion of the Christ, that was different. I remember where I was. I remember the theater sat in silence after the movie was over and there was just sort of quiet whimpering and crying because it was done in such just a powerful way that we had read that story. We had read those passages in the New Testament and then to see it come alive on a screen in a way that just was so eloquent and so efficient, it really moved everybody. I haven’t seen Passion of the Christ since then. I don’t want to ruin that experience, that first time.
Wade Bearden (07:18):
Well, it’s crazy because there was a lot of controversy surrounding the film and then now Mel Gibson’s life or in the past few years, Mel Gibson’s life and then a lot of people were really pushing it to be this evangelistic. So there was just kind of a lot happening. I watched it for the first time again a couple years ago and it’s a really good movie, just cinematically, emotionally. It’s very-
Justin Trapp (07:39):
That open scene.
Wade Bearden (07:40):
… good. Yeah. Even someone like Roger Ebert, he gave it pretty high marks and he didn’t profess Christianity. So to be able to make a movie and a story like that is really wonderful. So thinking through to story, the idea of who’s the hero, that’s really interesting too. Speak a little bit about that. How do you tell a story? Who’s the hero? Who’s the main character? How do you harness that to tell a good story and to help your people?
Justin Trapp (08:13):
Well, we’re human beings, and we think about ourselves. We think about ourselves more than we think about others. So if you’re a pastor and you’re always sharing stories about your life and making yourself the hero, “Look at me,” I served with a pastor and his thought, his philosophy was, “Look at me as I follow Jesus and be like me so you can be more like Jesus.”
Justin Trapp (08:36):
And it was well intended but it just, over time I felt like there was a disconnect in those stories. The audience wants to be the hero. They want to be able to see themselves inside that story. We’re all sort of narcissistic in our own way, right?
Wade Bearden (08:56):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Justin Trapp (08:56):
See themselves in that story and not just look to you, pastor, as the person who’s closest to God and always gets it right. Right?
Wade Bearden (09:07):
Mm-hmm (affirmative).
Justin Trapp (09:08):
Which kind of leads us into some storytelling fails or when you’re using stories, try to avoid this. I would say this is kind of, especially today. We’re recording this on Valentine’s Day, so this is really appropriate.
Wade Bearden (09:20):
Yeah. This is very appropriate.
Justin Trapp (09:21):
But don’t tell a story or share stories about your wife without asking permission.
Wade Bearden (09:26):
Yeah, or even your kids, because your kids are there, their friends are there and that can be really embarrassing.
Justin Trapp (09:34):
Don’t spoil Christmas. Weren’t you in the service, and the guy spoiled Christmas?
Wade Bearden (09:39):
Yeah. So-
Justin Trapp (09:39):
Santa Claus.
Wade Bearden (09:40):
So if you have kids listening to this, just go ahead and pause it or whatever. But I was in a church service and my pastor, it was a special church service, and it was one of those where it was Christmastime and all the kids were in the service. So this is usually not the case because on Sunday morning, kids are usually in children’s church, but they were doing skits and different things like that. So the pastor’s preaching Sunday morning, the kids are all there and no lie and I’ve joked, we’ve joked about this with him for years, he gets up on stage and he goes, “I remember when I found out Santa wasn’t real,” and all their kids were just like, “Dad?”
Justin Trapp (10:26):
“What, what, what?”
Wade Bearden (10:27):
“Papa.”
Justin Trapp (10:28):
What a way to start a story or a sermon.
Wade Bearden (10:30):
And the illustration was good. He just didn’t… We’ll get into that later. You got to understand your audience. Right?
Justin Trapp (10:36):
Yeah.
Wade Bearden (10:37):
But yeah, just understand who your audience is. Ask your wife, ask your children for permission because something you say could be kind of embarrassing for them and you don’t want to make it weird.
Justin Trapp (10:49):
Yeah. Practice the punchline or the climax of the story. I actually made this mistake yesterday. I was doing a generosity moment at our church and I was telling a story about a librarian who passed away and died and donated his entire estate to a university. Four million dollars. And I was asking the question like, “How does a librarian get $four million dollars?” And so I started going through this, and my punchline was that he was an assassin, but I tried to make one of the points that he was a crypto investor like a punchline and it fell flat. I just waited too long.
Wade Bearden (11:22):
I laughed.
Justin Trapp (11:23):
Oh, you laughed. Okay. That’s right.
Wade Bearden (11:24):
Sadly. I think I was the only one that I heard laughing, but I thought it was really funny.
Justin Trapp (11:27):
Yeah. So, but I sat there. I was like mid-diagnosis right in the middle of my talk. I’m going, “Why did you try to make that a punchline? That wasn’t the punchline. The assassin was the punchline.” And I did get to the assassin part and everyone seemed to laugh at that.
Wade Bearden (11:40):
Yeah.
Justin Trapp (11:41):
But practice the climax of your story or the punchline or else it could just fall flat, to be honest with you. Again, don’t make the story about yourself so much. There are stories that we tell about ourselves that we share our faults, the things, you have inspirational stories, no doubt that God has helped you overcome certain things or maybe you experienced some miracle. That’s okay to share. Just don’t share, don’t make yourself the hero every single story or every single sermon.
Wade Bearden (12:10):
Yeah. And also don’t turn yourself. So there’s this propensity for all of us to see ourselves as the main character in life and God is the person who helps us succeed, but we are the main characters and that’s simply not the case. And if we’re not careful, we can take the heroes in the Bible. We learn about heroes in the Bible, Hebrews 11, we can take them and basically say like, “That’s us or that can be us.”
Wade Bearden (12:35):
So the main aggressor, right, is always David and Goliath. So it’s like, “You are David,” but it’s important that we look at that and understand who does David represent? Who is the better David? Well, you find out that the true hero is Jesus. David is this arch type. He’s this reflection and he doesn’t get us there. He’s an imperfect individual, but it says something about God working in the world. God is the hero in that moment and Jesus is the better David.
Wade Bearden (13:06):
So be careful who you choose to be the hero and even when you tell a story about yourself making a really good a decision, I think we can all kind of concede that the holy spirit is helping us make that decision. And so make sure you emphasize that. Make sure you say, “Hey, in my fallen nature, it would’ve been easy to do this, but the holy spirit empowered me. He is the hero in this story to help me to make this right decision. And you might feel like you can’t do it. I can’t do it either, but the holy spirit who lives in me lives in you too.” So I think there’s a way to do that, to tell stories about even when you make good decisions, but make the hero God. I think that’s really important.
Justin Trapp (13:47):
So let’s dive right in to seven types of stories you can use in your sermon. Now these seven types, you can actually Google this. Seven types of stories. There’s a lot of writing on this, a lot of publication on this, but one of the more well-sourced guys that has a lot of content on this is a guy named Christopher Booker. He released a book in the early 2000’s. I think he said he spent like 35 years writing the book. It’s like 700 pages. So I don’t know that it’s a fun read everyone, but it goes-
Wade Bearden (14:17):
I hope a lot of people bought it though.
Justin Trapp (14:19):
Right. If you want to go deeper on this topic, you can read his 700 and something page book. We’ll give you the cliff notes in the next five minutes.
Wade Bearden (14:30):
Yeah. One seven for each. There’s seven so it’s times 35 so that’s five so we’ll break that down very easily.
Justin Trapp (14:37):
Yeah. let’s dive right in. So seven types of stories that you can use in your sermon first type is a comedy story. Right? You can use comedy. I have a biblical example for every one of these. The story of the talking donkey with Balaam.
Wade Bearden (14:57):
With Balaam, yeah.
Justin Trapp (14:58):
That could be really funny.
Wade Bearden (15:00):
We’re trying really hard to not make extra jokes than needed on that one.
Justin Trapp (15:05):
Yes. Really try. The youth pastors in us-
Wade Bearden (15:08):
Because we’ve all read the King James Version of that, haven’t we?
Justin Trapp (15:11):
I have a sticky note to myself. I have a sticky note right here that says, “Don’t use [inaudible 00:15:17].” Another story that I thought could be funny is the story of the multitude of fish where the disciples have been fishing all night and then Jesus tells them to throw the nets on the other side. I always thought that was kind of like a funny, sarcastic remark. Like “Yeah, yeah. Throw your nets on the other side.” And they’re like, “Okay, whatever.”
Justin Trapp (15:37):
And out of sheer exhaustion or they’re delirious, the disciples just were like, “All right, let’s throw it over on the other side.” And it’s just like, they catch all the fish. I always thought that story could have been really funny in real life.
Wade Bearden (15:50):
Oh yeah.
Justin Trapp (15:51):
Surprising.
Wade Bearden (15:51):
Well, they probably laughed about it afterwards.
Justin Trapp (15:53):
Yes.
Wade Bearden (15:53):
Is probably [crosstalk 00:15:55].
Justin Trapp (15:54):
After they almost sank the boat.
Wade Bearden (15:56):
Yeah. Yeah. Another story that we see in life we see in the scripture is the underdog story.
Justin Trapp (16:03):
Yeah.
Wade Bearden (16:03):
And so that’s really why that’s one of the stories we love the most. I’ll say this, okay. I’m not going to talk too much about the Georgia Bulldogs. Right?
Justin Trapp (16:11):
Man. I knew this was coming.
Wade Bearden (16:12):
But I’m wearing my Georgia Bulldogs shirt. They’re national champions and I was there, but their quarterback-
Justin Trapp (16:20):
It’s going to make it into every episode-
Wade Bearden (16:21):
Yeah. Every episode.
Justin Trapp (16:21):
… this season.
Wade Bearden (16:22):
Their quarterback Stetson Bennett was a walk on. He didn’t get a scholarship offer from any big schools, but he came, he was on the practice squad his first year when Georgia went to the national championship and lost in 2017, so it wasn’t even on the squad that suits up and goes on the field. He was a practice squad. He leaves and goes to a junior college then he comes back. He doesn’t play that next year. He’s third or fourth on the depth chart in 2020, he plays a little bit, doesn’t do great and then he’s benched.
Wade Bearden (16:55):
And then this year he starts at, I forget. It was like two or three. The starter, JT Daniels. He eventually gets hurt. Bennett comes in, this walk on and leads them to a national championship. And a lot of people love that story. I mean, so-
Justin Trapp (17:10):
Feel the anointing.
Wade Bearden (17:11):
Yeah. A lot of people. Why? Because we love the underdog story. So if you’re thinking through stories-
Justin Trapp (17:18):
Because why? Because we see ourselves, right-
Wade Bearden (17:19):
Because we see ourselves.
Justin Trapp (17:20):
… in every story.
Wade Bearden (17:21):
Because we’re like, “I didn’t get any scholarship offers for football. I could do it too.”
Justin Trapp (17:26):
“I’m a normal person. That means it could happen to me.”
Wade Bearden (17:30):
But, and there’s something to say about Jesus in his humble birth, but that’s one type of story so as you’re thinking through different stories for sermons and thinking through how to tell stories, one of the types is the underdog story. And you might be able to use that in a sermon coming up. Who knows?
Justin Trapp (17:46):
Yeah.
Wade Bearden (17:46):
You could use Stetson Bennett as a illustration.
Justin Trapp (17:48):
There it is.
Wade Bearden (17:48):
There you go.
Justin Trapp (17:49):
There it is.
Wade Bearden (17:49):
Except if you live in Alabama, then probably not.
Justin Trapp (17:51):
I imagine that illustration’s going to show up in Sermonary under our illustrations library soon.
Justin Trapp (17:58):
Another type of story you can use is the quest, right? The hero or the figure goes on a journey and a lot of times they have someone accompanying them like a coach. You could say the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness on that journey with Moses and Joshua. That could be an example of a quest.
Wade Bearden (18:19):
Lord of the rings is a-
Justin Trapp (18:20):
Yeah, Lord of the Rings.
Wade Bearden (18:21):
… quest story.
Justin Trapp (18:22):
Yeah.
Wade Bearden (18:23):
You get a lot of children’s animated films that are quest stories. They go on this adventure, they have to get home or they have to bring or deliver something to another place. But that also could show a quest in your life, maybe a metaphorical or philosophical quest, where you made this journey in your life to Christ or to a certain realization. And you can see that kind of in society, the journeys that people make and that might be something that you could include as you’re telling certain stories.
Wade Bearden (18:52):
And obviously I think it goes without saying that when we talk about telling personal stories, we’re saying, tell it to illustrate the text. The scripture should be where we’re headed and so these stories can support that. But as you’re telling maybe the children of Israel, you could think through not just the physical journey that they’re taking, but what’s taking place spiritually in their lives. So, that might be able to help you tell those types of stories a little bit better.
Justin Trapp (19:21):
Another one that’s related to that, but it is a different type of story is the journey/return, so a return story. Batman return. No, I’m kidding. But the prodigal son is a perfect example of this, right, this type of story, where he goes away and he comes back and he sort of experiences hardships and then finds redemption. In the movies, you could have the return of the king maybe. Would that fall? That’s another Lord of the Rings reference. I’m trying to think of another return that would be a great, well-known film that everyone knows.
Wade Bearden (19:56):
Yeah. Like a there and back again. Something like that.
Justin Trapp (19:59):
Ironman, in the original Ironman kind of experiences that, where he sort of goes in the cave, right? He’s building, he’s working and then he comes back and then comes back to the… What is that city there? Metropolis. No, that’s a super-
Wade Bearden (20:14):
No, no, no. He comes back to his LA, his Malibu house.
Justin Trapp (20:19):
Yeah, but he’s like a new man. He’s experienced hardships, right?
Wade Bearden (20:22):
Mm-hmm (affirmative), Yeah.
Justin Trapp (20:22):
He’s back, ready to roll. Let’s see here. Another one is tragedy. Man, tragedy, a lot of stories that have tragedy. Lazarus. Man, what a great example.
Wade Bearden (20:37):
And it’s interesting too with Lazarus that when you think about the traditional comedy storytelling world, tragedy is one of those stories, just historically, that ends on a sad note. You could think of Shakespeare, you could think of Macbeth or something like that.
Justin Trapp (20:52):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Romeo and Juliet.
Wade Bearden (20:53):
Yeah. Lazarus doesn’t actually end in tragedy. And so as Christians, when we tell some of these stories, we know what’s going to happen even for those of us who’ve maybe lost a loved one or something like that. But when you’re telling a story in tragedy, I think it’s really easy for us to always put this cherry on top or to be like, “Oh, that was really bad, but you know this.”
Wade Bearden (21:12):
I think it’s fine and it’s good and it’s needed to just simply dwell in this tragedy. The tragedy isn’t ultimate and we can say that. We can say, “God has promised us this future hope, but there’s no denying that this was really terrible. I think that’ll appeal to certain people who are going through something or just, Jesus sits with us in our grief like we see in Lazarus and some of those stories help us do that too.
Justin Trapp (21:37):
Another type of story is a rags to riches story. Right? We all love a good rags to riches story or a good thrift shop, one of the two. And Joseph, right? Joseph could be a good example of a rags to riches story. I know in Hollywood and movies, a lot of times a rags to riches story is the person gains the whole world. And then they lose it and then a lesson is learned like one of the greatest movies of all time, The Greatest Showman. He gains the whole world, right? It’s never enough and then fire sets to the circus and has to rebuild and start over, but he learned that he could ride-
Wade Bearden (22:14):
The greatest movie of all time.
Justin Trapp (22:15):
Yeah. He learned he could ride an elephant in the middle of the street like it’s a normal thing.
Wade Bearden (22:21):
Yeah. In the end of the movie, he’s like, “I got to get somewhere fast, so I’ll just ride an elephant there.”
Justin Trapp (22:24):
Yeah. Ride an elephant.
Wade Bearden (22:25):
That’s, man, I bet that really happened too.
Justin Trapp (22:27):
That was right after he practiced his Tom Cruise run. I mean, have you noticed that Hugh Jackman looks exactly like Tom cruise when he runs? It’s just-
Wade Bearden (22:34):
I haven’t noticed that.
Justin Trapp (22:35):
It’s like straight 90-degree angle in the arms.
Wade Bearden (22:37):
Yeah. Yeah. I didn’t notice that. I want to see.
Justin Trapp (22:40):
While singing at the same time.
Wade Bearden (22:42):
Yeah. And the claws are out of his hands.
Justin Trapp (22:43):
Yeah.
Wade Bearden (22:45):
Goodness.
Justin Trapp (22:46):
Last type of story. This is the seventh type is a rebirth story. And when we see this in the Old Test, or the New Testament, excuse me, perhaps one of the greatest rebirth stories, not involving Jesus, right, was the story of Paul. Saul.
Wade Bearden (23:02):
Mm-hmm (affirmative). And this is usually, this is not just like death and resurrection, per se though. That is the case in some of these stories that have resurrection themes, but just the awakening of a person, a person who has this spiritual awakening, this change of heart. So, I think maybe Ironman, the first Ironman might fit here actually a little bit better.
Justin Trapp (23:27):
Yeah. I think you’re right.
Wade Bearden (23:28):
And you’ll notice in a lot of movies, they actually have a death and resurrection theme. They have a character dying and coming back to emphasize that they’re visually talking about resurrection inwardly by doing it outwardly.
Justin Trapp (23:43):
Or in Infinity War, they kill everyone. Everyone has a death. Well, half the people.
Wade Bearden (23:48):
Right. And then they, and they come back. So thinking through that and some of these stories like this one in particular, you can share your testimony of death to life, but also finding people in your congregation and sharing their salvation stories, their Damascus road experiences, which I think would be really powerful.
Wade Bearden (24:08):
So, our last episode, we talked about sermon outlines. We talked about story today. We’re going to be kind of working through some of these big, important questions surrounding the sermon in season two.
Wade Bearden (24:20):
Next week, we’re going to be talking about in our next episode, the audience. How to think about the audience when you are writing a message. And I think that’s going to be super helpful for our people.
Justin Trapp (24:31):
Yeah. So again, just a recap. Your stories aren’t just something that you use in a sermon illustration. Lean into a powerful, compelling, humorous story, a tragic, right, so that the gospel can come alive even more. They can sort of get it. It’s like a new angle. It’s a new perspective. They feel something like a new emotion. And we use stories. We harness stories.
Justin Trapp (24:56):
If Jesus harnessed a third of his words in the New Testament to teach us powerful truths about him and our relationship with him and our heavenly Father, then I think we, as pastors should do that as well. So it’s hard to compete with Jesus. He was probably the greatest storyteller of all time, but, and he also could turn water into wine, which none of us is able to do yet.
Wade Bearden (25:16):
And I would say this, one last thought is, a lot of times, it can be easy to say, “Oh, I love preaching through the stories of the Bible, but you get into Paul’s work, it’s a little bit harder. Yeah. I would encourage you to treat every passage of scripture, like a story, because it is telling a story.
Wade Bearden (25:34):
So our church is going through first Corinthians right now and there’s a big story there. Paul planted the church. He’s been gone and he’s in Ephesus now caring for another church and it seems like the people in Corinth are just out of control. And so if you can bring some of that background information to light, you’re constantly telling a story through the words of Paul. You’re helping to communicate what’s going on. So I would encourage you to treat every passage of scripture like a story. And then of course you have the main story of scripture. Scripture as a whole tells one story of our fall and the redemption through Jesus Christ.
Justin Trapp (26:12):
So, that’s seven types of stories you can share in your sermons. If you like this episode, click the like button, send us a review or hit the subscribe button on YouTube. Turn on your notification so that when we do publish a new episode, you get the bell, the text message, the popup, whatever the case may be so you-
Wade Bearden (26:31):
The facts.
Justin Trapp (26:31):
Yeah, the facts, the truth. You get the truth. Anyways. We appreciate you guys. Hope y’all have a good rest of your week. We’ll see you next time on Hello Church!