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Finding Sermon Illustration Content on Theotek Podcast #054

by Kevin Purcell••0
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Looking for a good sermon illustration your next sermon idea? We talk about our process and then recommend some sources for explaining, proving and showing what application of our messages looks like.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKVPCmmQk00In the old days our preaching professors taught us how to manage a sermon illustration database. We had file cabinets or notebooks or file folders with clippings from the paper or photo copies of books we read. Then people started putting these on their computers with software like the program sold by the original makers of QuickVerse Bible Software. Bible Illustrator linked some databases of illustrations to the Bible text from QuickVerse and made them searchable via keyword. Others put them in the old Cards application that came pre-installed with Windows 3.1. A lot of people put them in a word processor or text file. Then the Bible software companies started to include sermon illustration databases in their programs. We showed some books like this available in Accordance Bible Software. Logos and WORDsearch and most of the other big names in Bible software offer these collections.Unfortunately, most of the sermon illustration books or databases available online, in Bible software or even in book form totally stink. They’re stories from the 1800s or incredibly generic. How many times do we find one that doesn’t fit, but it’s close and it’s really good.Listen below or watch the YouTube video of our podcast above and learn how we find fresh content from our own experiences, from a Google search or pictures and video files that make that sermon illustration come to life.

I’m Dr. Kevin Purcell, a minister, ministry leader, writer, and technology enthusiast with more than 35 years of experience in Christian ministry. I currently serve as Director of Missions for the Brushy Mountain Baptist Association, where I work alongside churches throughout Wilkes County, North Carolina, to strengthen local congregations, encourage pastors, and advance the Great Commission.

Over the years, I’ve served as a youth pastor and senior pastor, and much of my ministry has focused on helping churches communicate the Gospel more effectively. I hold a Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in Religion and Philosophy from Georgetown College.

For more than two decades, I’ve also written about technology, Bible software, preaching, and church ministry. My work has appeared in publications and websites including ChurchTechToday, GottaBeMobile, Preaching Magazine, and iPhone Life. I also create videos and tutorials about Logos Bible Software and other tools that can help pastors and Christians study Scripture more effectively.

KevinPurcell.org brings many of my interests together. Here I write about preaching, Bible study, ministry, artificial intelligence, photography, and technology, with a particular emphasis on helping pastors and churches use technology as a tool rather than allowing it to become a distraction.

At the heart of everything I do is a simple goal: to help build the church of Jesus Christ, make disciples, encourage those who serve in ministry, and help Christians use the tools available to them in service of the Gospel.

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