Analogies That Inspire

Creativity research reveals that one of the best way to get ideas is through trying to connect items that have nothing to do with each other. Think of the burr plant that is so irritating when it catches on your clothes. Then think of a zipper. Strange? Well, that's how velcro came about.

We've put together some thoughts to help ZING your creative abilities and to help you come up with innovative sermons that people remember.

If these analogies inspire a sermon, let Jean know!

In Lilly Walter's book, Secrets of Successful Speakers, a contributor states, "I watched a famous woman golfer speak once. She carried a huge white handbag loaded with junk and plunked it on the lectern. We looked at it throughout her presentation. I don't remember a word she said, but I do remember the handbag."

In the same way, we all have a big white handbag that detracts from getting our Christian message heard. These behaviours (or sins) make it hard for the listeners to hear (or give credence to) our Christian message of salvation in much the same way that the speaker's prominent handbag detracted from her message.

What "large, white handbag" (behaviours or sin) are you carrying around?

Which flower would the people who know you best say your Christian example most resembles:

  • a strongly fragrant lilac;
  • a delicately scented rose;
  • a no-scent orchid; or
  • the flower of the Corpse Plant which smells like a foul, much used diaper pail?

Gutters are designed to collect waters running off a house's roof and direct them towards a safe place. However, things other than water also collect in gutters. Leaves, fir needles and pine cones accumulate in the gutter and block the drainage pipes. If these are not removed from the gutter, the overflowing water can saturate the soil next to the home's foundation and cause settling which then causes the foundation to crack. The overflowing water also rots the wood in the roof next to the gutters, causing extensive damage.

A church has its own gutters. The gutters are the people in the church - the ones that help others do the job they are supposed to do (much like a gutter's job is to remove rain). But problems within the church can be similar to leaves, fir needles and pine cones. If not resolved regularly, they can damage or destroy a church's Christian example and effectiveness.

In what shape are your church's gutters? What needs to be done to clean them and repair the foundation?

We often doodle to relax or to pass the time while we are doing something else (like talking on the telephone). Usually we think of doodles as small drawings that have no meaning at all. But sometimes our doodles reveal our innermost hopes and fears.

If you were doodling while you were thinking about God's plan for your life, what would the finished doodle look like?

Most people with dogs will tell you that as soon as a dog hears thunder in the distance, it will start whining and wanting to be let it. Or if it is inside, it will run to the master for protection. Cats, on the other hand, appear calm and confident even in the midst of a ferocious storm.

Which are you most like when life's problems thunder about you - the whimpering, scared dog? Or the calm and confident cat that seems not to mind the cracks, booms, and roars all around it?

On a typical day, does your prayer life function more like a:

  • dirt bike;
  • double-decker bus;
  • second-hand lemon;
  • Rolls Royce; or
  • tank?

If your prayer habits suddenly came to life as a movie character, which hero or villain, would they be?

People just can't help it - when we see a beautiful butterfly we gasp in awe and reach out to touch it. Wha traits are so appealing in aChristian life that makes people want to reach out and touch Jesus?