Preachers talking about movies in sermons

[fishinnut]

Just thought I would vent, rant & complain about all the many times over the last number of years that I have heard preachers use secular movie references while preaching. I'm up to my gills with it.

I think that the best sermon illustrations come from the Bible. After that personal illustrations and then stories from real life.

But all too often of late, you can tell how preachers spend their time.......because "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh", it pops out in a message.

There was a time when preachers had large libraries, studied, read books, biographies & missionary stories from which they would draw illustrations.

Yesterday I heard an opening illustration about how popular & how much $$ the 007 movies raked in over the years.

Is there any thought that maybe preachers are wetting the appetites of their listeners for the world & it's advertising via what preachers used to refer to a hellywood.

Just saying......

 

[Ransom]

Is there any thought that maybe preachers are wetting the appetites of their listeners for the world & it's advertising via what preachers used to refer to a hellywood.

Or they're using pop-culture references because everyone is familiar with them, and so they're common ground.

I'm not a family man, so if the preacher draws an analogy from a current event, a piece of literature, or a movie we've both seen, I will relate to that more easily than I will to an anecdote about his kids.

There was a time when preachers had large libraries, studied, read books, biographies & missionary stories from which they would draw illustrations.

There was a time when reading books was what people did for entertainment and relaxation. Now our libraries contain other media as well, so it's only natural that sermon illustrations also draw on a wider range of sources.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Ransom nailed it again. Reaching a point of mutual understanding with the audience has a valuable draw to any preachers methodology.

Now, for a quick story. I was preaching years ago on being a good soldier from second Timothy in a Wednesday evening service. We rarely had visitors in a midweek service, but that night we did. My introduction was from the movie Saving Private Ryan. He got up before I even finished two minutes of introduction and shouted “ If I wanted to hear about the movies, I would’ve went to the theater.”, lol. That wasn’t you was it?

 

[abcaines]

That reminds me of a Hellyw... er Hollywood story. Mrs. abcaines didn't get out much when she was a kid. So, after we married, I took her places she'd only heard about, one of them being Hollywood. We were driving around L.A. and going down Hollywood Blvd. As we approached Vine St, I gestured around and said, "Well, dear, here's Hollywood!" She replied, "Seriously!? This place is a dump!" I got a good chuckle out of that. About the only interesting thing we saw was in front of the Chinese Theater, the hand and foot prints of the celebrates in the cement. Mrs. abcaines put her foot down next to John Wayne's foot print. Her foot is bigger than his!

 

[fishinnut]

Ransom nailed it again. Reaching a point of mutual understanding with the audience has a valuable draw to any preachers methodology.

Now, for a quick story. I was preaching years ago on being a good soldier from second Timothy in a Wednesday evening service. We rarely had visitors in a midweek service, but that night we did. My introduction was from the movie Saving Private Ryan. He got up before I even finished two minutes of introduction and shouted “ If I wanted to hear about the movies, I would’ve went to the theater.”, lol. That wasn’t you was it?

Not.

 

[ALAYMAN]

Not.

I think you raise a very good point with your thread. The sermon content, for illustration purposes is probably best done by all the means you listed. But I also think crafting a relevant sermon can also be accomplished usefully by using contemporary touch points within culture. I listen to Alistair Begg regularly. The theological depth of his sermons is unassailable, meaty and rich with lots of usage of Biblical illustrations, but even he uses music references from the 60s (Beatles, Joan Baez, etc) to illustrate points occasionally (he might want to update those to Taylor Swift though).

 

[abcaines]

he might want to update those to Taylor Swift though

 

[Ekklesian]

Just thought I would vent, rant & complain about all the many times over the last number of years that I have heard preachers use secular movie references while preaching. I'm up to my gills with it.

I think that the best sermon illustrations come from the Bible. After that personal illustrations and then stories from real life.

But all too often of late, you can tell how preachers spend their time.......because "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh", it pops out in a message.

There was a time when preachers had large libraries, studied, read books, biographies & missionary stories from which they would draw illustrations.

Yesterday I heard an opening illustration about how popular & how much $$ the 007 movies raked in over the years.

Is there any thought that maybe preachers are wetting the appetites of their listeners for the world & it's advertising via what preachers used to refer to a hellywood.

Just saying......

Greek and Roman theatre were spectacular in the first centuries of Christianity. Are there any illustrations of the early fathers drawn from these tales?

Real question.

 

[Rockson]

Ransom nailed it again. Reaching a point of mutual understanding with the audience has a valuable draw to any preachers methodology.

Now, for a quick story. I was preaching years ago on being a good soldier from second Timothy in a Wednesday evening service. We rarely had visitors in a midweek service, but that night we did. My introduction was from the movie Saving Private Ryan. He got up before I even finished two minutes of introduction and shouted “ If I wanted to hear about the movies, I would’ve went to the theater.”, lol. That wasn’t you was it?

Ah I don't see anything wrong with making a reference of a popular modern cultural movie....of course depending on what it is.

Paul the Apostle tried to make connection with his culture by using their entertainment industry too. He said "Just like your poets have said" Acts 17:28

I might have said to the man, dear friend I appreciate your concerns but the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul did use entertainment analogies in saying, "You like your poets have said" So I trust and hope that brings clarify to you but trust us were' not interested in preaching anything here but the word of God and with all due respect that's what I think we doing so God bless.

 

[Ekklesian]

Ah I don't see anything wrong with making a reference of a popular modern cultural movie....of course depending on what it is.

Paul the Apostle tried to make connection with his culture by using their entertainment industry too. He said "Just like your poets have said" Acts 17:28

I might have said to the man, dear friend I appreciate your concerns but the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul did use entertainment analogies in saying, "You like your poets have said" So I trust and hope that brings clarify to you but trust us were' not interested in preaching anything here but the word of God and with all due respect that's what I think we doing so God bless.

Ancient Greek poets were looked upon by most as prophets, inspired by the Muses.

It was not an appeal to popular culture, but to a world view.

Paul was saying, 'Even your own religion recognizes that it is in God that we live and move and have our being.'

Deism is so undeniably obvious, that even devils don't attempt to deny it.

 

[Ransom]

Paul the Apostle tried to make connection with his culture by using their entertainment industry too. He said "Just like your poets have said" Acts 17:28

The poets were intellectuals rather than pop-culture icons.

On the other hand, Paul did make multiple sports allusions, particularly to the Olympic games. I would imagine their were people in his day who wished he'd tone down the references to the sweaty naked pagans.

 

[Baptist City Holdout]

The Apostle Paul never referred to anything by Shakespeare in the KJV BLESS GAWD!

 

[abcaines]

Paul the Apostle tried to make connection with his culture by using their entertainment industry too. He said "Just like your poets have said" Acts 17:28

Excellent point.

 

[Ekklesian]

The poets were intellectuals rather than pop-culture icons.

On the other hand, Paul did make multiple sports allusions, particularly to the Olympic games. I would imagine their were people in his day who wished he'd tone down the references to the sweaty naked pagans.

Multiple?

I think that's a bit of a stretch. And those contests were real events. They weren't fiction.

And his points about them are worth considering.

 

[ALAYMAN]

….I might have said to the man, dear friend I appreciate your concerns but the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul did use entertainment analogies in saying, "You like your poets have said" So I trust and hope that brings clarify to you but trust us were' not interested in preaching anything here but the word of God and with all due respect that's what I think we doing so God bless.

Obviously we didn’t want to make too much more of a distraction from the worship than he already had, but, my pastor did go out of his way to talk to him outside the church building and explain that stuff but he had his mind up that whatever we were doing that it was wrong. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.

 

[Rockson]

Obviously we didn’t want to make too much more of a distraction from the worship than he already had, but, my pastor did go out of his way to talk to him outside the church building and explain that stuff but he had his mind up that whatever we were doing that it was wrong. Oh well, can’t win ‘em all.

No I guess we can't.

 

[ALAYMAN]

The preacher who was used of God to bring me to Christ would slap the wooden pulpit with his open hand and then simultaneously raise his voice loudly in order to get your attention. It worked for me. Voice inflection, turns of phrase, short spurts of song (I definitely DON’T do this almost ever), use of pop-culture references (negatively OR positively referenced) and various other “attention-getters” are devices in preaching or public speaking that connect to and capture the attention of the hearer/congregation. Knowing your audience and appropriately applying these techniques in moderation, in order to deliver the substance/meat of the word, is basic common sense.

 

[Rockson]

The preacher who was used of God to bring me to Christ would slap the wooden pulpit with his open hand and then simultaneously raise his voice loudly in order to get your attention. It worked for me. Voice inflection, turns of phrase, short spurts of song (I definitely DON’T do this almost ever), use of pop-culture references (negatively OR positively referenced) and various other “attention-getters” are devices in preaching or public speaking that connect to and capture the attention of the hearer/congregation. Knowing your audience and appropriately applying these techniques in moderation, in order to deliver the substance/meat of the word, is basic common sense.

I agree using pop cultural references can be used I'd say like a launch pad to get one into spiritual truth about one preaching with passion though like you said a preacher raising his voice or slapping the wooden pulpit. You referred to them as techniques or maybe something someone has put on. Some are always going to think about it that way but not sure it's always fair to say one is employing a technique any more that if a preacher is talking in a monotone some might call it boring voice.

If it's coming from a true passion of his heart I don't think it's fair to examine too much his reason for being this way. I think everything should be born from prayer and the person's fellowship with God before preaching. God at times may with great passion want to get certain truths into a person so it's not putting on a canned emotional technique but born of the Spirit REAL longings being uttered.

 

[ALAYMAN]

I agree using pop cultural references can be used I'd say like a launch pad to get one into spiritual truth about one preaching with passion though like you said a preacher raising his voice or slapping the wooden pulpit. You referred to them as techniques or maybe something someone has put on. Some are always going to think about it that way but not sure it's always fair to say one is employing a technique any more that if a preacher is talking in a monotone some might call it boring voice.

If it's coming from a true passion of his heart I don't think it's fair to examine too much his reason for being this way. I think everything should be born from prayer and the person's fellowship with God before preaching. God at times may with great passion want to get certain truths into a person so it's not putting on a canned emotional technique but born of the Spirit REAL longings being uttered.

Yeah, I was merely drawing a parallel between the idea of methods of getting the hearer’s attention via illustrations (mental image) and oral/audio (hand slapping pulpit or other gestures). The point isn’t so much to elevate any single oratory style as it is to highlight the desire to engage the audience (via content such as pop culture as or if needed). My pastor rarely raises his voice like what I described in the preacher who delivered the sermon when I was saved, and never uses any visible attention-getting gestures yet he is a fantastic preacher of the word because he brings the truth of the word to our souls. Styles may vary, so long as the substance is accompanied by unction and the rightly divided word to the appropriate target it’s all good.

 

[Rockson]

Yeah, I was merely drawing a parallel between the idea of methods of getting the hearer’s attention via illustrations (mental image) and oral/audio (hand slapping pulpit or other gestures). The point isn’t so much to elevate any single oratory style as it is to highlight the desire to engage the audience (via content such as pop culture as or if needed). My pastor rarely raises his voice like what I described in the preacher who delivered the sermon when I was saved, and never uses any visible attention-getting gestures yet he is a fantastic preacher of the word because he brings the truth of the word to our souls. Styles may vary, so long as the substance is accompanied by unction and the rightly divided word to the appropriate target it’s all good.

I agree with that. And people have different gifting and ways that they are in which God has created. One's not better than another just different and we need them all.