Sermon Illustrations Part 1: The purpose of illustrations

Illustrating your main point is only one of the purposes of sermon ‘illustrations’:

They also give your listeners a ‘rest’ from the sermon. An opportunity to refresh and recharge their attention span.

They give additional emotional/aesthetic impact to the sermon. Tapping into the church’s emotions can be helpful no matter which emotion is aroused. How often has a preacher with a great sense of humour moved from jokes to challenging application in a short space?

To reveal something about the preacher or the church or Christians in general. It is a good getting to know you exercise.

To make an additional point: historical, ethical, theological, apologetic, cultural.