HOMI 500Natural Analogie Worksheet

· Make sure sermon ideas are clear and well worded

· Plant to balance support for your sermon ideas.

· Explore the common arenas of human experience.

· Go beyond your own limited personal experience.

· Distinguish between analogies and examples.

· Present analogies in a vivid and imaginative way.

This assignment involves the devising of illustrations for supporting sermon ideas through a process of exploring natural analogies. Complete the exercise with the following steps:

1. Write the division statement you are to illustrate. You may use the sermon idea for exploring analogies for the introduction and conclusion.

2. Circle the word or two in your statement that can be used to identify the generic idea in nontheological terms.

3. Brainstorm the arenas of life listed below for analogies that are natural expressions of your theological idea. Write as many as you can. Do not evaluate them now or second-guess your ideas.

· Family

· Business

· Animals

· Athletics

· Common objects

· World Affairs

· Other

· Nature

· Children

· Education

· History

· Travel

· Friendships

· Other

4. Check the best analogies from the list above on the basis of your subject, your audience, and your own ability to make particular ones work in the sermon.

5. Plan here how you will particularize the analogies you have chosen. You will want to present them in concrete, specific, imaginative language.

6. Write out one of your analogies on the back of the sheet as you might present it in your sermon.