Quote: "We should never look outside of the passage for something that will make the sermon especially attractive and compelling to the people—the Word of God itself is compelling and attractive to those who are regenerate."

I agree a little with this statement, but find myself mostly disagreeing. Maybe the article will clear up exactly what is implied here. Does he mean I should never use an illustration? Surely not. Movie clip? Quote? Introduction/conclusion? Context would help, but the way its stated sounds like the logic is that I should just read a passage, exegete it, and expect the Holy Spirit to do the rest. I don't agree with that.

I mean, even Jesus "entertained" in a sense. He told stories that weren't scripture (at the time). So did Nathan the prophet when he confronted David.

On the other hand, if I show a movie clip ever five minutes I suppose people will leave thinking about how funny Ice Age is, not thinking about how to change their behavior in light of God's Word.

I think the key is to keep the end goal in mind and be very careful in what you use to make sure it is directly targeted at that end.

Yeah, this is a hot button for me... seems like we hear a lot these days from one extreme or the other. I'll look forward to reading that article and seeing the context.

How can I trust in bells and whistles when I don't have any? I want to believe that the Word of God is "compelling and attractive enough for the regenerate" but I don't see that. We live in a visual culture and I believe it has affected our hearers. I am not sure there are many auditory learners out there anymore and I don't think there are many believers who truly hunger and thirst for righteousness. For those who do, the Word of God is compelling and attractive enough. But for those who don't, maybe the Holy Spirit uses some bells and whistles to help them realize how hungry and thirsty they truly are.

I think what he's saying is that leadership needs to be careful. For it seems that what you win them with is what you win them to! So let's make sure that we're preaching and teaching Christ

I wonder if sometimes the bells and whistles ARE the sermon - and that's by God's design. I see the preachers of the bible using every media piece available to them to convey God's message - and often those media pieces were the bulk of the message. I think of Ezekiel lying on his side for months on end, a living sermon. I think of Jesus preaching with a child in his arms, driving home his application about who receives the kingdom. I think of Paul quoting the rock stars of the day (those writing poetry about Zeus) and pointing to cultural icons (an altar to an unknown god) in Athens.

Whether it was props or stories or cultural touchstones, these preachers leveraged the media (a.k.a., the bells and whistles) to convey God's message. I wonder if the key for us is whether we actually have a message from the Lord or not, as opposed to whether we're using a bell or a whistle.