Sermon Branding: The Story

I’ve touched on how Key Art for a Sermon Brand deals with how the audience needs to feel. Now I’d like to discuss what the audience needs to know.

The Message
A Sermon concentrates on exposing a specific truth (or even a set of truths) about God’s kingdom. Whatever the truth may be, it must have a consistent, realavant, and valuable meaning to captive audiences. Theology usually has little meaning for broad audiences. The diversities of seminary are great for appreciating the Being of God, but what do they mean for someone dying of cancer; someone suffering foreclosure; a family starving for relationship? Nothing.

The Story
Jesus set the example for teaching. He took theology and created stories. Adults that grew up in the Church know the stories of Noah and the Ark, Moses and the burning bush, Jonah and the big fish, Jesus walking on water, and so on. Even reading over these familiar titles trigger memories. Are the emotions you felt as a child vivid? Can you picture where you were when you first heard God say, “Let there be light!” What of the time when Jesus healed the blind man with mud? How did you feel when Jesus died? And when he was resurrected? As adults, these stories still have realavancy for us. Why?

A story is an emotional connection to ideas.

Why Use Stories
Sermon Branding needs stories to be effective. Stories make Sermon Brands memorable, and personal. That’s why Jesus used stories. They create the bridge between Kingdom ideas, and our necessities. I may not remember the teleological arguments for God’s arguable existence. However, I’ll always remember when an angel rolled the stone away from Jesus’ tomb.