Sermon Illustrations
Preaching to the Dead
Dr. Erwin Lutzer teaches preaching courses at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Every year, he takes his students on a field trip to the local cemetery—so they can preach. He says:
I take them to a little cemetery in Deerfield, Illinois, and I have them all gather around a certain gravesite. I point out the name, and then I tell one of the students, "Preach the gospel to Mr. Smith here."
They look at me like I'm nuts. So I preach to Mr. Smith with enthusiasm: "Sir, Jesus died for your sins, and you must put your faith in him."
Then I look at the students and tell them, "This is no different than preaching the gospel to unsaved people. The Bible says that they are dead in their sins. You can preach your heart out, but nothing will happen unless God does a miracle to give them the life to listen."