Sermon Illustrations
Presidential Candidates Want to Know You Personally
This year's presidential candidates might know you better than you know yourself. According to Alexander Nix, CEO of Cambridge Analytica, candidates' campaigns are utilizing consumer research data firms to learn exactly how to cater their advertising to specific lifestyles. Nix says that his company maintains between 4,000 and 5,000 data points on every single person registered to vote in the United States. These could be websites you have visited, cars you've shopped for, and even groceries you've purchased. All of these data points are then categorized by analytics firms and presented to presidential campaigns, who can target their advertising messaging to best fit the needs and desires of voters. The entire process of compiling such massive troves of data is an effort that has taken years, millions of dollars, and thousands of sophisticated algorithms. But it's worth it to candidates who want to convince voters that they can provide them with solutions to their needs.
Possible Preaching Angle:
It's funny-God tries to convince us of the same thing in Scripture: "Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!" The only difference is that God has the credentials to back his promises up.