All Joked Up!

Made with hotpot.ai/art-generator

His lessons were uplifting, a rich sustaining spiritual feast from God’s word. That was the first time I heard him preach. Then, a few years later, something had changed. He didn’t preach, he just entertained. We opened our Bibles, but the ‘lessons’ were filled with jokes and amusing stories.

• "Well, that’s like the man who…” (one liner) LOL
• “And that reminds me of the little girl who…” (joke) LOL
• “On one occasion when my boys were little….” (Illustration or just another funny? Hard to tell.) LOL

A friend’s daughter tallied 15 ‘funnies’ during the first half of the ‘sermon’ and then lost count. (Compare that to a late night talk show host who begins with a 4-5 minute monologue of humor.)

Jesus: jokester??

John: personal anecdotes??

Peter: one-liners??

Where was Paul’s amusing introduction to draw the crowd’s attention!?

“Jesus taught by telling stories,” we have been told. Yet how do the ‘stories’ that Jesus told compare to the stories told by preachers today? I have never once heard a preacher tell anything like the parables of Jesus that contain inexhaustible spiritual riches.

Almost 2,000 years ago Paul described our times:

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires. 

--2 Timothy 4:3

Too many times I have heard people remember the jokes and stories that preachers tell, yet forget the sermon content. Illustrations can be meaningful and might be amusing. However, when the humor distracts from God’s word, divine truth becomes secondary and is rendered ineffective.

Consider Peter’s words in 2 Peter 1:12-15

I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you. (v. 12)

Read through the first 11 verses to identify “these things.” He was not interested in new or clever or funny. Rather, he was always ready to remind them of things they already knew to establish them in the truth.

I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder. (v. 13)

What did Peter use to stir the people up?

He remind them of what they already knew. It was the right thing to do.

And I will also be diligent that at any time after my departure you will be able to call these things to mind. (v. 15)

Peter was not interested in his audience getting all joked up. His goal was that they would remember, remember, remember the divine truth of God’s word after he was gone.

Given the choice of what to remember, choose the truth being taught instead of the illustration. Remember the Bible class lesson better than you remember the teacher’s personal anecdotes. Remember the content of the sermon rooted in God’s word instead of the name of the preacher.

What is your preference: God’s word preached or man’s entertainment?

Mark Stinnett

April 5, 2026

Why Did I Become a Preacher?

After having preached full-time for only a few years a good friend exclaimed excitedly at the end of a worship service, “Now, that is what I call preaching.” A visiting preacher spoke that day. My friend was not intentionally unkind, and I did not take it personally, but it did sting.

I know that I’m not a great orator, but I don’t hang my head low feeling sorry for myself. I have a job to do: Present the word of God.

When I stand to teach or preach I am often hit with an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I wonder, “How can I possibly communicate a relevant message to all of these people?” In the audience I see kids who are old enough to listen. There are adults of differing generations; people with different backgrounds, interests, circumstances, needs. “Is my sermon relevant?”

Paul said, “I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some.” Yet, how can that be done this Sunday? To this audience with all their differences???
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I don’t joke around when I preach. In my experience, the things that ‘you’ find funny may puzzle or offend others. (Some folks love a dose of sarcasm; others disapprove strongly, others miss the humor entirely.)

What about a good story? All too often, whether humorous or enlightening or emotionally charged, stories overshadow the biblical truth they are meant to illustrate. So, what good is a story remembered when truth is not?

There is a place and a time to share the riches of the original languages of the Bible, the Greek and Hebrew. Yet, if I am simply blinding you with my brilliance, “I” block out God’s glory!

I was taught that a preacher should start a sermon with a joke or humorous story. I don’t believe that. (Check out Paul’s sermon in Athens.)

I was taught that every sermon should have three points and, at the end, a poem. I don’t believe that either. (Sermon on the Mount???)

I’ve been told that the preaching style of the orators of the 1800’s was real preaching. Then again, others say the fire-and-brimstone preaching of the 1940’s and 50’s was real preaching. Then again, the preaching style of ‘the preacher that you loved when you were growing up’ was real preaching. Real preaching???

Again, we are so different from one another that rarely does a single lesson pierce the heart of every person. Yet, I know that…

The word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 
—Hebrews 4:12

The power is in the word of God...not me.

God wanted His prophet Ezekiel to sound an alarm:

Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. 
—Ezekiel 3:17

A preacher’s job is to relay God’s message. He has no control over the way people respond.

When the preacher Philip approached the man from Ethiopia asking if he understood the Scriptures, the man said, “How can I unless someone guides me?” —Acts 8:31

That is also my role, to guide through teaching.

I answered my title question years ago. So, based on the God-given task of a preacher, what is your role when God’s word is spoken?

Are you listening?

Mark Stinnett

Are You Fit to Lead?

   It is not for kings, O Lemuel, 
   It is not for kings to drink wine, 
   Or for rulers to desire strong drink...
                                        --Proverbs 31:4

So, you are not a king; this has nothing to do with you, right?
Not exactly...There is something to think about. There is a reason for this advice, and the instruction applies to all Christians, especially to leaders.

The advise was given to a king by his mother. Strong drink (intoxicating drink) was not for a king, but it did make sense for two categories of people: Those who were ‘perishing,’ and those whose ‘life was bitter.’ (v. 6)

The one who is perishing may be someone near death, most likely in great pain. In our day we use anesthetics to ease the pain as a person nears death. We wish for our loved ones to be comfortable as they pass from this life. This was the purpose of the strong drink when this proverb was written.

The one whose life is bitter is one who has little or no hope. In our day many folks turn to drugs and alcohol to deal with anxiety, despair, depression and hopelessness. Many doctors will even prescribe drugs to deal with your symptoms! (Just because a drug is prescribed does not mean that it is the solution to your problem, or that it is wise to take it.)

Back to the king and his drink...

The reason that the king should avoid intoxicating drink, is to avoid “losing his mind.” Yes, intoxicating drink and many drugs (including many prescription drugs) dull the senses so that a person cannot think straight.

As for the king, or any other leader (church leaders and preachers included), decisions cannot be made and duties performed properly while ‘not thinking straight.’ Without a clear, sober mind thoughts can easily be perverted (twisted); thoughts pertaining to what is good and right and wise. It is imperative for leaders to be sober-minded, clear-thinking, and free from any kind of substance that would impair their ability to think, reason, and lead God's people.

Consider the intersecting instruction the Apostle Paul offered:
   And do not get drunk with wine,
   for that is dissipation,
   but be filled with the Spirit.
                              --Ephesians 5:18

'Being filled with the Spirit' is set in direct contrast to drunkenness. For that reason it is imperative that we make the connection between the mind and the human spirit. It is imperative that we make the connection between the mind of the Christian and the Spirit of God. Intoxication (even by prescription drugs) directly affects whether or not a Christian is filled with the Spirit of God.

When a person is ‘under the influence’ of alcohol or drugs that affect the mind(even prescription drugs), he is unfit for spiritual leadership; he simply cannot think straight!

I'm not making this stuff up. I'm not on some sort of campaign against anyone or anything. I'm not mad a anyone. I AM READING GOD'S WORD, and I am making a valid application.


Church, take this instruction seriously.
Leaders! Be wise! Be fit!
Do not scoff...
Be sober!!!