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A Bucket of Surprises J John & Mark Stibbe
Monarch 2002 reprinted 2009 ISBN 978-1-85424-588-5 £8.99 224pp
This attractively presented book in its third reprint is for the preacher's shelf. Sermon illustrations are the more valuable as attention spans diminish. The alphabetical index helps identification of appropriate tales or sayings.
This is a book to browse as part of remote sermon preparation. I liked the quote about the best way of being understood is to be understanding. Too often preaching fails to demonstrate understanding and falls down in consequence.
The humour in the collection will inevitably lack subtlety for some taste and its Evangelical tenor will not suit all preachers. The story of the silver refiner who is satisfied when he recognises his own face in the silver is one powerful illustration I will be borrowing.
Books like this supplement life experience in communicating a message that has from its start been one of incarnating God's word into the human situation with clarity, humour and warmth.
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