Sermons that work best are those whose images the pastor can present as a picture. The late Rev. Dr. Peter Marshall, chaplain of the U.S. Senate some years past, also served as the pastor of historic New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, wrote, "Pictorial preaching is the most effective because it is easier to get at the average mind by a picture than by an idea." Yes, indeed. A good story is a flow of wonderful pictures in the mind of the listener.
An old Arab proverb puts it this way: "He is the best speaker who can turn the ear into an eye." One can take the words from the pages of Scripture and turn it into a major motion picture or a newsreel of long ago, made vivid by the 4K of one's description. One can use our gestures and the modulations of our voice as our brushes on the canvas of a word from the Lord we have to share.
The true prince of the pulpit is the one who has walked the way of the peasant, known the heart and fears of the common person, and delivers to Main Street that which has come from the heart of God. We can show that just as Christ solved the problem of Simon Peter, the woman taken in adultery, Zacchaeus, the father whose daughter had died; then Jesus can address our problems and situations just as well.
