Sermon Illustration: Yanny or Laurel?

To open a sermon on the definition of biblical marriage, I played the audio of the latest internet debate. The one having to do with what you hear: “Yanny” or “Laurel.” You can argue over it with your friends and family by clicking here.

You’re welcome.

Why did I do that?

So I could ask this question: “If asked the internet on my Facebook page to define marriage, do you think I would get differing opinions?”

The illustration worked perfect. Half of the congregation heard “Yanny.” The other half heard “Laurel.” This set up the question about marriage. Some people think marriage is one thing. Others think marriage is something else.

But there is really only one opinion that matters: what God says about marriage.

From there, I reminded the congregation that all of us believe God is good. What He says is good. Who He is is good. How He does what He does is good. Therefore, what God says about all things – at the end of the day – is good.

Of course, due to the fact that the royal wedding (Harry and Meghan) was the day before, I was able to slip in a couple of quick illustrations/anecdotes in hopes of keeping the congregation with me throughout the message.

As we all know, discussing marriage can be tense and, well, umm, a bit sticky. I would love to know how some of you preachers out there introduce a difficult topic.

Thoughts?