Here are some videos that display metaphor theory at work in preaching.
Invitation to a Journey
This sermon explores a misunderstanding and then a more biblical understanding of discipleship. The sermon is structured after Lowry’s Loop and includes the four metaphor moves for preaching for both the Assembly Line and Journey metaphors.
The Orange Nerf Ball of Salvation
With help from a friend, I explore bodily what it means to receive salvation by grace alone.
There is a combination of metaphors at work here: the first is something like ABSTRACT CONCEPTS ARE OBJECTS, so that “Salvation” can be represented by a Nerf ball, and indeed can be given and received (and even passed on, lost, or shared). The second is the biblical metaphor of the unbeliever as dead in transgressions and sins. We could call that SPIRITUAL STATES ARE PHYSICAL STATES.
Blending ABSTRACT CONCEPTS ARE OBJECTS with SPIRITUAL STATES ARE PHYSICAL STATES helps us draw conclusions about how much–or how little–we are able to cooperate in “receiving” salvation. The conclusions are natural and obvious and affect your reasoning about how salvation works. Even distinct but related domains, like evangelism, conversion, sanctification, etc., will look different when viewed through this lens.
Does “Synod” mean “Walking With?”
Sometimes, the metaphors we live by are buried under the rubble of history and tradition. In this case, a metaphor is at the heart of a denominational identity, and how you interpret and live by the metaphor matters.
You could say a word like “Synod” must be a dead metaphor; I mean, it’s not even an English word! But the litmus of a living metaphor is not how old or how cliche it is: if the inferences inherent in the narrative situation of the metaphor are shaping how we live or how we imagine life, that metaphor is alive and kicking!
justinrossow.com 