Charles Spurgeon once wrote…There’s a story that’s told about Napoleon…Two frogs were talking one day… – Let’s get real: Most people don’t read Spurgeon. I don’t. I read one Spurgeon book in Bible College, ‘Lectures to My Students.” To this day, it’s probably one of my favorite books of all time. Probably because of the story he tells about a student that he wouldn’t let into his Pastors’ school because his tongue was too long! I wonder if he went on to play bass for Kiss? But we don’t read Spurgeon’s writings. Let’s be honest, we read Bible Illustrator. Sorry, the secret is out. It’s true, we weren’t alive to hear the speech Oliver Cromwell gave 200 years ago. We got it from Bible Illustrator or a quote book. Why we tell adults stories about animals that have conversations is absurd! I look back at old messages that I have given and why no one told me that the story about the 2 birds talking about flying south for the winter was dumb must be pure grace. People want to hear about our life. They want to hear that you go through the same stuff they do. This is the stuff that begins to connect the message for them. If they believe you live in another world, they disengage. But if you tell a story about being in the grocery store, they will say, “He goes to the grocery store too? Maybe what he has to say is relevant to me.” If you want to quote someone, quote someone they’ve heard of like an actor, musician, or athlete. Most of the time what you want to say is the same, it will just have a greater impact than quoting some person who died 500 years ago. That reminds me of this story about 3 ducks…