How important is it to tie in some current events into the sermon?
As a person who frequently shares God's word, this is what I do. I sit at Lords feet and ask for a word that comes out of his burden for the Church. Sometimes I will be going through an experience in which the Lord will be teaching me something, if I feel appropriate then I will speak on that. So in either case the outline is either from Lord's burden for the Church or something happening in my life.
But the actual presentation of the message may include a current event or even a practical comparison of day today tasks. The presentation is where the gifts come in place so that you can deliver the content in an interesting way. Each preacher has their own style of delivery. I try to imitate Jesus in my style of delivery, Jesus used lot of illustrations, I try the same way as well. I picture my sermon and try to present the picture to the listeners, rather than the plain word.
Now coming back to your question, relating the word with an illustration is important if you want the word to linger in the minds of listeners. The illustration can be from a current world event or some common one like sowing and reaping! In every case the word is more important than the way of presentation.
