Aural storytelling is certainly a part of the tradition of the Jewish and Christian scriptures, and that tradition continued strong, even after the invention of movable type and the printing press, which put books into more people's hands.
Storytelling communicates truth. Jesus gave us an example of that over and over as He told His parables. Stories inspire, encourage, amuse, entertain, challenge, convict, persuade...and if you care enough to read this post, you can add more verbs in the comments!