Listening to a sermon
Jesus said “let him who has ears to hear let him hear” (Matt 11;15). He knew we all find listening hard. I certainly do! So here are some suggestions on how to get more out of a Sunday sermon.
1. God is speaking
Samuel as a young boy was told to pray “speak Lord for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:9), and we might pray something similar. For when the preacher refers to, explains, and applies the Bible, God is speaking, just as much as the voice to Samuel, the booming voice on Sinai, or when Jesus sat and taught his disciples. With this conviction Paul commended a church saying: “when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God” (1 Thes 2:13).
2. Listen actively
It is possible to listen passively when perhaps you’re not that bothered about following things, remembering, or thinking it through. And that can be more relaxing! But active listening can mean working hard. For example:
-
Having the passage in front of you, looking at the verses and checking - does the passage really say that? This is a safeguard because the preacher may be wrong sometimes!
-
Trying to work at remembering the sermon. Some find taking notes to be useful, or perhaps listening back to the recording of the sermon later.
-
Thinking hard yourself about application rather than expecting the preacher to have worked out exactly how the Bible will apply to your specific life.
-
Being ready to talk about what you’ve heard and ask questions.
3. Do something
If there is a specific command in the Bible we mustn’t walk away without doing anything at all. If a friend asks us to do something and we ignore the request, that’s not great for our friendship. If every time they say something, we don’t listen, our friend can say, “honestly I’m not sure we have a friendship.” It’s the same with God as he speaks to us.
Of course much of the Bible is God encouraging us, giving to us, but God does give warnings and commands. A few weeks ago I preached on Deuteronomy 6:9 which speaks of putting God’s word on our doorframes. You might wonder “Why did God say this?", or "Is this a command or a wise instruction?", or "How does this work out for us today?". These are all good questions to ask. But God certainly didn’t say this so we could do nothing at all. Our instinct should be to respond.
What if there is a general command (e.g. “be thankful”) and the preacher gives a practical suggestion (e.g. “take a moment this afternoon to write down 10 things you are thankful for”)? As a Pastor I try not to do these sort of things too often because they can tire us. Now obviously the practical suggestion is not God’s binding word to us. You could say “I’m going to work at my thankfulness some other way.” But often we’d benefit from listening and doing what’s suggested. It’ll keep us responsive, help us act together as a church rather than be individualistic, and help us sit under the Elders' lead.
4. Take something away.
Sometimes a sermon can be confusing, boring, or just bad! I’m sorry when that happens. But in my experience there is always something we can take away. Perhaps it’s just one great Bible verse you can try to remember. Or one sentence that stuck out and you think “I needed that.” If you’re actively listening you’ll find something and be glad you were there.
Barnaby, 08/03/2023