Sermon listening....

On Wednesday we head into the final chapter of the book of Proverbs.  We will have an in between chapter devotional today.

I read a blog post titled "3 Keys to Listening to Sermons" by Dave Jenkins recently and thought I would use his headings and give some insight from my own experience to talk about one of the ways a Christian has at his or her disposal to learn more of God's Word.  Each Lord's Day we have this opportunity to stop and sit and listen to someone give a message from God's Word.  Maybe you also take advantage of this during other times in the week via the television or internet.

Jenkins first point is to approach this time with an open Bible in front of you.  Today the Bible also comes in the digital form on electronics so it could be an open phone app or the text brought up on your computer or tablet.  

I know I am always encouraged when I see the congregants open their Bibles, reach for a pew Bible or grab their devices so they can follow along.  We put the words on the screens but really those are a teaching tool for me to refer to a word or a phrase in the verse.  Every time you pick up your Bible it familiarizes yourself with this book that is like none other.  You become acquainted with moving about it more fluently which may also help in other situations when you can direct someone else with a passage or verse.  You know where it is at because you have physically opened it up to that passage recently.  

This practice is also using another sensory learning tool that we have and that is our touch.  You are not just seeing and hearing but touching where it says that in the Bible.  A couple of great passages that Jenkins gives is Acts 17:11 and 1 Thessalonians 2:13.  The Acts passage says,

The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

The 1 Thessalonians passage says,

This is why we constantly thank God, because when you received the word of God that you heard from us, you welcomed it not as a human message, but as it truly is, the word of God, which also works effectively in you who believe.

First point, bring your Bible and open it to the text being explained.

Second point is to listen for key ideas/points.  Sometimes I have an insert for you and it is in outline form.  You can start to see the progression of the passage.  You can see the context of the passage read but also see it in the context of the chapter, the book of the Bible and the whole of the Bible.  The paper outline has been prepared as another tool to use to follow along and of course make some notes of your own.  Nancy leaves us plenty of white space to jot down extra thoughts from me not on the page but also from you as the Holy Spirit jogs your memory of an experience or maybe another passage that relates to what is being presented.  

This tool is also very helpful when you get back home and you are able to review or refer to when asked by a family member or friend who wasn't in the service.  Your recollection will be greater if you jot down a few thoughts or fill in the blanks provided.  

The third point is to learn to interpret the Biblical text from the pastor.  I speak a certain way and after three years you probably can predict what my main way is to tackle a passage of Scripture.  Every once in a while I will do something different in my delivery but because you have put yourself in a place to hear me on a regular basis you have formed a habit to how you listen to me.  That is a scary thought for me at times and a weight of responsibility week in and week out but I also do the same for those I listen to on a weekly basis.  We can learn from so many these days with the age of the internet but you have your local pastor to speak to immediately with hopefully more compassion and understanding felt than what is printed on a page in a chat conversation or an email correspondence.  

Another Bible reference given in the article is 2 Timothy 2:15 which reads,

Be diligent to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who doesn't need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

I seek to do this with the passage that is before you and I.  I try to draw out points, history and cultural context that helps us understand the original meaning and apply it to today.  I strive to be faithful to the Scriptures but know that I have developed a style of my own that you have become accustom to so that you can take this flawed instrument saved by God's gift of grace and have the benefit of knowing where I am going before I get there because you have learned to listen to me.

The final point or thoughts in the article was about listening and taking notes away from the Sunday morning sermon setting.  We have these opportunities every day to put into practice those things that help us on a Sunday morning.  Listen to conversations more intently and jot down notes mentally and also physically to work on further in the future.  I don't know how many napkins I have written on to transfer later onto something more permanent.  A practice practiced away from the original setting helps you when you are in the setting once again.  Be a student everyday and in settings where you come prepared to learn something even if it is a council meeting or a PTA meeting or to listen to a student giving a book report.

When you come into the sanctuary and find your familiar place you will probably grab more than before if you open up your Bible, follow along on the outline, be familiar with me as someone you listen to on a regular basis, and do these practices away from the church scene.  I encourage you to take the passage I will cover this Sunday and start reading it in preparation for that teaching.  Luke 5:12-16.  Get a piece of paper and jot down some notes and read some of the study notes if you have a study Bible.  Get your mind thinking about it before you walk into the building.  You will probably be able to walk out of the building with more to share if you follow these practices.  I hope this was helpful and thanks for listening to this one who feels very inadequate at times but is following through on a calling God has given to me.  Let us pray.

"Lord, thank You for all the faithful deliverers of Your Word.  We are so blessed to have many ways to listen and see Your Word explained on a daily basis.  Help us to be better listeners so that we can be better appliers of what is before us.  Help us to use all of our senses to take in Your inexhaustible Word which is always giving us something new that we hadn't seen before.  Thank You also for the Holy Spirit and His guidance of us in the truth.  Amen."

Pastor Adam