Take Care How You Hear: How to Listen to Sermons Well
Two ears, one mouth. Ever wonder why? I don't have the answer, but I've got to believe that God wants us listening more and speaking less or, as James put it, he wants us to be more intentional about being quick to hear and slow to speak (1:19).
Listening is both a science and art (things like empathic and/or redemptive listening lend themselves to that assertion), and is a vital, perhaps the most vital, part of communication. This is especially true for worship. God speaks first (think call to worship here). He is the one summoning us into his presence to attend to him in worship, listening to him as he speaks the transformative words of the gospel. God speaks, we listen, and this paves the way for our response.
But what about the sermon? This is usually the longest portion of the service and the longest stretch of time with no response from us...and that makes it an active, spiritual battlefield. We've got to fight to listen--we've got to fight distractions, intrusive thoughts, and, at times, drowsiness. Just ask Eutychus about that last one. In Acts 20, we find Paul preaching into the late hours of the night on the Lord's Day. Luke doesn't say, but the upper room was probably jammed packed because the young Eutychus is pushed to the fringes, so much so that he sits at the window.
Luke documents that as the young man sat and listened to Paul's seemingly long-winded sermon, he falls asleep and then falls out the window to his death (he was raised from the dead, in case you were wondering). There's definitely a lesson here on sermon length and delivery, but that's a post for another time. My point here is that we have to fight to listen.
Every Lord's Day a spiritual war is waged against us as we seek to receive what God has for us out of his word. By virtue of that fact, we have to come to worship determined to listen. But how? How do we listen to the sermon? Put another way, how do we listen to the sermon well?
Consider the advice from the Westminster Divines in Larger Catechism question and answer 160:
Q. What is required of those that hear the Word preached?
A. It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
The Divines essentially offer help in three areas: preparation, reception, and practice. According to them, there needs to be some work done prior to listening. Basically, the Sunday work needs to begin Saturday night, and prayer is the place to start. Put in a way to remember: preparation begins with prayer. We need ears to hear what the Spirit is saying (Rev. 2:7), essential to that is praying that God would open the ears of our heart to hear.
The devil wants to steal the word (Mk. 4:15), and this makes prayer an important part of the preparation process. Praying against Satan's attempt to steal the word will make our hearts fertile soil to receive the seeds of God's sown word. Next, we need to stoke the fires of holy desire. Peter says as much, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Pt. 2:2).
Peter encouraged his audience to come to church with a spiritual appetite (longing) for God's word. So, if you want to listen to a sermon well, come hungry to receive. And this brings us to the next step: reception. Listening to a sermon well necessitates that we receive God's word in a humble spirit. "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21).
Those are some profound words. Receiving the implanted word with meekness means our frame of mind and spirit should be humble. In the natural act of preaching, something supernatural is happening, so our spiritual posture is vital for how we listen and receive. Consider the following questions from Joel Beeke and Michael Reeves:
"Do I humbly examine myself under the preaching of God's Word, trembling at its impact (Isa. 66:2)? Do I relish having the Word of God applied to my life? Do I pray that the Spirit may apply His Word?"
Those questions, I would say, are a good starting point for receiving the preached word. We come now to the final piece of the puzzle. Listening to sermons well means we put what we hear into practice. We shouldn't let the sermon come in one ear and out the other. So, we need some resolve to remember and apply what's preached.
That may look like taking notes or re-listening to the sermon. Maybe talking about the sermon with your spouse, family, or small group will help? Whatever one decides to do, we must keep in mind that the goal is to put the sermon into action. We should be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). Part of listening to sermons well is what we do with it after it is preached and received.
The sermon is not meant to be merely informative, but formative. Spiritual formation is what God is after (1 Thess. 4:3), and how well we listen to the sermon plays an important role in that formation. So, this coming Lord's Day be sure to prepare, receive, and put into practice what you hear.
Listening is both a science and art (things like empathic and/or redemptive listening lend themselves to that assertion), and is a vital, perhaps the most vital, part of communication. This is especially true for worship. God speaks first (think call to worship here). He is the one summoning us into his presence to attend to him in worship, listening to him as he speaks the transformative words of the gospel. God speaks, we listen, and this paves the way for our response.
But what about the sermon? This is usually the longest portion of the service and the longest stretch of time with no response from us...and that makes it an active, spiritual battlefield. We've got to fight to listen--we've got to fight distractions, intrusive thoughts, and, at times, drowsiness. Just ask Eutychus about that last one. In Acts 20, we find Paul preaching into the late hours of the night on the Lord's Day. Luke doesn't say, but the upper room was probably jammed packed because the young Eutychus is pushed to the fringes, so much so that he sits at the window.
Luke documents that as the young man sat and listened to Paul's seemingly long-winded sermon, he falls asleep and then falls out the window to his death (he was raised from the dead, in case you were wondering). There's definitely a lesson here on sermon length and delivery, but that's a post for another time. My point here is that we have to fight to listen.
Every Lord's Day a spiritual war is waged against us as we seek to receive what God has for us out of his word. By virtue of that fact, we have to come to worship determined to listen. But how? How do we listen to the sermon? Put another way, how do we listen to the sermon well?
Consider the advice from the Westminster Divines in Larger Catechism question and answer 160:
Q. What is required of those that hear the Word preached?
A. It is required of those that hear the Word preached, that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation, and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness, and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.
The Divines essentially offer help in three areas: preparation, reception, and practice. According to them, there needs to be some work done prior to listening. Basically, the Sunday work needs to begin Saturday night, and prayer is the place to start. Put in a way to remember: preparation begins with prayer. We need ears to hear what the Spirit is saying (Rev. 2:7), essential to that is praying that God would open the ears of our heart to hear.
The devil wants to steal the word (Mk. 4:15), and this makes prayer an important part of the preparation process. Praying against Satan's attempt to steal the word will make our hearts fertile soil to receive the seeds of God's sown word. Next, we need to stoke the fires of holy desire. Peter says as much, "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Pt. 2:2).
Peter encouraged his audience to come to church with a spiritual appetite (longing) for God's word. So, if you want to listen to a sermon well, come hungry to receive. And this brings us to the next step: reception. Listening to a sermon well necessitates that we receive God's word in a humble spirit. "Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls" (James 1:21).
Those are some profound words. Receiving the implanted word with meekness means our frame of mind and spirit should be humble. In the natural act of preaching, something supernatural is happening, so our spiritual posture is vital for how we listen and receive. Consider the following questions from Joel Beeke and Michael Reeves:
"Do I humbly examine myself under the preaching of God's Word, trembling at its impact (Isa. 66:2)? Do I relish having the Word of God applied to my life? Do I pray that the Spirit may apply His Word?"
Those questions, I would say, are a good starting point for receiving the preached word. We come now to the final piece of the puzzle. Listening to sermons well means we put what we hear into practice. We shouldn't let the sermon come in one ear and out the other. So, we need some resolve to remember and apply what's preached.
That may look like taking notes or re-listening to the sermon. Maybe talking about the sermon with your spouse, family, or small group will help? Whatever one decides to do, we must keep in mind that the goal is to put the sermon into action. We should be doers of the word and not hearers only (James 1:22). Part of listening to sermons well is what we do with it after it is preached and received.
The sermon is not meant to be merely informative, but formative. Spiritual formation is what God is after (1 Thess. 4:3), and how well we listen to the sermon plays an important role in that formation. So, this coming Lord's Day be sure to prepare, receive, and put into practice what you hear.
Rev. Mike Hernandez serves as the senior pastor of Crossroads Presbyterian Church. He is a graduate of Trinity International University (B.A.), Knox Theological Seminary (M.Div.), and is currently pursuing a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Reformed Theological Seminary Orlando.
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Great words my friend. I am glad you shared!