Sermon Listening

Weekly Update – February 27th, 2025 

Most of us listen to a sermon at least once a week. Others of you may listen to more than one per week. Either way, considering the listening that we may do, the question we should ask ourselves is, “How can I make my listening more beneficial?”  Often we may hear a sermon thinking that it was a great explanation of a certain text or a helpful insight into the character of God, but wonder what does it mean to me?  We may enjoy what we learned, but still ask ourselves, “How is this going to help me through my week?”  Therefore, this week, I want to offer you five helpful tips from Thabiti Anyabwile’s book titled, What is a Healthy Church Member, that might help aid you in your sermon listening.

First, meditate on the sermon passage during your devotional time.  Several days before the Sunday morning sermon, start spending some time in the passage that is going to be preached.  Begin digging into the passage by highlighting some of the major points and think about what the author of the passage is trying to say.  You can even begin to incorporate some of the verses into your prayer time.  To aid you with this, not only is there a link to order of service sent out to you on Thursday in our weekly update (Prepare for Sunday), but the next week’s passage is listed in the previous week’s bulletin as well. So save the bulletin and pull it out during one of your Bible reading times and begin to mediate on the scripture that is going to be preached.

Second, talk and pray with friends about the sermon after church.  After service you might ask someone, “Was there anything unique or challenging that stood out to you this morning?”  Or “Was there anything about God’s character that surprised or encouraged you?”  It is encouraging to others to hear what the Lord may have taught you during the sermon, as well as helpful for you to hear from them.  A great opportunity to ask questions like these might occur in a home group that meets on Sunday evening as well.

Third, listen to and act on the sermon throughout the week.  Don’t let the Sunday sermon be a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over.  Choose one or two points of application to think on and try to find ways to put it into practice.  Discuss these points with others, write them down in a journal or even a note card and keep them before you throughout the week. There are many ways to keep the sermon alive, so be creative and seek to live out the word of God.

Fourth, address questions you may have about the sermon text.  Scripture is so vast with application that it is often difficult to address every single aspect in the course of one sermon.  There may be lingering questions or thoughts that are still in your mind after a sermon is preached.  It will be beneficial to your soul to seek out those answers.  One way to do so is to talk with your home group or with a friend or one of your elders.  Writing down questions will help you to think through the text clearly, it will encourage others, and it will be beneficial to your soul.

Lastly, cultivate humility.  As you dig into God’s word, listen for his voice.  Don’t listen to a sermon and think about how well this applies to the person next to you, but seek to break down your own pride with how God might be speaking to you.  It is easy to become “a professional sermon listener” who is always hearing but never learning.  So beware of false knowledge that “puffs up” and seek to be drawn to Christ during our times together in the word.

These are just a few ways to aid you in listening and gathering as much as possible from the sermon that is preached every Sunday.  I pray that we will all grow in our knowledge of the truth and in love for God and one another as we seek His face through Christ and his word.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson