Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 3

Responsibilities After the Word has been Preached

Review

The Bible actually promotes the idea that you should personally review the message that was preached:

Acts 17:11 - Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.

This is another reason to take notes. Realize that in Shawn’s construction of the sermon, he had to distill a truckload of great biblical information and application into the 40 minutes or so that you will give him. You should dig deeper on your own. Reflection and meditation on the Word preached to you is a foundation for the Lord to build upon. Notice how Solomon said this in Proverbs 2:1-11:

1 My son, if you will receive my words

And treasure my commandments within you,

2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,

Incline your heart to understanding;

3 For if you cry for discernment,

1Lift your voice for understanding;

4 If you seek her as silver

And search for her as for hidden treasures;

5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord

And discover the knowledge of God.

6 For the Lord gives wisdom;

From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;

He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,

8 Guarding the paths of justice,

And He preserves the way of His godly ones.

9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice

And equity and every good course.

10 For wisdom will enter your heart

And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;

11 Discretion will guard you,

Understanding will watch over you,

Retell

You should make it a point to teach other people this week what you were taught in the sermon the previous Sunday. Study it and preach it over again to yourself until you know it well enough to preach it to someone else. You have been entrusted with something worthy of passing on to others – the very Word of God expounded.

Take Action

Shawn’s sermons are worthless if they don’t change your life. You should act on the truths laid out in his sermons. That may mean you should change the way you believe about something. That may mean you should change some behavior. That may mean you should change your attitude. The primary means that God has designed for changing you are Holy Spirit empowered, conscious and purposeful actions. You should be doers of the Word, and not hearers only.

Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 2

Responsibilities During the Preaching of the Word

Worship

The value of the music preceding the preaching should not be underestimated. Your singing, prayer, the giving of tithes and offerings, listening to Scripture reading before the sermon, all of these are important acts of worship which you should engage in earnestly. The sermon is not something separate from all of this, but it is the culmination of it. Reverence and responsiveness are critical.

Think

You should carefully evaluate and process all that is expounded from the pulpit (1 Corinthians 14:29). Do not be critical in a negative way; rather, be “positively biased toward the message of Scripture and the messenger.” (from Jay Adams – A Consumer’s Guide to Preaching)

Take Notes

Taking notes can greatly impact the influence of a sermon on your life. The purpose in note-taking is not to produce a transcript of the sermon – we have that available on CD. No, the purpose of taking notes is that it is a statistically proven fact that it helps with recall. Listeners who take notes are much more likely to remember a sermon longer than those who don’t.

Use Your Bibles

Bring your own Bible to church. Just turning to a passage and orienting your mind to where it falls in the text is an important part of the service – it will help you commit it in whole or in part to memory.

Responsibility of the Listener in Preaching - Part 1

I have profitted greatly from reading Michael Fabarez's Preaching That Changes Lives this summer as part of the requirements for my Homiletics 2 class. I have been struck with an increased sense of responsibility as a listener from the reading of this book, so I figured I'd share. :) Blessings to you!

Responsibilities Before The Word is Preached

• How do you prepare for church?

• Do you pray for your encounter with the sermon?

• Do you pray for your pastor in his preparation during the week?

• Have you taken the time to study the next part of the passage which you know will be preached this week?

• Do you rise early enough to eat a good breakfast so that your stomach doesn’t distract you during the sermon?

Focus on Preparation

We are taught in seminary that men should not preach without preparation. That is true. But, men ought not hear without preparation either. Which do you think needs more preparation, the sower or the ground?

Study The Parable of the Soils – Luke 8:4-15

Why is coming to church, especially to preaching, so important? Because it is where the seed of the Word is sown in your hearts!

Pray for Something Significant

We should pray for and trust God for a significant encounter with Him through His preached Word every time we come to hear it. Very often our minds and hearts are not in line with God’s. Therefore we should spend more time with God in prayer, asking for His expectations to become ours. If you come into church not knowing what you want, you will probably get what you deserve. There ought to be a sense of anticipation in your heart as you come to church to hear God’s Word preached! You have not because you ask not! Ask and expect God to minister His Word to you!

Pray for the Preacher

If you are looking for a rich sermon from pastor Shawn, you ought to supply him with the needed material. You should realize that your prayers are the means which God uses to make him more of a blessing. You should pray for his preparation to preach to you. You should pray for God to urge him to pray. You should pray realizing that the means God most commonly uses to minister great revival in your life is preaching. Pray fervently for Shawn.

Schedule Around Church

Church should be given a very high priority in your schedule. Paul describes it as “God’s household, the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of the truth” (1 Timothy 3:15). Scripture requires that we “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25), so you should plan your weekends around the gathering of “God’s household”. Be punctual. Sunday morning is the most important time of the week. Wake up earlier and plan a real breakfast. Getting ready for church is so much more important than getting ready for work or class any other day of the week. This should impact your Saturday evening plans.