Richard Baxter said, "I preach'd as never sure to preach again. I preach'd as a dying man to dying men."[1] If you agree with Baxter’s words, then you will also agree that we listen to sermons as never sure to listen again. We listen to dying men as a dying man.
The next sermon you hear may be your last.
What will you do to ensure it has maximum impact upon your thinking, passions,
lifestyle, and relationship with Christ? How will you use it to prepare
yourself to meet God?
Over the past few weeks, I’ve summarized
four biblical convictions that increase our responsibility in sermon-listening.
My next few posts will offer three areas of practical advice which, if
implemented consistently, will enable you to listen to sermons more
effectively.
The Westminster Larger Catechism asks in
Question 160: “What is required of those that hear the Word preached?” The
answer provided is: “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.”[2]
I have summarized these catechismic
sermon-listening requirements under three headings: prepare, participate, and
practice. Come back over the next three
weeks to see how listeners prepare for the sermon, participate in the sermon,
and practice the sermon. Catch you soon!
[1] Richard Baxter, Poetical Fragments (New York: Gregg Division
of McGraw-Hill, 1971), 30.
[2] James Edward Bordwine, A Guide to the Westminster Confession of
Faith and Larger Catechism, with Scripture Proofs: Also Including Chapter Summaries
and Topical Index (Jefferson, MD: Trinity Foundation, 1991), 345.
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