Chapter 2: Keep the Fire Burning

In our New Zealand wintertime, I was usually on fireplace duty in our home. One of the obvious tasks was to ensure the fire didn’t go out. One year we unknowingly purchased a load of damp pinewood. I confess, I was frustrated—the fire never really got going. All winter long I was shuffling the embers around, blowing on them, trying to keep the flames burning. An ember sitting by itself couldn’t survive, but once it was repositioned to sit alongside another ember, then it had a fighting chance. In fact, it even became the source of energy needed to keep other embers glowing.

Christians are the same. We need to regularly assemble ourselves together in order to allow our spiritual ‘heat’ to warm one another. We need fellow believers around us so that we can survive the dampening effect of discouragement and temptation.

R. C. Sproul writes:

It is both foolish and wicked to suppose that we will make much progress in sanctification if we isolate ourselves from the visible church. Indeed, it is commonplace to hear people declare that they don’t need to unite with a church to be a Christian. They claim that their devotion is personal and private, not institutional or corporate. This is not the testimony of the great saints of history; it is the confession of fools.[1]

The author of Hebrews noted this reality in Hebrews 10:24–25 when he wrote, “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.”

This is a passage that church-haters (as defined several weeks ago) avoid. Somehow they believe their particular situation falls outside these instructions—their circumstances make it impossible to keep these commands—and anyone who says differently, just doesn’t understand. But is that really the case?

It’s certainly possible that a Christian could find himself in a town where no existing church preaches the gospel, or where the established churches are led by charlatans. But in this case, we’re forced to ask, “What led the option-less Christian to move to that town in the first place?” It certainly wasn’t a promising ministry opportunity. It had nothing to do with a spirit-filled decision to pursue Christ-likeness in a Christ-honoring church.

In almost all Western-world locations there’s a church within driving-distance that at least propagates the gospel, baptizes converts, celebrates the Lord’s Supper, worships the Lord, and enjoys Christian fellowship. You may well be frustrated with other elements of church practice but at least the essentials are present. In these cases, there’s no justifiable reason to cease church attendance entirely. We all know that no church is perfect. Our own presence makes this even truer.

In the case of the author of Hebrews, he “had observed a weakening of the fellowship and interpreted the loss of physical presence as a sign of diminishing love for one another. A lack of concern for the well-being of other Christians is a symptom of self-love.”[2] To put it another way, “Selfishness and divisiveness go hand in hand,” and “Self-love breeds the spirit of isolationism.”[3] If you’re not weekly listening to sermons in the context of a real church, alongside real people, it could be that you’ve developed a heart of selfishness—you may have chosen to stop loving others. To be sure, some Christians are hard to live with. A few are difficult and hard to love. But it’s through these kinds of people that God causes our own Christian growth. Remember, they’re also maturing in their own Christian walk through their attempts to love you. Don’t curtail God’s method of producing righteousness in you. Don’t forsake the church gathering.

Someone might retort curtly, “Well, I’m attending church, so this passage doesn’t apply to me, because I’m there every week.” Okay, it’s good that you’re there, but as Wayne Mack and Dave Swavely explain, “The meaning of the passage is much fuller than that, as revealed by the other commands it contains. If we are not considering (or planning) how to stimulate others to love and good deeds, involved heartily in that process, and encouraging others more and more all the time, then we are disobeying the Lord.”[4] The instructions of Hebrews 10:24–25 are a packaged deal. We can’t satisfy ourselves with mere external compliance—namely, church attendance. What about the issue of stirring one another up to love people and to do good deeds? Try these questions on yourself: When did you last consider how you might stimulate a friend to walk in a Christ-like manner? When did you last make a plan to encourage someone in the church family to walk more obediently? When did you last bring the Word of God to bear on a relationship you enjoy with a close friend? These are important questions. How do you measure up? Your answers to these questions reveal, in part, your commitment to live according to God’s revealed will.

Walter Kaiser puts it plainly: “Scripture asserts that I indeed am my brother’s keeper.”[5] Kaiser’s statement seems a little exaggerated, but think it through—we have numerous spiritual responsibilities toward one another. Our brothers and sisters need our help. Far be it that we would walk away from those whom God has called us to love. Tim Challies writes, “In his wisdom, God has ordained that Christians are not to be isolationists and are not to hide themselves away in private enclaves. Rather, Christians are to participate in spiritual communities and are to be accountable to one another.”[6]

When it comes to sermon-listening, consider yourself an ember which must be located right alongside other embers. Properly located, think of yourself as God’s instrument in other people’s lives. They need your spiritual stimulation before, during, and after the sermon event. You need their spiritual stimulation before, during, and after the sermon event. We all need one another.

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[1] R. C. Sproul, The Soul's Quest for God: Satisfying the Hunger for Spiritual Communion (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2003), 151.

[2] Tim Challies, The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2011), 106–7.

[3] Philip Edgcumbe Hughes, A Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans Publishing, 1977), 415.

[4] Wayne A. Mack and David Swavely, Life in the Father’s House: A Member’s Guide to the Local Church, 2nd ed. (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), 38.

[5] Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Preaching and Teaching from the Old Testament: A Guide for the Church (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2003), 175.

[6] Tim Challies, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2007), 156.

Chapter 1: I Need You, You Need Me

I once visited a church that had operated a parking-lot worship service for years. So-called “attendees” watched the church service from the comfort of their own vehicles. They drove up to a large drive-in movie screen and tuned their car radios to the church frequency. The service they viewed was a live projection of what was happening inside the church building. This was “church” for them. And the people inside the church walls were well pleased to provide the service. Essentially, the parking-lot Christians were saying to themselves, “We like the church (namely, the service) but we do not like the church (namely, the people).” And the pew-sitting Christians inside the church walls were saying, “Yeah, that’s fine. We don’t need you in here anyway!”

This picture illustrates a problem that existed in the Corinthian church in AD 55. No, they weren’t operating a drive-in ministry—it was a different problem. The Apostle Paul discovered the difficulty while ministering in Ephesus when a secret report came to him from Chloe’s people (1 Cor 1:11). Several issues had divided the Corinthian church. In chapter twelve of his first letter, Paul focused specifically on one spiritual wedge which brought further separation to a church already divided—namely, the misuse of spiritual gifts.

Paul describes two groups in the church—the ‘arrogant independents’ and the ‘falsely-humble enviers.’ The ‘arrogant independents’ were content to operate in the church on center stage without assistance from anyone with a seemingly weaker spiritual gift or anyone who didn’t measure up to their spiritual prowess. The ‘falsely-humble enviers’ sidelined themselves in the church because they didn’t have the publicly noticeable spiritual gifts. Since they couldn’t compete with the more publicly gifted ‘arrogants’ they selfishly removed themselves from all church activities.

To the ‘arrogant independents,’ Paul writes,

But now there are many members, but one body. And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; or again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you." On the contrary, it is much truer that the members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary (1 Cor 12:20–22).

And to the ‘falsely-humble enviers,’ he writes,

For the body is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body," it is not for this reason any the less a part of the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. And if they were all one member, where would the body be? (1 Cor 12:14–19).

Paul uses the analogy of a human body to show that all the members of the body are needed. No member can remove another. Nor can a member remove himself or herself. John MacArthur explains:

In a normal, healthy human body, all the parts work together. If they don’t, that body is disabled, unable to function normally. No single part functions independently of the rest. So it is also in the body of Christ. All the members must work together if the body is to function normally. And no member was meant to function in isolation from the rest of the body; the New Testament knew nothing of Christians who weren’t part of a local assembly.[1]

In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul wanted the ‘arrogant independents’ to be able to say to the seemingly less-gifted people in the church, “I need you. You can’t sit on the sideline. You need to do your part,” with a truly appreciative heart. And he wanted the ‘falsely-humble enviers’ to be able to say to the seemingly more-gifted people in the church, “You need me. I know my spiritual gift is important to the body. I want to serve faithfully,” with a truly humble heart. Only by loving and appreciating the input each person has to give to the life of the body, will either party experience corporate and individual spiritual growth.

Likewise, today we ought also be able to say to one another, “I need you and you need me.” This is true for the preacher and the listener. Neither can make it without the other. I am not referring to the simple issue of conducting a church service where a preacher and listeners are required to be present to make it possible—I am referring to the sanctification of both the preacher and the listeners. Their spiritual gifts may be very different to each other; the visibility of their functions may be more or less noticeable than the other; the honor and thanks received from other Christians may be more or less given; but in the end, they both need each other. The fellowship that takes place between the preacher and his listeners is vital.

If a preacher with a more publicly-seen spiritual teaching-gift were ever to say to his congregation, “I don’t need you folks to be here at church. You may all sit in the parking lot if you wish. You may watch me preach on a DVD or on live video feed from your own home if you wish. You may observe my ministry from a distance if you prefer,” that would be the height of arrogance, because that preacher would be revealing a heart of independence in which he believes he doesn’t need those people and their spiritual gifts to input into his life. I am not at all saying that this is what all preachers have communicated when they started their online audio sermon catalogues, began to make DVDs of their sermons, decided to go multi-site, developed a virtual church website, or broadcasted their sermons to people at a distance—the motivation for such developments is theirs alone to evaluate since it is quite possible to utilize new technologies to great effect with perfectly right motives. But the principle that says, ‘preachers need listeners in their lives’ and ‘listeners need preachers in their lives’ still applies. Preaching and fellowship go hand in hand. According to Paul Tripp, “Personal spiritual insight is the product of community. It’s very difficult to get it by yourself. . . . Every pastor needs people in his life in order to see himself with biblical accuracy.”[2]

Pastor, you need people of differing gifts and abilities around you to balance you and minister to you. Larry Osborne sounds a warning to the self-serving church member:

If you’re an eye, you’ll start to devalue the ears as ancillary and second-class appendages because they can’t see anything. You’ll attend some special vision conferences where you’ll gather with other eyes to celebrate the beauty of sight, learn new ways to sharpen your vision, and listen to guest eyes bemoan the terrible blindness that ails the rest of the body. Eventually you’ll join a vision-focused church where you can study the latest in biblical optometry and congratulate yourself for your clarity of vision in a world gone blind—all the while hardly noticing that you and your eye friends can no longer do much besides see. You have no feet for walking, no mouth for talking, and no ears to hear anything but your own thoughts.[3]

Conversely, if a church attendee said to his or her pastor, “Since I can’t preach, since I can’t serve to the same extent as others serve in the church, and since I am missing out on the public acclaim you’re receiving, I’m going to stay at home and pursue my own spirituality. I don’t mind being absent when you preach. I might listen to you sometimes online. I might listen to other preachers depending on how I feel,” that would be the height of spiritual individualism driven by spite and envy. Again, that’s not what motivates all church leavers since some church departures are biblically justified. But the principle that says, ‘preachers need listeners in their lives’ and ‘listeners need preachers in their lives’ applies still.

Larry Osborne quips, “It may not always be easy to be a foot in a world of hands. But if God has made you to be a foot in the body of Christ, don’t try to be a hand. Granted, the hands might not think all that highly of you and what you do. But trust me, they’ll never go very far without you.”[4]

In addition, sermon-listeners need the personal input and fellowship of other sermon-listeners. We each have unique spiritual gifts assigned to us by God in order that we would serve and care for one another (1 Cor 12:18, 24–25).

Are you able to say to the people in your church, “I need you (no matter what your spiritual gift is) and you need me (no matter what my spiritual gift is)?” Let’s acknowledge that preachers and listeners need each other’s fellowship and spiritual stimulation. Let’s also acknowledge that listeners need the fellowship of other listeners. The principle applies across the wide spectrum of gifted-individuals in any church. We all need one another. Far be it for any one of us to opt out of this divinely created organism—the church.

Far be it for any one of us to only do our sermon-listening alone.

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[1] John MacArthur, The Keys to Spiritual Growth: Unlocking the Riches of God (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2001), 160.

[2] Paul David Tripp, Dangerous Calling: Confronting the Unique Challenges of Pastoral Ministry (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2012), 73.

[3] Larry W. Osborne, Accidental Pharisees: Avoiding Pride, Exclusivity, and the Other Dangers of Overzealous Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing, 2012), 164–65.

[4] Ibid., 169.

SECTION FOUR: Sermon-Listening and Body-Life in the Bible

We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.[1]

—Epictetus, Greek philosopher

Some species of bee are independent but most a communal. Honeybees in particular exist in colonies of thousands. They are dependent upon the rest to build their home and produce honey. The communal aspect of nest-life is vital. There is the queen, the workers, and the drones. In order to ensure a healthy hive, the welfare of new larvae, and the continuance of the community, each bee must do its job. Bee life is a community project. It is the same in the church—Christian life is a community project—“sanctification a community project.”[2]

This next series of blog posts scour the New Testament to discover the corporate dynamics of a local church and show why Christian fellowship and preaching are vitally connected and essential to personal spiritual growth.  First, let’s talk about ‘you’ . . .

You + You = Ya’ll

It may come as a shock, but Scripture wasn’t written to you or me. The Bible isn’t a private love letter addressed to either of us.[3] It was written to the actual recipients of the actual letters. For instance, Genesis, 1 Kings, and Matthew were written to the nation of Israel. Romans, the Corinthian letters, and many of the other New Testament epistles were written to actual Christian communities that existed during that time. There are implications and instructions for us living in today’s time, but these come to us by extension, and must be properly interpreted by knowing the original circumstances and context of each letter.

In addition, almost all of the books of the New Testament were written to groups of Christians—members of believing communities.[4] The corporate nature of the recipients is usually ascertained in a letter’s introductory verses. Sometimes the body of the epistle backs up this observation. Unfortunately, the personal pronouns in English translations of the Bible don’t remind us of this important fact. In the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic manuscripts the number (singular or plural) of a pronoun is evident, but in English it isn’t. It would be nice if Bible publishers would use “you” to translate singular pronouns and “yous” or “ya’ll” to translate plural pronouns, but maybe that doesn’t do justice to the Queen’s English.

Keith Drury comments: “Because we have been trained by our culture to think individualistically (at least those of us in the Western world), we often read our own expectations into the Bible. Thus, when we read the words you or your, we assume that they are second person singular—that is, me.”[5]  But this is not how we should read them in most instances. “In almost every biblical passage where we understand you to be singular, it is really plural—meaning ‘you all,’ or all of the Christians in the group being addressed. It means not ‘you, Jim’ but ‘all of you guys.’”[6]

For instance, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica saying, “. . . when you received from us the word of God's message, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe” (1 Thess 2:13b). In this English translation we find three uses of the pronoun “you.” In each case we must understand that these are second person plural pronouns referring to the community of Christians in Thessalonica. These personal pronouns don’t refer to an individual believer, but rather, a community of Christians—a church. In addition, the pronouns don’t directly have modern-day Christians specifically in mind, 

although by extension we can make appropriation of the truth of the verse to ourselves, if understood in its context.

Similarly, in English speech, instructions don’t usually have pronouns attached to them. For instance, while throwing a ball to a friend, we’d normally shout out, “Catch this!” rather than the more cumbersome, “You catch this!” The pronoun “you” is superfluous in the immediacy of the situation and because “you” is assumed in that particular context. The Bible is no different. It can often be difficult to know if an imperative is directed toward an individual or toward a congregation. The following New Testament commands were directed toward communities of believers, not toward an individual as we might have previously assumed:

·      “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is” (Rom 12:2).

·      “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger” (Eph 4:26).

·      “Do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” (Eph 5:18).

·      “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing” (1 Thess 5:16–17).

·      “Submit therefore to God” (Jas 4:7).

·      “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (Jas 4:7).

·      “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you” (Jas 4:8).

·      “Long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation” (1 Pet 2:2).

None of these well-known commands are directed at one individual. They are for Christian groups to apply in their corporate activities. Now, obviously, Christian assemblies are made up of individuals who are each responsible before God to apply these commands, but the commands themselves were meant to initiate a community-wide project not just an individualistic, secret venture.

Could it be that much preaching and much of our sermon-listening neglects this corporate element? The preacher can be so intent on driving home a call-to-action that he addresses his listeners as autonomous individuals rather than an interconnected community. Maybe that’s because individual change is easier to encourage than group-wide transformation. Some televised preachers will even turn their gaze into the camera to encourage individual video observers to apply a truth meant for congregational application.

We too quickly think individualistically. Sometimes we even misinterpret Scripture in order to accommodate our autonomous mindsets. Christopher Ash writes, “The Bible’s purpose is to make and shape the people of God, which means in practice the local church. So the first question to ask ourselves is not: ‘What is God saying to me?’ but rather: ‘What is God saying to us?’”[7]

Similarly, theologian Bruce Milne writes,

The Christian life is inescapably corporate. Teaching on Christian holiness has frequently concentrated almost exclusively on the ‘holy man’ or the ‘holy woman,’ to the neglect of the biblical concern for ‘the holy people’ or the ‘holy church.’ The ideal of the ‘omnicompetent Christian individual,’ able to meet every spiritual challenge and live a life of unbroken victory over sin and the devil, has undoubtedly produced remarkable examples of Christian character; but as every Christian counselor knows, this emphasis has driven many to a lonely struggle ending in despair and disillusionment, or, worse, in the hypocrisy of a double-standard life.[8]

The second person plural “yous” of Scripture remind us that sanctification is a community-project. When listening to a sermon, be on the lookout for second person pronouns in your Bible and always ask whether they are singular or plural. Bible software is the fastest way to determine which they are. If the text demands community-wide application, let that discovery enrich your appreciation for the spiritual fellowship those plural pronouns necessitate. Let your sermon-listening experience involve the people around you. After the sermon, ask them, “What should we do now?”

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[1] As cited in Elizabeth Drescher, Tweet If You [Love] Jesus: Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Publishing, 2011), 18.

[2] John Piper as cited in Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), 50.

[3] Keith W. Drury, There Is No I in Church: Moving Beyond Individual Spirituality to Experience God’s Power in the Church (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House, 2006), 58–59.

[4] Even letters such as Philemon, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and 3 John, which were addressed to individual recipients, were delivered to those individuals while they lived within a community of believers. The implications of those letters affected not just the individual recipients but their entire circle of Christian associates.

[5] Keith W. Drury, There Is No I in Church, 59–60.

[6] Ibid., 60.

[7] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 14.

[8] Bruce Milne, Know the Truth: A Handbook of Christian Belief, 3rd ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), 265.

Chapter 4: Practice the Sermon

Joel Beeke correctly asserts: “A sermon is not over when the minister says ‘Amen.’ Rather that is when the true sermon begins. In an old Scottish story, a wife asked her husband if the sermon was done. ‘No,’ he replied, ‘It has been said, but it has yet to be done.’”[1]

Much Bible application is inherently community-oriented. Therefore, it will be seen in relationships with your spouse, family, friends, work and school associates. Even when it doesn’t directly involve relationships it will require relationships to keep you on track. For this reason, I will delay most of my application principles until I begin writing about preaching and body-life together. But here are two ideas to consider for now.

Spiritual Practice

As previously noted, James says, “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas 1:22), and, “Faith without works is dead” (Jas 2:17, 26). These verses should heighten our desire to take advantage of post-sermon opportunities to maximize the impact of the sermon.

First, we should begin with prayer. We can thank the Lord for the Word preached. Thank Him for sustaining and empowering the preacher. Thank Him for the work He accomplished in the hearts and minds of the people. Thank Him for the impact on your own soul.

Second, we should confess any personal sin that might have been brought to our attention. Sometimes, sin can be hidden from our view because we’ve become desensitized to it. But when the Word of God is preached and we clearly see our sin for what it is, then we ought to confess it right away.

Third, we should re-read the passage that was preached. Subsequent readings often bring new observations to our minds and God reveals new thoughts that we missed the first time around.

Fourth, we should follow any theological leads that might have been discovered. Thabiti Anyabwile invites his listeners to continue their personal study of the passage he used in his sermon. He says it is good to “develop the habit of addressing any questions about the text itself.”[2] You may need to invest in a good set of commentaries so that you can check into aspects of the passage.[3] This is part of being a faithful Berean. Make sure the preacher has indeed preached the text. Once you are convinced the message is indeed from God, spur your mind and body into action.

Fifth, write down as specifically as you can some action you need to take to obey the Bible passage. It may be a change of attitude, an alteration in the way you speak, or some action you need to stop doing, or start doing. Michael Fabarez warns:

The enemy would gladly accept a variety of ‘positive responses’ when your pastor preaches. He’d happily allow people to be impressed with his outlines, as long as people aren’t changed. He’d gladly foster interest in the content, the argument, and the historical context, as long as lives aren’t changed. He’d cheerfully pass out warm feelings about the message, as long as people aren’t changed. Surely he would settle for anything short of the biblical sermon affecting permanent transformation in people’s lives.[4]

So find ways to make application a routine task. Roy Zuck suggests that writing an “I will . . .” statement can solidify your resolve to make appropriate application of the sermon.[5] Try this out—after next Sunday’s sermon, write down two “I will . . .” statements using any of the following action verbs:

Accept	Count	Help	Pursue	Study
Admit	Create	Invite	Read	Substitute
Analyze	Decide	Isolate	Realize	Take
Ask	Develop	Keep	Record	Talk with
Ask myself	Direct	List	Rejoice	Teach
Avoid	Discuss	Listen	Repair	Telephone
Be sensitive	Do	Look for	Respond	Thank
Be willing	Eliminate	Look up	Sacrifice	Think about
Build	Encourage	Love	Save	Value
Buy	Enjoy	Meet with	Schedule	Visit
Choose	Evaluate	Memorize	Select	Wait
Claim	Exemplify	Organize	Send	Wake up
Collect	Experiment	Plan out	Share	Walk
Commit	Find	Pray	Show	Watch
Compliment	Follow	Pray about	Sing	Witness
Comply	Give	Pray to	Spend time	Work on
Confess	Go	Pray with	Stay away	Write down
Control	Guard	Prefer	Stop	Write to

Once you have your “I will . . .” statements written down, determine to put them into action during the following week. Regularly pray over your application plan. Then in a week, look back at your action points and evaluate your faithfulness to put the sermon into practice. Pray, pray and pray again for God to work obedience in you to His Word. This is a wonderful way to measure your personal sanctification. You’ll grow in confidence as you watch God bring about significant changes to your spiritual disciplines and routines.

Physical Practice

These activities will take some time. You will not be able to perform them subconsciously or while you’re on the move. You’ll need to set aside some time on Sunday afternoon or evening to reflect on the sermon. Remember this is one of the key opportunities to maximize the sermon. If you walk away from the mirror of God’s Word, having seen personal concerns that need to be addressed, and forget to actually address them, you have wasted that opportunity (Jas 1:22–25). You might have been better to not look into the mirror in the first place. So set aside thirty minutes and find a quiet place to think through the sermon, reflect on your notes, and pray for God to bring about the changes you have identified.

Sunday afternoons fly by so quickly. You might like to share lunch with other Christians. The sweet fellowship can often extend far into the late afternoon. Some like to take a nap on Sunday afternoons. Whatever your normal practice, you’ll need to be physically disciplined to ensure you get some time to yourself for sermon reflection.

Summary

Listening to sermons is all about preparation, participation, and practice. It is important to commit to all three stages of sermon-listening. Short-cutting any one of these will severely impede your spiritual growth. Maybe you’ve already identified areas of deficiency and areas which can be improved. Try making a plan to increase your sermon-listening abilities. Discuss the following questions in your study-group setting or with Christian friends, then move on to the next two sections.

Questions for Group Discussion

1.     Discuss what Saturday and Sunday morning sermon-listening preparations you currently practice and what new spiritual and physical preparations you intend to make from now on.

2.     Discuss how effective your listening practices have been in the past. Where do you sit? What distractions frustrate you? What do your sermon notes look like? Encourage one another with ideas for improvement.

3.     What does your Sunday afternoon and evening look like? Have you decided to make any changes to your normal routine? Discuss what you will do after the sermon to maximize the impact of the sermon.

Next Week

The practical pointers covered over the past three weeks are all well and good, but if they are applied in an exclusively individualistic manner they are insufficient. There is more to Christianity than listening to sermons alone. Sermon-listening and genuine Christian fellowship go hand-in-hand. The next few blog posts will be the most important of this series. They focus on the relationship between body-life and the Sunday sermon. We are just getting started!  See you next week.

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[1] Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2008), 28.

[2] Thabiti M. Anyabwile, What Is a Healthy Church Member? (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2008), 24–25.

[3] Ibid., 23.

[4] Michael Fabarez, Praying for Sunday: You, Your Pastor, and the Next Sermon (Laguna Hills, CA, Michael Fabarez, 2008), 7.

[5] Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1991), 291–92.