Chapter 2: Community Activity During Every Sermon

One well-known online sermon library reports an average of fifty thousand sermon-downloads every day.[1] And that’s just one of many online sermon libraries. If you love to listen to preaching, you may be one of the thousands of Christians who’ve committed to listen to recorded sermons throughout the week, or whenever you have a spare moment. Maybe you redeem your travel or exercise time by donning your iPod or inserting the next sermon CD into your car stereo. That’s wonderful! Don’t stop. I commend you for your desire to hear God’s Word preached as often as possible.

But consider this: You may have become so accustomed to listening to sermons alone that even when you attend church you are still listening alone. There may be people sitting in the pews all around you, but you’re still listening alone. That’s one of the results of our individualistic society. We’ve forgotten how to listen to a sermon in community. Consider the following ideas to recapture community sermon-listening as a weekly exercise and to let the shared sermon experience be the focus of your Christian fellowship.

Arrive at church at least ten minutes early and encourage someone before the service begins. Get yourself situated so that you’ll not be a distraction to yourself or others. Look at the people around you and pray for them silently, asking God to enhance the spiritual impact of the worship service upon their lives. See yourself as a part of a family of Christian brothers and sisters who all have the same goals in life—to become more like Christ. Sunday morning is a weekly reunion of your spiritual family and is another stride in this community project called “sanctification.” See yourself as a vital part of this process. Take a minute to thank God for the church that surrounds you.

As the sermon gets started, be aware of the fact that you’re listening with others. You’re watching others listen. They’re watching you listen. Encourage them by being attentive. Nod in agreement with your pastor, smile at him and others, and take good notes. Do whatever you can to demonstrate focused listening that will in turn encourage others to do the same. Try not to distract them but lead them to listen just as you are.

When it’s time to participate in the offering, see it as an act of worship and know that your sacrificial contribution to the church is one of the ways you share in the sermon experience. Your financial support is what allows your pastor to prepare the sermons that your soul needs in order to continue growing alongside all your brothers and sisters. Your gift ensures that biblical preaching can go on in the church. Don’t treat this fiscal participation lightly as it’s directly linked to the sermon event itself.

Embrace the idea that the people sitting beside you are your spiritual teammates—people whom you want to serve after the sermon is done, and people who will seek to serve you. So plan for this during the sermon. Be thinking about what discussions can take place after the final “Amen.” Jot down any questions you might be able to ask a friend that would assist them in their spiritual walk. Remember Hebrews 10:24: “Let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds,” and plan ahead so that you can be deliberate in your efforts to do this.

Christopher Ash explains how listening in community helps him:

When we listen together, you know what message I’ve heard, and I know what message you’ve heard. I’ve heard it. You know I’ve heard it. I know that you know I’ve heard it! And you expect me to respond to the message, just as I hope you will. And so we encourage one another and stir up one another to do what the Bible says. By being with you, I make it easier for myself to respond the way I know I ought to respond. I can listen to a very challenging Bible passage preached on a recording, and if I ignore it no one knows. But if I pay no attention to the sermon I heard with you sitting beside me, you will know; and I would hate you to know I wasn’t listening![2]

This kind of accountability may seem threatening but know that truly loving Christian friends only want the best for you and vice versa. It’s this kind of close relationship that promotes progress in the gospel for them and for you. You need me and I need you in the sermon event. Embrace this axiom as a new commitment to sermon-listening.

There are a number of things that can make community sermon-listening difficult or frustrating. Parents with babies or young children will resonate with this. What do you do when you have young children in church with you? How do you encourage them to participate in the sermon?

I have good friends who have worked hard to teach their children how to sit still and not be a distraction to others. Their training is accomplished at home so that when the family arrives at church they’re not starting from scratch. It takes constant, disciplined effort over the long haul to teach children how to sit for an hour to read or draw without fidgeting or talking loudly. Others have taught their children to take notes in the sermon from a very young age. It starts with drawing pictures of words heard in the message. The child’s choice of word might not always be the best, but it helps them to get into the practice of listening during the sermon. Later, as the child’s vocabulary and understanding develop, the quality of the note-taking improves. Joel Beeke trained his children to take notes from the age of seven. Having returned to their home on Sunday evening, they would read through those notes as a family and talk their way through the Sunday sermons. Beeke explains, “Sometimes the discussions help our children even more than the sermons themselves,” and he exhorts, “Even when conversations do not produce the desired results, continue to attempt this review of [Sunday] sermons. It is better to fall short than not to attempt at all.”[3]

Iain Murray writes, “It was Lloyd-Jones’s conviction that churches make a great mistake when they do not expect children to be present during a sermon.”[4] From before the age of five, infants were present throughout the service at Westminster Chapel. If we’re going to encourage community sermon-listening, it could be that we need to listen to Martyn Lloyd-Jones’s call to include all age groups in the sermon event. Some will argue that no child should be expected to sit through an entire sermon, and yet “we have every reason to believe that children benefitted under the powerful preaching of the New Testament times.”[5] Iain Murray describes one situation in which Lloyd-Jones was ill and was not able to preach: “A girl of twelve wrote to him on behalf of herself and her brother to say she hoped he would soon be back.”[6] Oh that our children could express a similar excitement for the preaching of God’s Word! Are there ways your new community sermon-listening focus can be used to include your children?

Just as you might supplement your church sermon experience with other recorded sermons during the week, you might consider supplementing your child’s exposure to Christian truth by availing them of children’s Sunday school and/or youth oriented ministries. But don’t minimize the importance of involving them in the corporate worship service where the family of God is growing together and stimulating one another in the process. Think about encouragements and questions you could use to engage your children in the Sunday sermon before, during, and after the event.

When the sermon is done, then the real work of community begins. Next week, I’ll discuss post-sermon fellowship activities. Keep reading and make a list of how you can become a better sermon-listening teammate.

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[1] Grace to You, a ministry which distributes the sermons of John MacArthur, saw almost 18 million sermons downloaded from the GTY website in 2012. This figure was confirmed in an e-mail from Executive Director, Phil Johnson.

[2] Christopher Ash, Listen Up!: A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons (New Maiden, Surrey, England: The Good Book Company, 2009), 13–14.

[3] Joel R. Beeke, The Family at Church: Listening to Sermons and Attending Prayer Meetings (Grand Rapids: Reformation Heritage Books, 2008), 26.

[4] Iain H. Murray, Lloyd-Jones: Messenger of Grace (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2008), 35.

[5] Ibid., 36.

[6] Ibid.

Chapter 1: Community Activity Before Every Sermon

In this consumerist church era it’s tempting to think of church as something we only do on Sunday, but this is far from the truth. The church is an entity to which we belong all week long. As a church, the sermon experience is the high point of our weekly public worship activity. It’s something we anticipate together, experience together, and reflect on together. Let’s consider our corporate worship activities before every sermon.

There are a number of community-oriented preparations to make as we anticipate the sermon together. The first is the confession of sin.  It takes a community of Christians to “confess your sins to one another” (Jas 5:16). “Our relationships with other Christians must be right if our worship is to be acceptable to God.”[1] Matthew 5:23–24 says, “If therefore you are presenting your offering on the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” If your weekly interactions with friends and family are anything like mine, you’re busy in personal relationships all week long. It’s highly likely that you have sinned against someone during that time. I long for that day when I will no longer sin against my wife or treat her in an unloving way. Until that day comes, I regularly have some selfish attitude or action to confess to her. Of course this should be dealt with on a daily basis (Eph 4:26–27), but God has also established a weekly cycle in which we get to reevaluate ourselves and consider any other sins that must be confessed. We need to avoid the hypocrisy-cycle in which we attend church each week without giving due attention to our broken and hurting relationships. This goes for all relationships, not just within your family. If you have sinned against someone during the week, it is essential that you seek out that person, confess your sin, ask for their forgiveness, and make restitution if needed.

Make it a practice to confess sin as soon as it’s brought to your attention, but also spend some time on Saturday to reflect on your week and ask the Lord to point out to you any outstanding sins that require personal confession. If there’s a need to visit someone or make a call, do that before Sunday morning. Then, you’ll be ready to listen to the sermon with a clear conscience and a pure heart. Then, God’s voice will be heard.

There’s much to pray for in preparation for the Sunday sermon. You can pray individually for these things, but imagine the impact of a church gathering in small groups to pray in anticipation of God speaking through His messenger—your pastor.

Note these second person plural imperatives: “Brethren, pray for us” (1 Thess 5:25), and, “Brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord may spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you” (2 Thess 3:1). These commands were directed to a community of believers in Thessalonica who were to respond to the request in corporate prayer.

Mike Fabarez has compiled the following list of sermon-related prayer items that remind us of specific concerns to bring before our Lord in corporate prayer:[2]

·      Pray for the Crafting of the Sermon:

o   That the message your pastor is preparing to preach would be an evident part of his own life

o   For the protection of your pastor’s sermon preparation time

o   That your pastor will be given grace and illumination to rightly divide God’s word

o   That the words your pastor chooses to frame the outline would be effective and powerful tools for the Holy Spirit to employ

o   That your pastor would have insight into the needs of the congregation as he prepares the sermon

·      Pray for the Delivery of the Sermon:

o   That people will attend the preaching event

o   That the congregation would arrive in the right frame of mind

o   That God would guard against preaching distractions

o   For clarity and power in the pastor’s vocabulary

o   That God will give understanding to all who hear this week’s sermon

o   For the most effective and fruitful sermon your pastor has ever preached

·      Pray for the Response to the Sermon:

o   That all, including yourself, will put the sermon into practice

o   That the sermon will not be compartmentalized

o   That the application of the sermon would be contagious

o   That the sermon itself will be repeatedly delivered

These are wonderful reminders of how to pray for the Sunday sermon event. Imagine what would happen if the entire church was praying in this way. Our hearts would be full of anticipation for what the Lord is going to accomplish in that moment when divine truth impacts the souls of people.

Consider also the impact if your mid-week study group were to read Sunday’s sermon Bible passage together before Sunday. You should ask your pastor to publish the upcoming sermon passage on the church website or in the church bulletin a week ahead of time. It doesn’t matter when in the week your group meets—maybe it’s an early morning meeting before you all head off to work or school—maybe it’s an evening home-based small group. You probably meet for ninety minutes or so to read the Bible together, discuss various theological topics or areas of personal devotion, pray for each other, and encourage one another in the faith. Why not take five minutes at the end of your meeting to read the upcoming Sunday sermon passage, share brief questions about the text, pray for your pastor and for the church as mentioned already? Try it out! This is a wonderful way to prepare for Sunday in a group setting that increases both your anticipation and accountability as you move toward the sermon event together.

There may be other people in the church that are missing out on the small mid-week study group context. For these people, you could help to increase their anticipation for Sunday’s sermon by calling them to express your excitement for the upcoming passage. You could send them a txt message or e-mail to encourage them to read ahead and pray just as you’ve been doing. Point out a specific verse that you look forward to hearing your pastor explain. Tell them what questions you have about the passage and its application to your life. Maybe you could post a brief Facebook or blog entry that lists the same items for prayer and dialogue. The more interaction a church enjoys over the Word of God the more genuine fellowship is facilitated. You could have a family over for dinner, invite someone to coffee, or catch someone on Skype or Facetime, all with the deliberate intention of fostering a keen anticipation and prayer focus on what God is going to do in each of your lives in the Sunday sermon.

Try it out right away. Your own appreciation for the sermon will increase and the preaching of God’s Word will be even more effective in your life come Sunday morning.

Remember, this is just the beginning of the process. Many of these same activities must be continued throughout the sermon itself.  For that, come back again next week . . .

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[1] 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), 126.

[2] Michael Fabarez, Praying for Sunday: You, Your Pastor, and the Next Sermon (Laguna Hills, CA, Michael Fabarez, 2008), 11–16.

SECTION FIVE: Sermon-Listening and Body-Life Practices in the Church

Sermons bring conviction. Community builds commitment. Need em both.[1]

It’s one thing to identify corporate listening principles from Scripture, as we have over the past few weeks. It’s another thing altogether to make appropriation of those principles. That’s where my next series of blog posts come into play. In them, I will discuss practical ways to listen to and respond to sermons more effectively as a corporate body of believers.

In 2012, George Hincapie—an American professional cyclist—set a record for competing in seventeen Tours de France. During his long career, Hincapie was instrumental in helping other riders win the Tour on nine occasions. In seventeen Tours de France—that is a total of approximately 340 days of racing—“Big George” wore the yellow jersey himself for only one day and yet he became one of the most well-known and beloved cyclists in the peloton. He embodied the title domestique (French for ‘servant’), being a rider who would utterly sacrifice himself in order to support his teammates and help them accomplish their goals. For this fan-favorite, it was all about helping others achieve their potential. In a television interview at the end of his Tour de France career, Hincapie said, “To win the Tour de France you have to be a freak of nature. There’s only a couple people who have the ability to win the Tour de France and I didn’t have that ability but I did have the ability to help those people win. I knew that and I chose to focus on that.” Regarding his cycling legacy, Hincapie made this incredible statement: “I just want to be remembered as one of the best teammates ever.”[2]

We should have that same mindset in the church. We can help our fellow Christians do all they can to emulate Christ, to be effective witnesses, to be servants of the most high God. We can dedicate ourselves to church-wide teamwork before, during, and after the Sunday sermon. Ask yourself: “How can I be the best spiritual teammate I can be?” The first step is to be a part of the team.

I hope you’re convinced you need to be devoted to a church. “An unwillingness to join a local church is tantamount to saying we are not interested in divine accountability in our lives.”[3] So in order to avail yourself of God’s plan for community sanctification in the church, make sure you’re a part of a faithful church that both preaches and lives the truths of the gospel.

On choosing a church, Joshua Harris writes, “What’s important is to look for a church that is seeking not only to believe rightly, but also to live rightly. It’s possible for a church to be doctrinally sound but have a culture of total apathy when it comes to applying the truth of God’s Word in everyday life.”[4] For example, the people in the Ephesian church became known for their robust doctrinal stance—a desirable attribute. However, that church also had a failing love for Christ (Rev 2:1–7). The church members defended gospel-truth in the face of false teachers but they allowed their love for God to wane. This dire situation was so bad that the Lord told the Ephesian church, “Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent” (Rev 2:5). This was a stern warning—one we do well to heed ourselves. Our commitment to guard sound doctrine must be matched by our love for God. Our doctrinal convictions must be matched by our obedient walk. Remember James’s instruction: “Prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves” (Jas 1:22). “That means that the church will seek to build a culture and community of both hearing and obeying God’s Word.”[5] You’ll see this culture fleshed out in the founding documents of a church, published on their website and on their bulletin, remembered each week from the pulpit, and encouraged in all its ministries.

Once you’ve selected a solid, Bible-teaching, Bible-practicing church, then devote yourself to consistent attendance. Of course, there may be times when you don’t feel like sitting through another sermon with the same frustrating people, but on those days you need to remind yourself just how necessary it is to be there again. J. I. Packer writes, “We should not think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotions.”[6] Rather, our interactions with brothers and sisters in the Lord are the vital cog in the wheel of spiritual growth and maturation. We are domestiques devoted to ensuring the success of our teammates. In fulfilling this role, we also position ourselves well for our own spiritual development.

Now, selecting and attending a church don’t in themselves constitute devotion to Christian fellowship, so my next series of blog posts will outline the activities that must be engaged once you’re involved. These practical aspects of community-living are what turn mere attendance into genuine partnership.

Catch you next week . . .

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[1] “Lecrae@Lecrae” http://twitter.com/lecrae/statuses/229935523437895681 (accessed: July 30, 2012).

[2] Steephill TV, “George Hincapie: Want to Be Remembered as One of the Best Teammates (2012/tour-de-france),” http://www.steephill.tv/players/720/nbcsports/?title=George+Hincapie:+%27Want +to+be+remembered+as+one+of+the+best+teammates%27&dashboard=tour-de-france&id=48275750&yr =2012 (accessed: July 23, 2012).

[3] 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), 51.

[4] Joshua Harris, Stop Dating the Church (Sisters, OR: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), 91.

[5] Ibid.

[6] J. I. Packer, God's Words: Studies of Key Bible Themes (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1981), 193.