Almost every Sunday church service features a sermon, sharing lessons and truth from the Scripture. Unfortunately, only a few people retain the knowledge or remember what the pastor spoke about. Some research suggests how adults normally remember 15-20% of spoken content. At best. In some cases, people might forget as much as 95% of a sermon inside just a few days.
This seems problematic regarding the main target of our fellowships and the period of time that typically goes into the messages on Sunday. While some issues may exist with the format, we within the congregation also bear some responsibility.
Jesus would say, “For those that have ears to listen to, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15) Christ spoke long messages, using stories and pictures together with direct teaching. Yet he placed some responsibility on the hearers, too. Those who’ve the grace to listen to the reality must also actively take part in listening. Otherwise, we forget. As John Piper has said, how we take heed to a sermon might matter greater than the actual message.
Here are some ways to actively engage with teaching to get probably the most out of it.
Prepare Your Heart
Our hearts receive the word, taking root inside us. Before we engage with God’s word, we must first prepare our hearts through prayer and humility. This requires quieting our souls, submitting our wills, and asking God to assist us hear what he wants us to say. James 1:21 encourages us to reject sin and our selfishness and as a substitute receive the implanted word with humility, which is able to save our souls.
Our prayers allow us to listen to His Word. Psalm 119:18 shares the form of principles we will use in our own requests. “Open my eyes, that I’ll behold wondrous things out of your law.” Instead of treating the sermon as one other lesson or checking it off an inventory, we ask God to present us fresh revelation through the verses and messages shared. This begins a conversation even before the praise, worship, and message, which empowers us to listen to him speak to us through all of it.
Pride hardens our hearts, keeping God’s word from digging deep into our souls for transformation. God’s truth will correct us, a method or one other. His Word combats the lies of the enemy, leading us in like to greater abundance within the Spirit. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust within the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your personal understanding.” We lay down our own ideas and preferences, humbly admitting we’d like his message and truth.
Jesus addressed this, as well. In the parable of the soils, just one bore fruit. Christ explained the nice soil as “those that, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear it with patience.” (Luke 8:15) Being fruitful begins with a humble and softened heart able to hold fast to truth.
Clear Away All Distractions
The devil likes to distract us, using whatever he can. At the identical time, our human natures also prove easy to sway. Understanding this, we should always intentionally remove distractions, especially our phones and other digital intrusions. With devices and media throughout us, at all times “connected,” our minds wander easily. However, God deserves our full and undivided attention, especially when he shares the Word. Proverbs 4:25-27 teaches us, “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you … don’t swerve to the suitable or to the left.” The wisdom literature reiterates the main target we should be successful in engaging with what’s essential.
Humans have at all times been easily distracted. Yet we live in a singular time, when we’ve a tool in our pockets, deliberately designed to attract our attention away. We never must be tired of a smartphone in our hand. They buzz with notifications, social media updates, and texts, tempting our brain with something that is perhaps essential, or a message we don’t need to miss out. This immediacy doesn’t help us, resulting in more stress and anxiety than any real connection. In Luke 10:40-42, when Martha found herself distracted by “many things,” her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, still and prepared. Jesus told her, “Mary has chosen the higher part.”
Our distractions aren’t only with technology. Other thoughts and responsibilities can pull us away from giving God’s Word attention: worries, to-do lists, hunger, conversations with people before or after service. The apostle Peter encourages us to be sober-minded, getting our minds ready for motion (1 Peter 1:13). Our brains are mainly lazy and can try to seek out the best route. Challenging our minds to be intentional and focused isn’t easy, however it’s a skill and discipline we will develop, especially with God’s help. The Spirit wants us to listen to the Word greater than we do, and he can’t be distracted.
Arrive early and put our phones far-off. This will feel like a “sacrifice” but will reap an excellent reward.
Actively Engage with the Message
So far, we’ve prayed, humbled ourselves, and intentionally removed distractions. Now, once the teaching begins, we decide to remain actively engaged while the speaker shares the reality.
First, our lively engagement begins with listening to the Holy Spirit throughout the message. Jesus promised in John 14:26 that the Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of Christ’s words. In this, the Spirit will help highlight and draw attention to details meant for our hearts, individually.
Second, as a practical step, we take notes. Much research has been done on the facility of taking notes during a teaching, helping us retain much more of what’s been said. Write down fundamental points, key Scriptures, and particularly our own insights as we take heed to the Spirit. Proverbs 7:2-3 tells us to write down God’s commands on the “tablet of your heart.”
Third, we should always be certain that to read the Scriptures fully and clearly throughout the sermon. When a pastor references a verse, look it up. Even if we’re accustomed to the passage, read it fresh. God can speak something recent every time we read a verse. As we glance it up, listen to the encompassing context to get the complete meaning and to be certain that the verse is being appropriately applied.
Ask Questions
One of the fundamental ways to own a message and truth for ourselves is to ask questions. “Learning” means searching for things we don’t know or haven’t thought of before. As parents, it’d trouble us when our youngsters continually ask us questions, but they do that because they’re curious and wish to know recent things. The disciples continually asked Jesus questions, even ones we’d consider silly ones.
Jesus continually asked others questions when he taught. Questions lively our reason and curiosity. Upon finding the reply, we feel ownership in the brand new truth. In contrast, sitting passively separates us from the reality we’re attempting to learn.
If we’re already taking notes, then we should always also write down questions we’ve. “Is this true?” “What does this mean for me?” “What is God attempting to tell me?” These sorts of questions move us from passive listeners to being actively engaged.
The famous Berean Jews were praised in Acts 17:11 because they checked the apostolic message with the Old Testament. They “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures day by day to see if this stuff were so.” They didn’t blindly accept what Paul said; they compared it with Scripture. This leads us to wisdom, spiritual maturity, and builds our faith on truth.
Actively asking questions meets the Word where God is. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us how “the word of God resides and lively … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the guts.” The Word lives and breathes, actively searching for hearts. When we query and seek for more, we take part in the very nature of God’s truth.
Asking questions also recognizes we live in a world where false teaching exists. The apostles teach us to be discerning regarding what people say. “Beloved, don’t consider every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God.” Testing spirits is a mutual work of the indwelling Spirit and biblical doctrine. If a press release contradicts God’s Word, we must reject it, regardless of how nice or persuasive it sounds.
Finally, we ask, “What is God attempting to teach me?” This query leads us to transformation by application.
Focus on Application
God shares His Word for transformation. His truth first changes our considering, and our recent thoughts end in recent motion. In Western culture, we frequently have a look at truth academically, as if learning recent information is the goal. But belief integrates our heart, thoughts, and actions. Hearing the reality without leading to recent behavior is a lie. “Be doers of the word, and never hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” (James 1:22)
James lived in a Hellenistic culture that valued recent ideas and deep philosophy. He knew the danger of pride from simply hearing a recent idea without leading to righteous behavior. Listening aside from application becomes self-deception. Truth matters since it changes us. Therefore, application results in growth and greater faith.
Jesus concluded his famous Sermon on the Mount with this principle in Matthew 7:24-27. Two men construct houses, one on the sand and the opposite on a rock. They each heard the reality (as Christ’s audience had), however the silly didn’t obey it. The smart man heard the Word and put it into practice. Just as they each heard the identical truth, they each encountered the identical storm. However, the smart man’s house survived and thrived, while the silly man’s house was destroyed.
As we take notes and ask questions, one in all the questions becomes, “How can I put this truth into practice this week?” or “What should I modify this week?” Write down the motion and pray for God’s strength to make it easier to. It is perhaps something easy or major. Doesn’t matter. Let God lead us forward in practical, real-life ways to specific the reality of Christ.
Application is a component of getting a heart of “good soil.” (Luke 8) Seeking to use and live the reality will help us avoid the opposite three pitfalls (the lies of the enemy, a shallow and cowardly faith, and being distracted by wealth). Obedience results in spiritual fruit for others to enjoy.
Don’t leave a message on the church door, like marking off a spiritual duty. Carry it with you in your heart whenever you leave through humility, lively engagement, and being smart enough to alter.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov
