Does the average church goer prepare to encounter the sermon? Does the average church goer pray for the pastor & his preparation? Do we read ahead the passage that will be preached upon? You know where he’s going next.
Have you had anything for breakfast on Sunday? Do we leave home with a greater appetite for lunch than the spiritual meal prepared by the pastor?
We have an amazing preacher who delivers the Word of God. I believe that if our hearts were more tilled we would be more fruitful. “Those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience” (Luke 8:15)
Our expectations change how we receive what is given to us. Do you know what you want from the sermon? You should want to encounter the living God and the resulting heart and life sanctification. Then we must pray for it and prepare for service.
If we are not mindful we can very easily hear the Word several times a week and never be affected by it. (James 1:21-25 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.)
We can make some practical changes by having the following attitude:
1 Peter 2:2-3 “like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord.”
1 Thess 2:13 “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, 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.”
We can also..
- Pray for the preacher. Apostle Paul said “Pray for us” =D (Col 4:3; 1 Thess 5:25; 2 Thess. 3:1; Heb 13:18), for his preparation, his insight, his heart and his delivery.
- Pray for the our own hearts and desire, then those of the congregation.
- Be prompt and on time to Worship
- Be ready to Think
- Take notes
- Use our Bibles
- Fight Distractions
- Review what was taught
- Retell the main themes of the message
- Apply
God intends to change our lives with what is preached. We need to grow and not only learn. We need to hear the message in a way that profits our daily living.
