Every Sunday morning brings numerous opportunities for worship in the local church. Praises rise to the Lord through song and prayer, preparing hearts for the opening of Scripture and the proclamation of God’s Word. Congregants are attentive at first, but as the sermon progresses, attention wanes and distractions abound. Phones come out and sleepy heads nod. Many who may appear outwardly attentive are inwardly preoccupied. The powerful, transformative Word of God goes forth to an audience unengaged and inattentive.
Listening well to God’s Word preached has become a forgotten discipline. How many Sunday morning sermons have we heard without ever mentally processing or internalizing? Good books abound on effectively proclaiming the Word of God, but what if the problem isn’t solely the preacher? What if an undiagnosed problem in our churches is that many in the pews are poor listeners? How can we learn the art of auditory worship?
This Is the Word of the Lord
Perhaps the greatest barrier to sermon engagement is a failure to appreciate the spiritual reality behind the sermon. As God’s Word is opened, the Spirit of God speaks through it to his people. When Israel received the Ten Commandments at Sinai, God audibly spoke to his people out of heaven (Ex. 20:22). Imagine the terror of seeing fire on the mountain and lightning in the sky and hearing the voice of God thunder forth as the Lord revealed his moral will for his people!
What if an undiagnosed problem in our churches is that many in the pews are poor listeners?
When the written revelation of God is opened today, there may not be any accompanying fire and thunder, but the Word of God is no less authoritative and powerful than it was at Sinai. It’s spiritual fire and thunder to our hearts. We must adjust our conception of sermon listening from merely hearing the opinions of a human preacher to instead listening to God’s voice addressing us by his Spirit, through his Word.
Active Listening as Worship
The Lord cares about what we do with our minds on a Sunday morning. If our thoughts aren’t focused on God’s Word as it’s proclaimed, we’re missing an opportunity to glorify God. Romans 12:1 exhorts believers to offer our bodies as living sacrifices to God, which Paul calls our spiritual worship. God’s communication to us in Scripture renews our minds, reorients our thoughts, redirects our hearts, and reprioritizes our volitions. Listening to Scripture proclaimed can be an act of worship!
But it only happens if we allow the Spirit to do his transformative work through active engagement with the Word preached. No Christian ever grew spiritually through auditory osmosis. We must actively listen to our God through Scripture.
How to Listen to a Sermon
But how do we listen in an active way? Here are three suggestions.
1. Prepare beforehand to hear the voice of God.
We’re not called to be passive recipients of entertainment in the meetings of the church but rather active participants in worship. Thus we should prepare ourselves mentally and spiritually to engage with the Word of God.
A busy or chaotic Saturday night or early Sunday morning hinders me from devoting adequate focus and attention to God’s Word during church. Before the service, prioritize a time of quiet reflection, calm activity, silent reading, or prayer to ready your heart and mind to hear from the Lord.
2. Develop the discipline of staying focused.
Since our minds are already prone to wander down rabbit holes, we should find ways to keep ourselves on task. Note taking can be a helpful way to actively listen to a sermon. This need not be tedious. It can be as simple as trying to identify the preacher’s main theme and major points. If the sermon is expository, outlining the passage and major thoughts on each verse could be a simple way to engage. For others, drawing or doodling may allow deeper concentration and retention of application points.
Eliminating distractions by silencing phones, watches, and other devices is also essential to focused listening. Perhaps even adjusting who you sit beside during the service may allow you to keep more control over your thoughts during the sermon.
3. Keep mulling over the Word after it’s preached.
Find venues to discuss the sermon with others. Often our family will share over lunch or dinner a takeaway from the day’s message or note one area of our life where we might put into practice one particular application point. Giving ourselves time and opportunities to unpack and apply sermons is essential to deep, lasting retention. Don’t walk out the door of the church building and leave behind everything you’ve just heard. Take it with you.
Don’t walk out the door of the church building and leave behind everything you’ve just heard.
Revisit the biblical texts and applications both when you’re alone and in conversations with others. “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Col. 3:16) throughout the week.
The Lord speaks to his people powerfully by his Spirit, through his Word. God’s people must learn to actively listen, allowing Scripture to do its transformative work of renewing our minds. When we listen well as the Scriptures are proclaimed, we engage in auditory worship to the glory of God the Father.