Every week, millions of people listen to men and women preach sermons – long, short, expositional, topical, content heavy, image rich. In order to experience spiritual transformation, I think we should ask a practical question: How should we listen to a sermon?  Here are eight questions we should ask ourselves before or as we listen to a sermon.

Each week someone prepares and delivers a message to their congregation. The preacher prays that the people hear and apply the message to their lives. Just as the preacher prepares to deliver the sermon, the congregation should be ready to receive and apply the message.

The Foolishness of the Sermon

Pastors preach sermons each week. They prepare messages in hopes of their words about the Word will jump start spiritual transformation in people’s lives. Preachers pore over the text and deliver a message from the Bible so that Christ might be formed in people. By anybody’s standards, this is foolishness. It’s foolish because we are using words to convey and express things that are too deep for words. Because God chose the foolishness of preaching (1 Corinthians 1:21), we should be ready to cooperate with the Spirit as we listen. So, here are eight questions we should ask before and as we listen to a sermon.

• Do I expect God to speak?

When we are preparing to listen to the sermon or message, we should expect God to say something that will intersect with our lives. One of the foundational truths of Christ-followers is that we believe God is a speaking God. He speaks through creation, through the Holy Spirit, in and through the community of faith, and through his word. He has spoken in the past, and he still speaks today. Therefore, do you approach the sermon expecting God to speak to you?

• Have I spent time confessing and repenting of known sin?

Listening to the sermon is ultimately a heart issue.

“ The condition of our hearts determines the depth of our hearing.

The condition of our hearts determines the depth of our hearing. Listening to the sermon requires bringing a whole heart to the moment, not one that is divided.

“ We cannot harbor sin and hide the Word in the same heart. One will eventually evict the other.

Someone has said the Word will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Word.

• Have I asked the Holy Spirit for effective listening?

Just because God speaks doesn’t mean we are ready to listen. We need the Holy Spirit to listen effectively to what God wants to say to us. Spend time praying, asking the Holy Spirit for effectively listening to the Word of God. As we pray for effectively listening, he will show us where we need to silence the distractions that keep us from listening.

• What is my plan to obey what I hear?

When we listen to a message, we should have some response plan. The plan can include some executable moves – focusing on one truth you heard for the next seven days, starting with practical and realistic steps of obedience, having someone hold you accountable for your response plan and journal your thoughts and successes and failures. Refuse to be a passive listener. Plan to hear AND obey.

• Have I prayed for the preacher?

Satan wants to distract you, but he intends to distract the preacher more. If he can distract and attack the preacher, he can cheat and defraud you from the truth that might set you free and give you breakthrough that day. Pray for the preacher’s study time, family time, personal prayer time, physical, emotional and spiritual health and transformation.

• Am I living the truth I already know?

God is willing to speak to us each time we open up the Scriptures. But, we must not become professional sermon listeners. Why would God keep revealing more truth when we are not willing to obey the truth he has already revealed?

• Am I willing to ask questions about what the preacher said?

The preacher’s job is to develop modern day Bereans. Luke, in the Book of Acts, tell us that the Bereans were students of the Word of God. When Paul came to Berea and preached, the Bereans checked to see if what Paul was saying was true. Now, they didn’t have a critical spirit, but a curious one. Therefore, when we listen to the sermon, we should ask a few questions: Is what the preacher is saying true? Is the preacher being faithful to the meaning of the text he or she is preaching? Does it mean what he says it means?

“ Idolizing the preacher prevents Spirit-led objective listening.

Idolizing the preacher prevents Spirit-led objective listening. If the preacher can do no wrong, you will think he or she is always right. Thus, you can easily be led astray.

• With whom will I share what I have heard?

One of the ways the sermon will last in our hearts is if we share what we have learned with one or two other people once the sermon is over. Pray about with whom you will share the sermon. Pray that the Holy Spirit will make them receptive to the truth you share. Then, over coffee, lunch, dinner, in a text, or in a private message, share the truth with them humbly and personally (how this Biblical reality intersected with your life).

So, before you come to the next worship service, spend time engaging these questions. You will view the preaching moment through a new lens and hear with new ears. In the end, I believe you will experience deeper and greater spiritual transformation.

What other questions can we ask or practical things can we do to better prepare ourselves to listen to the sermon? 

So, if you liked this post, then you might enjoy this one as well:

9 Compelling Reasons Why I Preach

The post 8 Questions to Ask Before We Listen To A Sermon appeared first on Marvin Williams.

Each week, before I walk on the platform at Trinity Church, I ask myself a simple but profound question: Why do I preach? Here are at least nine reasons why I keep preaching.

Preaching is hard. Studying the text, finding the big idea, crafting a rational and relevant outline, preparing my heart in prayer, dealing with distractions – my own and things that distract people in the congregation – delivering the message in an interesting manner, and facing the let down, criticisms, complaints, and lack of transformation after messages, are enough to make me ask: “Why in the world do I put myself through this every week?

Why do I prepare a 35-40 minute talk, when I know three-fourths of what I say will fall on bad soil (Matthew 13:18-23). Though preaching can be discouraging at times, I am committed to this blessed burden and sacred trust. Here are a few compelling reasons why I keep preaching the unchanging and powerful word of God.

I preach because God called me to preach.

I preach the Scriptures because God called me to this ministry. At sixteen years old, through prayer, a series of spiritual indicators and markers, and some level of effectiveness and fruitfulness from teaching Sunday school and in other venues, I knew God had set me apart to preach his Word. He overcame my reluctance, helped my weaknesses, authorized my message and confirmed the truth of what I would declare. So, preaching comes from a place of God’s calling on my life. This calling is tested by confirmation from the Holy Spirit, community, and effectiveness. Jeremiah 1:4-5; Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1-2.

I preach because Jesus came to preach.

I preach because preaching was a significant part of Jesus’ ministry on earth. One of Jesus’ main ministries while on earth was preaching. He preached to the few, and he preached to the many. He preached formally in the synagogues, and he preached informally at a community well.

“ I preach because my Rabbi preached.

I preach because my Rabbi preached. Because I desire to model my life and ministry after Jesus, I place a high priority on formal and informal preaching. Mark 1:38; Ephesians 2:17.

I preach because Jesus commanded me to preach.

I preach because Jesus commanded his disciples to preach. Jesus commanded his followers to preach what it would look like for God to truly reign and rule in the world and in a person’s life. So, to not preach would have meant they were disobedient to Jesus. We are just as much his disciples today as the early followers. Thus, as his disciples in the 21^st Century, Jesus calls us to preach the good news of the kingdom. If we fail to live out this command, we, too, are being disobedient to Jesus’ command. Mark 3:14-15; Mark 16:15; Matthew 10:5-7

I preach because preaching is important in salvation.

I proclaim the Scriptures because God uses formal and informal preaching as a valuable tool in the salvation of humanity. Though many have touted preaching as an ineffective means of communicating the gospel, God, in his sovereign choice, has chosen the foolishness of preaching to draw people to himself. I am not responsible for the result, but I am responsible for discharging my duty to faithfully announce this message of hope. Romans 10:14-15; Isaiah 52:7; Romans 10:17; 1Corinthians 1:21

I preach because it was a priority in the early church.

I teach the Scriptures because it was a natural part of the life of the early church. When I make preaching a priority, I am walking in the footsteps of the first apostles and the early church leaders. In Acts 8:1–4, Luke stresses that preaching was not limited to the apostles (Acts 8:1), but all the other believers in Jerusalem who “were scattered” and so “went about preaching the word” (Acts 8:4). Since verse three specifically mentions that women were included among the believers who were persecuted, the text does not warrant an interpretation that excludes women from those who fled Jerusalem and “went about preaching the word.”

I preach because it is a trust from God to me.

I declare the Scriptures because God has given me a trust. For those whom God has gifted/graced to preach and teach, we have the awesome responsibility. We must faithfully and reverently discharge our responsibility because not only do we want to please God but also because we will be evaluated with a stricter measurement. James 3:1; 1 Thessalonians 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:11; Titus 1:3.

I preach because it is part of my worship of God.

I herald the Scriptures because it is part of my worship of God. Worship is the praise, adoration and, reverence of God, both in public and private. Thus, preaching is a celebration of the worthiness of God, by which I honor his name.

I preach because I love people.

I preach because I love people. All kinds of people – Black, White, Latino, Asian, tall, short, thick and rail thin. Every person that sits and listens to the preacher is an image-bearer. And, God loves them deeply. God loved people so much that he gave his Son (John 3:16). Because God loved and gave, when I stand as a mouthpiece for God, I am called to love the people to whom I preach and to give my all when I preach.

“ If I love preaching more than the people to whom I preach, I should quit preaching.

If I love preaching more than the people to whom I preach, I should quit preaching.

I preach because it is a joy.

I proclaim the Scriptures because it is a joy to see people encounter God through the Scriptures coming alive through Spirit-empowered proclamation. I can’t help but preach God’s Word. When I want to hold it in, I am like Jeremiah when he said: “But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!” (Jeremiah 20:9). The truth is, I can’t help myself. There are times I find myself sermonizing in conversations with my wife, children, and staff. If people will listen, I will preach and teach.

It still amazes me and brings me great joy each time God uses something I said in a message to help people takes steps of faith in their walk with him. In that moment, I am humbled and overjoyed that God would empower and use someone like me to speak on his behalf.

Sacred Trust

I know preachers are low on the totem pole these days, but I am glad that God called me to be a preacher. Preaching is hard work, and it will not be effective unless the Holy Spirit empowers the preacher. Therefore, pray for the preacher. Pray that God would speak to him/her, through him/her and in spite of him/her. Preaching is a sacred trust from God and has a central place among God’s people and is vital to their life and growth.

Ultimately, I preach to awaken people to full life with Christ, to help them grow in grace, and to equip them for the work of ministry. I preach now, so one-day, other men and woman will preach later.

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Warning Signs That We Are Drifting Away From God 

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