Don't Neglect to Reflect- How?

Have you ever squeezed a lemon?  If you just give it the once over (squeeze it in your hand once or twice), you will leave a lot of juice still locked up in the lemon.  If you want to get as much out of it as you can, you need to get a lemon juicer and push and squeeze on the lemon more than just once.  In a similar way, if we want to glean as much as possible from the sermons we are privileged to hear each Sunday, we need to do more than give them the once over (ie. just listen to them once and forget about them).  We need to go back and reflect on the sermon (see the first entry in this two part series on why we shouldn't neglect to reflect).  We need to squeeze out as much as we can from it.  And, we will benefit from having a juicer (a "tool" or in this case "plan" to help us get the most out of it).  Having a plan as to how to reflect, and thus get more out of the sermon, is the purpose of this post.

What follows is an example of how Beth and I reflect on the sermon and some suggestions as to how you can too.  There is nothing magical about this.  You may have other, better ideas (if so, please share them in the comments section).  This is simply a suggested method that will hopefully spur your thinking in this area.

First, take notes during the sermon.  You may be thinking I am crazy.  "I take notes in school, I don't want to have to think that hard at church."  If you are like me, failing to take notes means you will fail to remember much of what you heard.  If you don't take notes, and you don't remember the details of the sermon, you won't have much to review later.  I use miniature three-hole-punched loose-leaf sheets of paper.  I don't like carrying a separate notebook, and these fit nicely into my Bible.  Then, I can store them in a miniature binder later (you can buy these at office depot).  Beth uses a mini spiral notebook.  You may choose to use the "notes" section in bulletin.  Whatever you use, find something (besides your hand or the pew) to write on.

Second, have a designated day and time to review the sermon.  If you don't schedule it, you will probably not do it.  Maybe you could review it Sunday afternoon or on Monday as part of your "devotional" time.  If you don't have time to do devotional reading and review the sermon on Monday, maybe you could just review and meditate on the sermon in place of a regular devotional.  Yes, I said in place of.  Sometimes we read so much and fail to apply any of it.  It isn't bad to have one less day of devotional reading if you can use that time to actually meditate on and apply something you learned from your time in the word on Sunday in the sermon.  Either way, plan a time.  It is probably good to try for early in the week so you can benefit from what you glean for the rest of the week.  Beth and I review the sermon together on Monday or Tuesday evening (depending on our schedule that week).  We typically spend 10-15 minutes discussing it as we look at the notes we each took.

Third, don't just review the facts.  Find ways to apply it to your life.  The application may involve a change in actions, thoughts, desires.  It may be as simple as a resolve to think more frequently about a particular truth (ex. the reality of being adopted into God's family).  Or, it could involve heartfelt repentance over a sin you were convicted of.  Whatever application you make, it may be good to write it out on a notecard so you can review it each morning that week.  You may want to try and make it a one sentence application.  Anything longer than that and you may have trouble remembering it throughout the day.

One more thing.  It is good to review the sermon with others.  If you are in a relationship, review it with your girlfriend or wife (men you should lead in initiating this).  If you aren't in a dating or marriage relationship, review it with a friend, accountability partner, or person you are discipling/being discipled by.  The point is, share it with those around you, and let them share with you. 

There you have it: a suggested method for extracting more of the good stuff from the fruit of our pastor's labor in the fields of God's word.  It's really not too difficult, but it won't happen by itself.  Make a plan and, by God's grace, follow through with it.

Note: the lemon metaphor is not intended to imply that our pastor's sermons leave a sour taste in the mouth...I know some of you were probably going to rush to tell him that I thought his sermons were sour.