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. 

Reflecting on the Sermon 10/24/10

Rod preached from Romans 8:16-17 this week (it's not online yet, but check here later).  It was a continuation of last week's sermon on the assurance believers can have that they belong to God.  This week he focused on the last two evidences: 1. The Spirit testifies with our spirit that we belong to God, 2. We suffer with Christ. 

The part that I reflected on as I reviewed the sermon earlier this week was the fact that the Holy Spirit guarantees that we will, after suffering, share in God's glory.  We are heirs, we suffer with Christ, and we will be glorified with him.  This provides me, as a Christian, hope in the midst of suffering.  In my suffering, the Holy Spirit puts a hope and a longing in me for glory and this enables me to endure suffering with Christ.  This is amazing, especially when contrasted with non-believers.  In their suffering, the best they can do is bear up under it (a sort of resignation to fate) or get bitter.  But as a Christian, I know the hope of glory and that suffering with Christ reminds me that I am an heir and will share in his glory.  Praise God for this hope!

Let me know if you had any thoughts or applications from the sermon.

Don't Neglect to Reflect: Why?

As you might have guessed, I think taking time to reflect on the sermon is a worthwhile and important endeavor.  I think most Christians would agree, but we often don't do anything about it.  So, today, I want to write about why it is important, and good for our spiritual health, to take time to reflect on the sermon.

First, we are blessed to have pastor who teaches us the Bible.  He doesn't just tell us his opinion or a few things we should all strive to be better at.  Instead, he takes us to the very words of God in Scripture.  He doesn't just use the Bible as a diving board to get to what he wants to talk about.  Instead he allows his voice to be used as the spring board from which the word of God plunges into our lives.  So, the first reason is that our pastor preaches the word of God and it is this word that every Christian longs for and, in fact, needs to grow in the faith.

Second, our pastor spends much time in prayer and study as he prepares to preach.  This investment of time and energy involves him studying Scripture diligently and depending on the Holy Spirit fully.  He spends time meditating on the word as he seeks to properly interpret it, understand it, and make application based on it.  We would be fools not to benefit from this hard spiritual work that he has undertaken to shepherd our souls.  If he spends so much time preparing, we should do more than listen to the message and let it go "in one ear and out the other."  We should listen carefully and then think about what we have heard and meditate on the truths God gave us in the message.

Third, God has sovereignly placed us under our pastor.  We are not a part of this church by accident.  The message you hear each Sunday may not always seem like it directly applies to you, but it does.  God places us under our pastor, gives him insight into the word (as he diligently studies it in dependence on the Spirit), and then brings us to hear that message.  God wants us to benefit from the word preached on Sunday.

Finally, we have a responsibility to be "doers" of the word and not merely "hearers" (James 1:22-25).  Just as our pastor is responsible, before God, to faithfully preach the unadulterated truth of the gospel, we are responsible, before God, for what we do with the word.  If you are like me, hearing it on Sunday and failing to think about it again during the week hinders my ability to apply it.  I must consciously think about the message again and actively seek to apply what I heard. 

I am sure there are other reasons that could be listed (perhaps you can share some in the comments section).  It is important to reflect on the sermons that God graciously allows us to hear.  So, this addresses the "why" question.  Maybe you see that it is important, but wonder, "How can I begin to reflect on the sermon?".  Soon I will post on the "how" question and tell some things that I find helpful in this area.

May we listen well this Sunday and then allow God to work the message deep into our hearts.

Reflecting on the Sermon 10/17/10

The sermon was from Romans 8:14-17 this week. Rod mentioned four things that assure a person that he/she is a child of God in this passage:

Being led by the Spirit to put to death the deeds of the flesh (14, see v. 13 also)

• Have you had the inclination to love God and go down the path of righteousness?  Have you been led to put to death the deeds of the flesh (not that you are perfect, but you desire this and battle towards it)?

Having the Spirit of adoption by which he/she cries "Abba Father" (15)

•  Do you cry out to God as your Father or do you still live in fear and dread of him?  Do you recognize you never need to be lonely because God has adopted you as his child

The Holy Spirit testifies with his/her spirit the he/she is a child of God (16)

•  Have you ever had an overwhelming sense of belonging to God and a desire to love God?  Does the Spirit of God give you this internal, overwhelming sense that your adoption was legitimate and that you belong to God?

He/she suffers with Christ (17- he didn't cover this point...to be continued I guess)

If you are struggling with assurance of salvation and weren't able to be here Sunday, listen to the whole thing online (it isn't up yet, but check here in a few days).

It was good to examine these things in my own life.  I found encouragement as I worked through the questions under each point and saw affirmations that God is at work in me. I hope you will reflect on these things in your life too.  If you find evidence that you belong to Him, give Him praise since it is His grace in which you stand.  If evidence is lacking, take time to make your calling and election sure.  Ask a trusted Christian friend to help you in this process.

If you have any thoughts about the sermon I'd love to hear them in the comments section.

"How do you see the culture affecting us negatively?"

Figuring out how we as Christians relate to the culture around us can often be a challenge.  In this short video (2:13),  Phillip Jensen interviews Mark Dever (Pastor of Capital Hill Baptist Church in DC) about ways culture can affect us negatively.  The answer points out what is good about culture and what problems we face with it.  This short video is helpful as we seek to think biblically about culture. 

Phillip Jensen asks Mark Dever "How do you see the culture affecting us negatively?" from Audio Advice on Vimeo.

Reflecting on the Sermon 10/10/10

This weeks sermon was from Doug and covered Eph. 6:10-20, "The family as  battleground."  One of the most helpful things to me in this message was how he spoke about the "normalcy of warfare for the Christian."  There are often two extremes in the Christian life: 1. to think a demon is behind everything (a demon for everything from indigestion to laziness) or, 2. to never think twice about the fact that there is a Devil and he does roam like a lion seeking whom he may devour.  I often fall into the second category.  This, however, is equally as dangerous as the first mistake because it makes me less alert and less dependent on God. 

When we forget we are in spiritual warfare, "Satan tricks us into wrongly identifying the enemy- we think it is people around us [wife, child, roommate] instead of Satan himself."  When we forget that, we will fail to see that our call in family conflict is to "love the captive soul and rage against the captor."  We will see our spouse or friend as our enemy instead of as a fellow sinner who needs our love and help as we wage war against the powers of this world.

Satan would love to destroy families (and the church) since these are the two primary institutions God has ordained to display his goodness.  My goal is to battle that by:

1. Knowing I'm in a battle- Remembering the normalcy of warfare in the Christian life
2. Knowing my enemy- Remembering that my enemy is not ultimately the person I'm in conflict with

Let me know if you had any thoughts...

"Boasting" by Lecrae

One of my secrets is about to be exposed... I like Christian hip hop.  Not just anything labeled Christian hip hop.  Specifically, I like Flame, Lecrae, and a few others.  Why?  Their lyrics are some of the most solid, truth exalting words in Christian music today.  Perhaps some other time I can blog more about Christian Hip Hop and the glory of Christ, but for now I just want to link to a blog that has posted one of Lecrae's newest songs (this song is a little different than most hip hop songs).  Below are the lyrics to the verses.

With every breath I take, with every heart beat, sun rise or moon lights the dark street/ every glance, every dance, every note of the song/ it’s all gift undeserved that shouldn’t known/ Every day that I lie/ every moment I covet/  I’m deserving to die, I’m just earning His judgment/ Without the cross there’s only condemnation/ If Jesus wasn’t executed there’s no celebration/ so in times that are good, in times that are bad/ for any times I’ve had at all I will be glad/ and I’ll boast in the cross/ I’ll boast in my pains, I’ll boast in the son’s shine, I’ll boast in his reign/ What is my worth if it’s not praising you/ Another dollar in my bank account/ or vain pursuit/ I do not count my life as any value or precious at all/ let me finish my race/ let me answer my call/

Tomorrow’s never promised/ but it is we swear/ think we’re holding our own/ just a fist fulla air/ God has never been obligated to give us life/ if we fought for our rights we’d be in Hell tonight/ Mere sinners owed nothing but fierce hand/ we never loved him/ we pushed away his pierced hands/ I rejected his love, grace, kindness, and mercy/ dying of thirst and yet willing to die thirsty/ Eternally worthy/ how could I live for less/ Patiently you turn my heart away from selfishness/ I volunteer for your sanctifying surgery/ I know the Spirit's purging me of everything that’s hurting me/ removed the veil from my darkened eyes/ so now every morning I open your word to see sun rise/ I hope in nothing boast in nothing/ only in your suffering/ I live to show your glory/ dying to tell your story

If you are interested in something a little more upbeat check out "Don't Waste Your Life" at reach records website.

Reflecting on the Sermon 10/3/10

This week's sermon was from Romans 8:13-14 (if you missed it you can eventually download it from www.gcot.org). 

¹³For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. ¹⁴For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

Rod pointed out that true believers (those who live according to the Spirit) will "kill sin."  The part that stuck out to me is when he spoke of indwelling sin and our need to take it seriously. 

"Don't forget about indwelling sin.  You never get to a point that it doesn't affect you...Don't get to big or busy to battle indwelling sin."

That was a good reminder for me.  Sometimes it is easy to forget that I am in a war with my sinful flesh and that I must be killing sin, no matter how busy I am with other (even spiritual) things.  As John Owen said, "Be killing sin or it will be killing you.

I'd love to hear about anything the Lord taught you through the sermon.

Question Box

Another new (I know the whole blog is new) addition to the blog is the question box. This is a virtual question box for our group to submit questions related to theological, apologetic, cultural, and ethical issues.  My goal is to provide relevant answers from a biblical worldview.

This is not a "stump the teacher" game.  So, please only ask a question if you or someone you know will benefit from the answer.  I will do my best to respond to these questions on this blog throughout the year (responses won't be immediate, but I will do my best to answer them by the end of each academic year).

The Fine Print: I reserve the right to modify a question or combine multiple questions into one.  I even reserve the right not to answer a question.  If you have somewhat of a personal question, I will protect your anonymity by changing details that might give away your identity.