How to Get the Most out of Your Pastor's Preaching

Several months ago I wrote a series on listening to and reflecting on sermons.  Here is a very helpful article from Nancy Leigh DeMoss on the same subject.  Here are a few highlights (the whole thing is worth reading).  May God help us be better listeners so that we might be doers of His Word.

Before the Service:

• Prepare for public worship the night before. Turn off the TV, limit social activities, and instead do things that will cultivate your appetite for God’s Word.
• Ask God to prepare your heart for the preaching of the Word. Repent of any sin God reveals to you, and get rid of the things that are standing in the way of the Word of God in your life. 

During the Service

• Listen attentively to the reading and the preaching of the Word. Try to make eye contact with the pastor. Be a “yes face”! Not only does that help the pastor know people are listening and connecting, but it helps you stay alert and focused.
• Listen humbly to the preaching of the Word. Ask the Lord to make it fresh. If your heart is humble, your focus won’t be on evaluating the message or how it’s delivered; you will let the message evaluate you.
• Take notes. Jot down things the Lord speaks to you about; highlight points the Spirit applies to your heart and life. Take those notes home, and work through them later. 

After the Service:

• Ask God to give you at least one takeaway from the message—a key concept, phrase, or verse that you can review throughout the week. Jot it down so you don’t forget. 

Ways to make it personal

• Are you willing to let the message sit in judgment of you rather than you sitting in judgment of the message?
• Do you take the message personally (James 1:22)? Or are you more focused on how it applies to the people sitting near you?
• Do you pass on to others what you’ve learned from the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:2)?