While on my break I got to do something I do not get to do very often, I was able to listen to a sermon while sitting out in a congregation. Don’t get me wrong, I listen to dozens of sermons each year. I usually hear those sermons as a podcast while driving down the road or just out walking. I chose to listen and I get to chose the time and place and in some ways the topic. If I do not like a podcast I just go to the next one. Sitting in a Church congregation and listening is very different. I don’t really choose anything about what is going to happen, except how I handle it. Here are my suggestions to make the most of your time listening to a sermon each week.

1. Pray Before You Go – I always ask God to speak to me through the sermon I am going to hear. It may be the whole sermon, through one point of the sermon, or possibly just one story or line. I want God to allow me to hear something that will cause me to grow as a follower of Jesus. This may be a 10 minute prayer before I leave the house or a 1 minute prayer during communion while my mind begins to focus on the upcoming sermon.

2. Listen Close – I have really never understood people who get up, go to Church and then talk or play on their phone during the sermon. Just stay home if you don’t care to hear anything being said. But if you do want to hear something then try and focus. I try to set up or lean in or anything I can do to hear what is being said.

3. Take Notes – One of the greatest ways that I listen is to take simple notes. By that I mean that I do not try to write everything I hear, but words, phrases and ideas that jump out at me. I try to see if I can follow the outline and the line of reasoning. Honestly, I usually throw the notes away after the sermon is over, but it does help me to focus and hear everything. This does mean that I need to grab my Bible, a notebook and a pen or two before I leave the house.

4. Think Action – I am constantly asking myself two major questions as I listen to a sermon. First, have I learned anything new or have I learned some truth in a new way. Secondly I ask if there is something I need to do again, or differently or in a new way with the information I have received. What actions do I need to add or remove from my life? It was once said that the Bible was not given to us to increase our knowledge but to change our lives. And to that end, I listen.

I am sure there are other things that some of you find helpful. I will be honest, I have sat through some boring sermons and some that were just the same information I had heard before. That is when I bow my head and say a simple prayer, “Lord let someone get something out of what is being said, even if it is just the preacher.” I really believe that no sermon is ever wasted. God will use His word being taught in someone’s life. I praise him for that as a man who listens to sermons and as a preacher of sermons.