Be Careful How You Hear!

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; . . . Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.” (James 1:19, 21, ESV)

The preacher of the gospel, has a great and glorious burden to proclaim the Word which is able to make one wise unto salvation (2 Timothy 3:15). In fact, if the Bible is God’s Word, and God still speaks to us through his Word, then the faithful preacher is speaking God’s Word to the congregation. In other words, God speaks today through faithful, gospel preaching (Hebrews 1:1-4). Consequently, preachers must bear in mind that every time they preach, people’s lives, both for now and eternity, truly depend on it. God, in His wisdom, has chosen “the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Corinthians 1:21); the gospel “is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16). And as Christians, we continued to be guided and sustained by this very gospel Word.

The implications of these biblical truths are staggering and numerous. Preaching is the central and most important aspect of corporate worship gatherings; we should long for more preaching, not less; we should demand biblical, expositional preaching, not self-help psychology, storytelling or comedy routines. I could go on, but I want to emphasize just one implication which stems from these biblical truths. If you believe the Bible is God’s Word and that God speaks to us today through the preached Word, how should you listen to sermons?

Being convinced of the Bible’s authority and the importance of God’s Word through gospel preaching, allow me to give you some words of counsel and encouragement as to how to approach the sermon:

• BEFORE THE SERMON prepare your heart to receive God’s Word. Pray for the preacher of the Word that he will have spent time with God during the week, so that you will hear what he has already preached to himself. When you enter to worship, dwell on the things of God, not on the things of this world.
• DURING THE SERMON listen as if your life depends on it because it does. Take notes if this helps you remember. Pray for understanding. Listen as the Bereans did; they received the Word of God eagerly, but looked to the Scriptures to make sure what was being preached was according to God’s Word (Acts 17:11).
• AFTER THE SERMON receive the Word of God with humility and act on it. Don’t delude yourself by being a mere hearer of the Word; take action and do what God’s Word says you should do! Truth that is not applied is truth that is lost. So, talk about the sermon and its application with others: family, church members, Life Group, friends.

In order to help you prepare to hear God’s Word through preaching, below you will find our upcoming sermon series on the church, along with the Scripture passages to be preached.


May 9
Elders: The Church’s Recognized Leaders
1 Timothy 3:1-7

May 16
Pastor Davey Davis Preaching – Galatians

May 23
Deacons: The Church’s Recognized Servants
1 Timothy 3:8-13

May 30
The Church’s Purpose and Message
1 Timothy 3:14-16

June 6
The Church’s Care of Its Elders
1 Timothy 5:17-25

Let us prepare our hearts to hear God speak through his Word as we gather together each Sunday.

Love,

Pastor Juan