real life discipleship

Have you ever attended a church preaching session, and by the end of it you realized you could not recall what the preacher said? If this has ever happened, then it means you were not listening to the sermon. Whenever someone is speaking, you will automatically hear them. But, for you to relate to what they are talking about, you have to listen carefully. In the church, things are a bit different, since you not only need to listen to but also to follow the teachings.

When Jesus was talking to the disciples in Luke 8:18, he told them to consider carefully how they listen. This grabbed their attention as he went further and told them that those who have they will be given more and those who don’t have, even what they assume they have would be detracted. This verse serves as a warning to those who attend church preaching sessions that they should be careful listeners. The following tips from our Real Life Community Church ministers can be beneficial to those who want to learn how to better sermon listeners.

Expect to Hear God’s Message Through the Preacher

What does the voice of God sound like? It sounds like the spirit-filled preaching of the one sent by God to deliver the message. The preacher is a fellow human being with flesh and blood just like you. However, the moment he/she opens the bible he/she is transformed into God’s messenger. Whenever we are listening to preaching sessions, we are hearing God’s words for us at that moment. That is why Peter said in 1st Peter 4:11 that a preacher does not speak his own words but words from God. Consequently, those who listen  should respond as if God Himself were speaking.

So, how can you prepare yourself to listen? You should spend time praying during the week. In your prayers, remember the next Sunday’s preacher. Additionally, pray for other church members. On Sunday, prepare yourself physically and mentally to attend the sermon. As the preacher starts preaching, open up your heart and mind in readiness to listen and hear from God.

Be a Regular Attendee

Train yourself to listen to the word of God by regularly attending worship and attentively listening to the sermons. If you rarely go to church, you will end up as a mere spectator who admires how people are praying or how the pastor is preaching. If you're new to the Fredericksburg area, use the internet to locate churches within your neighborhood. For instance, if you recently moved into Fredericksburg, you can search for “Ministry Fredericksburg” or expository Preaching

When you are an attentive listener, God will mold your character, heart and mind into a good listener of His word. Christianity is a journey that requires the Holy Spirit to keep on reminding us of what is right and wrong. As it is indicated in 2nd Peter 1:12.

Never Forget That Gods Knows Better Than You Do

Paul told Timothy in the book of 2nd Timothy 4:3 that time that people would influence their preachers to preach what they would like to hear. This was a warning to preachers because naturally human beings love being told what can make them feel better about themselves even when they are doing something wrong.

A spiritual preacher will not preach what you would like, but the Holy Spirit will guide them. No matter how wealthy or famous we are, we will never be God. Consequently, we should respect what he says by carefully listening to his word. Being a good sermon listener is an illustration that you respect God.

Would you like to listen to God’s word? You can do it by joining our worship services or a local bible believing church in your area. Moreover, you can also stream live sermons at the comfort of your home. Real Life is a church building lives using Expository Preaching focused on changing the spiritual life of not only England Run and Stafford but the greater Fredericksburg area.