OceanSide church of Christ

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PAYING ATTENTION TO PREACHING

Victor M. Eskew

 

          Preaching and teaching are part of the worship services of the church.  We read about preaching being involved in worship in several passages of Scripture.  In Acts 2:42, four elements of worship are mentioned in the activities of the church in Jerusalem.  “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.”  The “apostles’ doctrine” is simply defined as the teaching of the apostles.  When the church at Jerusalem gathered together for worship, these men would reveal the truth of the New Testament of Jesus Christ to these new converts (See John 16:13).  In Acts 20:7, the church met upon the first day of the week to “break bread.”  These two words are a synecdoche.  This is a figure of speech where a part is put for the whole.  Part of the worship service, breaking bread, is put for the entirety of the service.  On that day, the church was blessed to have Paul in their midst.  The teaching portion of their worship involved his preaching.  “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.”  The third example is found in 1 Corinthians 14.  In the chapter, Paul addresses the use of spiritual gifts in the worship services.  Three gifts involved the proclamation of God’s Word:  prophecy, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues.  Prophecy was always authorized in the worship.  “For ye may all prophesy one by one, that all may learn, and all may be comforted” (1 Cor. 14:31).  Speaking in tongues, however, was limited.  Those who spoke in tongues could only speak if one was there who could interpret what was being said.  “If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two or at the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret.  But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God” (1 Cor. 14:27-28).

            Because of the example of the first century church, we continue to have preaching and teaching as one of the components of our worship today.  This aspect of worship takes up the most time.  It is during “the preaching” that the worshipper is the most passive in his participation.  The worshipper simply sits and listens to what is being said.  Sometimes it is difficult to stay focused during the entire lesson.  There are many reasons for this.  We are not interested in the subject being addressed.  Thus, we allow our minds to wander and think about other things.  There are a lot of things that are going on around us:  children playing, children crying, people coughing, others talking, etc.  Too, we surround ourselves with things that distract us:  our cell phone, the church bulletin, a tract, pens and paper used to pass notes to others, etc.  It is possible to sit through a 30-40 minute lesson and get very little out of the sermon that was preached.  We might remember the title for a while.  And, we might remember a point in the introduction or conclusion.  But, the meat of the lesson has not been heard.

            Because paying attention to a sermon can be difficult, we want to devote the remainder of this article to ways each of us can pay attention to the preaching component of worship.  First, we need to do all we can do to be rested when we are in worship.  Staying up late the night before worship is not going to make it easy for one to pay attention.  He will be tired.  When he gets still and warm, he will have to really fight sleep.  A good night’s sleep before the day of worship will go a long way in correcting this distraction.

            Second, when the sermon begins, we must become active listeners.  James describes how we should listen in James 1:19.  “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear…”  The word “swift” means be “ready” to hear.  Another defined the word “swift” as “giving prompt consideration to.”  We should sit up straight when the preaching begins.  We should focus our eyes on the speaker.  We should strain to hear every word that he is proclaiming.  We need to remember that the preacher is really just a go-between.  He is actually communicating God’s Word.  Thus, it is God who is really speaking. 

There are several things you can do to insure you pay close attention to the speaker.  One, you can sit near the speaker.  The closer a person is to the speaker, the fewer distractions there are.  It has always confused this speaker as to why parents with children sit on the back row.  When children sit on the first or second row, they are less likely to talk and play.  They are much more likely to sit calmly, even listening to the preacher proclaim God’s Word.   Two, put everything away that will distract you during the sermon.  Put your cellphone away.  Put your purse on the floor.  Sit away from your friends if you fear they will distract you.  Third, taking notes can help one listen to a sermon.  Most sermons are delivered in an orderly fashion.  They usually have three, or four, or five main points that are highlighted by the preacher.  Notes are often displayed on PowerPoint slides by most speakers.  Taking notes enables you to follow the speaker’s thoughts.  In addition, you are more likely to remember the sermon later on because you have both heard and written down the things that were said.

Third, we need to keep in mind that every sermon has things in it that can be used.  They might be very pertinent to our life at the time.  They might be useful to others in our lives.  They might be something that we can use to teach others at a later time.  They might be something that we will need tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.  God’s Word contains everything we need for life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3).  A lesson preached a month or two go might be essential to me now.  We should want to gather the information and store it just in case we need it at a later date. 

Preaching is not easy for the preacher.  First, the Bible is a book filled with thousands of topics.  The preacher has the responsibility of preaching “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).  Second, the audience is filled with different types of people.  Third, the people who are in the audience all have different needs.  We mention these things because those who listen to sermons need to understand that the preacher cannot preach a sermon specifically to one individual and his needs every worship service.  Thus, the listener is going to have to put forth the effort necessary to listen and apply the sermon in the most appropriate manner to his life.  This thought reminds us of the words of Jesus in Luke 8:18.  “Take heed therefore how ye hear:  for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”  Jesus said how we hear is important.  Let’s do everything we can do to pay attention to every word of the sermon during worship.  Keep in mind that preaching IS a part of our worship of the heavenly Father.