One of the most helpful books Dr. Ken Hammes assigned me in college was a 426-page tome
with a peculiar title: How to Read a Book by Mortimer J. Adler and Charles Van Doren. No, this wasn’t a
poor man’s Hooked on Phonics (Does anyone else remember those ads from the ’90s?). Their argument,
rather, is that reading a book should be an ongoing conversation between two minds, where the reader
wrestles with ideas, asks questions, and allows their interior thoughts to be formed by the text.
Listening to a sermon ought be much the same. If we sit back as passive consumers, waiting to
be entertained or affirmed, we’ll miss the true power of preaching, the very God-ordained vehicle of the
world’s salvation (cf. 1 Cor. 1:21).
A sermon is not a dry recitation of religious facts, not a lecture. It is an event, a moment where
heaven leans close, and God’s Word meets human hearts. Listen with expectancy. If you come expecting
nothing, you may well leave with nothing. But if you approach the sermon with anticipation—believing that
God may very well be speaking to you through the preacher’s words—you place yourself in a position to
receive. “Faith comes by hearing,” the Bible says (Rom. 10:17). So, come with ears open and a heart ready.
There is a world at stake.
Too often, we hear a sermon the way we overhear a conversation at a coffee shop—casually, half-
listening, catching a phrase here and there. But a sermon isn’t background noise. It’s more like reading a great book that demands engagement. Listen Actively. Ask questions. Wrestle with the implications. Allow
the words to unsettle you. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us that the Word of God “pierces to the division of soul
and spirit.”
Luke tells us the Bereans were “noble-minded” because they eagerly received the message and
examined the Scriptures for themselves (Acts 17:11). They leaned in. They paid attention. They let the truth sink deep. A good sermon should not simply confirm what you already believe—it should stretch your vision of what God is doing in the world.
Listen for Transformation. A sermon is not a performance to be critiqued. It is a summons. When
the angel Gabriel came to Mary, she did not say, “Interesting message, Gabriel. I’ll have to think about that.”
No, she responded with open-hearted surrender and conviction: “I am the Lord’s servant. May it be done
to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).
That is the posture of one with ears to hear. When the preacher finally steps down from the pulpit, we should not be the same as when we first sat down. The Word of God, rightly preached, calls us to conversion—not just once, but again and again.
Maranatha,
Jordy
