How to hear a sermon

Whitefield preaching

These days as ministers we are inundated with lists and studies about how to draw people to the church, how to keep people in the church. And too often this devolves into lowest common denominator thinking, where the gospel offer of salvation from sin is set aside for a less offensive message.

So it is refreshing that when reading Whitefield I came across this sermon, "Directions How to Hear Sermons." (pp.247-255 of George Whitefield, Sermons volume III). Throughout evangelical preaching from the seventeenth into the early nineteenth centuries, these sorts of directions were commonplace. The most famous of these was written by Richard Baxter (1615-1691). These preachers put great stock into teaching the people in these importatnt skills. Attending and listening to sermons was an important part of discipleship. The power of God works as the preacher prepares to deliver the sermon, and as the congregation gathers to hear the sermon. The congregation is not just and open vessel ready to receive, but takes an active role, preparing the soul for the message of God.

So, what are these directions? Whitefield does begin by showing that "...if it be the duty of ministers to preach, (and woe be to them if they do not preach the gospel, for a necessity is laid upon them) no doubt, the people are obliged to attend to them;" Take every chance you get to hear sermons. He then gives the six directions for the people as follows. (My own notes are in parentheses.)

1. Come to hear… not out of curiosity, but from a sincere desire to know and do your duty.
2. Give diligent heed to the things that are spoken from the Word of God
3. Do not entertain even the least prejudice against the minister.
4. Be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, or think more highly of him than you ought to think. (Ouch!says the minister-MG)
5. Make particular application to your own hearts of everything that is delivered.
6. Pray to the Lord, before, during, and after every sermon,…(both for the minister and for yourself as the truths of the sermon are lived out.-MG)

The last point on prayer is so very important. My wife, who diligently sits through my own sermons each week, tells me that she prays as the sermon is progressing. If I am flagging, she prays for strength. If I am stumbling, she prays for solid footing. If I am hesitant, she prays for power. If I am rambling, she prays for focus. She consistently prays that God will speak through me. Does knowing that make me a better preacher? I can't say that but it does not make me a worse one.

So today I thank Whitefield for reminding me that the focus of church work is not just on what the minister has prepared to say, but on what the congregation has prepared itself to hear.