How to Listen to a Sermon: Romans 10.14-21

How can they know who to trust if they haven't heard of the One who can be trusted? And how can they hear if nobody tells them? Romans 10.14

Prepare yourself physically.

• Make sure you get plenty of rest. Go to bed early, or at least at a decent time on Saturday night. Make sure that you have had plenty of sleep.
• Get up early. Make sure that you have shaken off the morning doldrums before you arrive at church. Get a cup of coffee, take a cool shower, whatever it takes to get you going.
• Dress for church. You do not have to put on your Sunday best, but be prepared for what God is going to do.

Prepare yourself spiritually.

• Spend some time in prayer. Worship, and even preaching, are participation events. You must prepare your spirit for what you will receive.
• Read the Scripture in advance. If you have the opportunity, read the passage before the sermon begins. Read and study it before the service begins if that is a possibility. Cultivate the soil of your heart in preparation for God planting the seed of his word.
• Have a good attitude. Anticipate that God wants to bless you. He wants to teach you. Get your heart focused on him.
• Be timely in listening. This is not just about being on time. Sometimes we are distracted and pre-occupied. Give sermon time to God.

Open yourself.

• Open yourself to new ideas. It is possible that someday you will hear something from a pulpit that you do not agree with. Maybe it is time to change your opinions. Be open to what God might be saying to. The preacher is not necessarily wrong just because you don't like what she says.
• Open yourself to God's voice. He is constantly speaking. Be ready. Sometimes he says things that we don't like to hear, but he is there. You may not want to obey his voice, but you should at least hear it.
• Open yourself to God's work. God wants to transform you into a new creature. He wants to make you more like his son, Jesus. You must allow him to work in your life, sometimes through a sermon.

A few final pointers...

1. Bring your own Bible to church. You will be a better sermon listener if you are familiar with the Bible that you are using.
2. Follow the Scripture readings in the Bible. There are a lot of reasons for this, but one of the most important is that it helps your brain engage in the sermon. Read it ahead of time, and when it is read in the service.
3. Take notes. I know this seems corny and self-serving, but it will enhance your participation and learning if you write down some important, or at least pertinent, comments.
4. Listen for application. This is not always the easiest thing to do. But try to find the things that are significant and make sense in your life. What do you need to do about the message? What should the future look like? How can God help?
5. Discuss the content of the sermon with other people. This may be a Sunday school class, a small group or your family, but spend some time de-briefing. What were the main points? What did you think of the exposition of Scripture? What should we do as a result?

Life in 3-D: Romans 8.18-30

Life is hard. Being a Christian is hard. Sometimes Christians make it hard for other people to become Christians. In fact, there is a movement in the American to church that says that there are many people who would follow Jesus, if it weren't for all the close-minded, bigoted Christians.

In recent years, Christians have become famous for protesting abortions, same-sex marriages and gun-control. Often we are viewed more for what we are against, than what we are for. On an average evening news telecast Christians come out looking pretty bad.

It is time that we worked to reverse those negative images.

1. Discover who God made you to be. 2 Peter 3.9 gives a good overview of what God has in mind for all of us. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. It is God's will that we all follow him. The key to eternal life, abundant life is repentance. This can only happen if we are willing to look at our own sins and not focus so much on the sins of others.


2. Develop God's gifts in your life. There are several places in the New Testament that give lists of spiritual gifts. Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Peter 4 all tell us some of the works of God. However, it is important to remember that whatever gift(s) that you are given need to be used. If you do not study your gifts, practice using them and then put them to work, you will lose them. Sometimes this will require things as simple as sitting, thinking and listening to God.


3. Deploy and do the work you were called to do. Having gifts and knowing how to use them will do no one any good if we are not doing the work that God is calling us to. We must go where God sends us and do the work that God gives us to do.

The Best and the Worst: Romans 3.19-26

Television situation comedies can be divided up into about four categories:

1. The Fish Out of Water. Some examples of this include The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, I Dream of Jeanie and Gilligan's Island.
2. The Slapstick/ Klutz Comedy. Some of these are Bosom Buddies, Three's Company and I Love Lucy.
3. The Family/Moral to the Story. These seem to be the most endearing and the most enduring comedy shows. Leave It to Beaver, The Andy Griffith Show, Father Knows Best and the Donna Reed Show are good examples.
4. The Insult Comedy. This is a staple of all eras of comedy television. Everybody Loves Raymond and All in the Family are two of my favorites.

However, my favorite insult comedy show of all time is Welcome Back, Kotter. In this program, the Sweathogs, Barbarino, Washington, Epstein and Horshak, are constantly putting one another down, even though they are best friends. Insults move between affectionate teasing and downright cruelty in this program. Here are a couple of examples:

"Up your nose with a rubber hose."

"Get off my case, toilet face."

God has already said the worst that can be said about you: "You are a sinner."

• All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3.23) Every thought that comes naturally to your mind is selfish in nature. In fact, your nature is to be selfish. You consider self-preservation and self-exaltation. All these things are sin. Every person is a sinner.


• There is none righteous, no not one. (Romans 3.10) There are many people who convince themselves that they are good. They think because they do good things, they volunteer, they give to charity, that they are righteous. There are many people who compare themselves to others. "Surely," they think, "I am more righteous than that person." But there is no one who can stand in righteousness before a holy God.


• The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6.23) The consequences of unconfessed and unrepented sin is separation from God. Do not be confused into thinking that you will live. You may live physically, but death is separation from God. Those who live in sin, no matter how good they may be, are separated from God.

He has also said the best that can be said about you: "God loves you."

• God so loved the world. (John 3.16) God's love is universal, it is for everyone. Not only that, it is personal. My faith can be personal because Jesus' love is personal. He loves me and has a plan for my life.
  
• The gift of God is eternal life. (Romans 6.23) The first part of this verse can be a little discouraging. The punishment for sin is death, or eternal separation from God. However, he has made an allowance. He loves me so much that he is willing to forgive me and give me life.

The Roman Road: Romans 1.16-32

Christianity is a trip, a journey that all of us travel. Pilgrimage is a word that is often used as an analogy for the Christian life. We are on a 'faith journey.' Someone has developed a tool that is known as the Roman Road to salvation. By referring to selected verses that occur throughout the book of Romans we can get a relatively complete view of the doctrine of salvation.

• Romans 1.16. It is important to not be ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Have no fear. God is in control. It is through the power of the gospel that we have the hope of eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord.
• Romans 3.10, 23. Every human, no matter how good they appear to be, has a tendency to sin. The doctrine of Original Sin is beyond our scope here, but know that even the best of us is a sinner.
• Romans 6.23. The consequences of sin are severe and permanent. Those who remain in their sins have no hope for eternity or relationship with Jesus. The gift of God, however, lasts forever.
• Romans 8.1-2. It is completely possible that every person can be free from the bondage of sin and the condemnation that comes with it. If sin is too much for you, there is a way out through Jesus.
• Romans 10.9-10. God has made a way that each person can be forgiven of their sins. There are two parts. First of all, those who would follow Jesus must know that he is the Son of God. This is an intellectual assent and a heart-felt belief. Secondly, there is the requirement that each person must confess their faith in Christ in some demonstrative way. In some traditions this includes a response to an invitation, or 'altar call.' In other places confession means simply being able, and willing, to speak your faith.
• Romans 12.2. Finally, our trip on the Roman Road calls us to live in the will of God. We are not to do what others expect of us, but live only for the expectations of Christ.