Almost every Sunday church service includes a sermon, sharing lessons and truth from the Scripture. Unfortunately, very few people retain the information or remember what the pastor spoke about. Some research suggests how adults usually remember 15-20% of spoken content. At best. In some cases, people might forget up to 95% of a sermon within a few days.
This seems problematic regarding the focus of our fellowships and the amount of time that usually goes into the messages on Sunday. While some issues may exist with the format, we in the congregation also bear some responsibility.
Jesus would say, “For those who have ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 11:15) Christ spoke long messages, using stories and images along with direct teaching. Yet he placed some responsibility on the hearers, too. Those who have the grace to hear the truth must also actively participate in listening. Otherwise, we forget. As John Piper has said, how we listen to a sermon might matter more than the actual message.
Here are some ways to actively engage with teaching to get the most out of it.
Prepare Your Heart
Our hearts receive the word, taking root within us. Before we engage with God’s word, we must first prepare our hearts through prayer and humility. This requires quieting our souls, submitting our wills, and asking God to help us hear what he wants us to say. James 1:21 encourages us to reject sin and our selfishness and instead receive the implanted word with humility, which will save our souls.
Our prayers allow us to hear His Word. Psalm 119:18 shares the kind of principles we can use in our own requests. “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Instead of treating the sermon as another lesson or checking it off a list, we ask God to give us fresh revelation through the verses and messages shared. This begins a conversation even before the praise, worship, and message, which empowers us to hear him speak to us through it all.
Pride hardens our hearts, keeping God’s word from digging deep into our souls for transformation. God’s truth will correct us, one way or another. His Word combats the lies of the enemy, leading us in love to greater abundance in the Spirit. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” We lay down our own ideas and preferences, humbly admitting we need his message and truth.
Jesus addressed this, as well. In the parable of the soils, only one bore fruit. Christ explained the good soil as “those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear it with patience.” (Luke 8:15) Being fruitful begins with a humble and softened heart ready to hold fast to truth.
Clear Away All Distractions
The devil loves to distract us, using whatever he can. At the same time, our human natures also prove easy to sway. Understanding this, we should intentionally remove distractions, especially our phones and other digital intrusions. With devices and media all around us, always “connected,” our minds wander easily. However, God deserves our full and undivided attention, especially when he shares the Word. Proverbs 4:25-27 teaches us, “Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you … do not swerve to the right or to the left.” The wisdom literature reiterates the focus we need to be successful in engaging with what’s important.
Humans have always been easily distracted. Yet we live in a unique time, when we have a device in our pockets, deliberately designed to draw our attention away. We never have to be bored with a smartphone in our hand. They buzz with notifications, social media updates, and texts, tempting our brain with something that might be important, or a message we don’t want to miss out. This immediacy doesn’t help us, leading to more stress and anxiety than any real connection. In Luke 10:40-42, when Martha found herself distracted by “many things,” her sister Mary sat at Jesus’ feet, still and ready. Jesus told her, “Mary has chosen the better part.”
Our distractions aren’t only with technology. Other thoughts and responsibilities can pull us away from giving God’s Word attention: worries, to-do lists, hunger, conversations with people before or after service. The apostle Peter encourages us to be sober-minded, getting our minds ready for action (1 Peter 1:13). Our brains are basically lazy and will try to find the easiest route. Challenging our minds to be intentional and focused isn’t easy, but it’s a skill and discipline we can develop, especially with God’s help. The Spirit wants us to hear the Word more than we do, and he can’t be distracted.
Arrive early and put our phones far away. This will feel like a “sacrifice” but will reap a great reward.
Actively Engage with the Message
So far, we’ve prayed, humbled ourselves, and intentionally removed distractions. Now, once the teaching begins, we choose to stay actively engaged while the speaker shares the truth.
First, our active engagement begins with listening to the Holy Spirit during the message. Jesus promised in John 14:26 that the Spirit will teach us all things and remind us of Christ’s words. In this, the Spirit will help highlight and draw attention to important points meant for our hearts, individually.
Second, as a practical step, we take notes. Much research has been done on the power of taking notes during a teaching, helping us retain far more of what’s been said. Write down main points, key Scriptures, and especially our own insights as we listen to the Spirit. Proverbs 7:2-3 tells us to write God’s commands on the “tablet of your heart.”
Third, we should make sure to read the Scriptures fully and clearly during the sermon. When a pastor references a verse, look it up. Even if we’re familiar with the passage, read it fresh. God can speak something new each time we read a verse. As we look it up, pay attention to the surrounding context to get the full meaning and to make sure the verse is being appropriately applied.
Ask Questions
One of the main ways to own a message and truth for ourselves is to ask questions. “Learning” means seeking things we don’t know or haven’t thought about before. As parents, it might bother us when our kids continually ask us questions, but they do this because they’re curious and want to know new things. The disciples continually asked Jesus questions, even ones we’d consider stupid ones.
Jesus continually asked others questions when he taught. Questions active our reason and curiosity. Upon finding the answer, we feel ownership in the new truth. In contrast, sitting passively separates us from the truth we’re trying to learn.
If we’re already taking notes, then we should also write down questions we have. “Is this true?” “What does this mean for me?” “What is God trying to tell me?” These types of questions move us from passive listeners to being actively engaged.
The famous Berean Jews were praised in Acts 17:11 because they checked the apostolic message with the Old Testament. They “received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” They didn’t blindly accept what Paul said; they compared it with Scripture. This leads us to wisdom, spiritual maturity, and builds our faith on truth.
Actively asking questions meets the Word where God is. Hebrews 4:12 reminds us how “the word of God is living and active … discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” The Word lives and breathes, actively seeking hearts. When we question and search for more, we participate in the very nature of God’s truth.
Asking questions also recognizes we live in a world where false teaching exists. The apostles teach us to be discerning regarding what people say. “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” Testing spirits is a mutual work of the indwelling Spirit and biblical doctrine. If a statement contradicts God’s Word, we must reject it, no matter how nice or persuasive it sounds.
Finally, we ask, “What is God trying to teach me?” This question leads us to transformation by application.
Focus on Application
God shares His Word for transformation. His truth first changes our thinking, and our new thoughts result in new action. In Western culture, we often look at truth academically, as if learning new information is the goal. But belief integrates our heart, thoughts, and actions. Hearing the truth without resulting in new behavior is a lie. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving ourselves.” (James 1:22)
James lived in a Hellenistic culture that valued new ideas and deep philosophy. He knew the danger of pride from simply hearing a new idea without resulting in righteous behavior. Listening apart from application becomes self-deception. Truth matters because it changes us. Therefore, application leads to growth and greater faith.
Jesus concluded his famous Sermon on the Mount with this principle in Matthew 7:24-27. Two men build houses, one on the sand and the other on a rock. They both heard the truth (as Christ’s audience had), but the foolish didn’t obey it. The wise man heard the Word and put it into practice. Just as they both heard the same truth, they both encountered the same storm. However, the wise man’s house survived and thrived, while the foolish man’s house was destroyed.
As we take notes and ask questions, one of the questions becomes, “How can I put this truth into practice this week?” or “What should I change this week?” Write down the action and pray for God’s strength to help you. It might be something simple or major. Doesn’t matter. Let God lead us forward in practical, real-life ways to express the truth of Christ.
Application is part of having a heart of “good soil.” (Luke 8) Seeking to apply and live the truth will help us avoid the other three pitfalls (the lies of the enemy, a shallow and cowardly faith, and being distracted by wealth). Obedience leads to spiritual fruit for others to enjoy.
Don’t leave a message at the church door, like marking off a religious duty. Carry it with you in your heart when you leave through humility, active engagement, and being wise enough to change.
Photo Credit: ©Unsplash/Ioann-Mark Kuznietsov
