How to Listen to a Sermon

This one seems odd; a sermon about how to listen to a sermon. Imagine if you did not know how to read and the way I try to help you learn how to read is by giving you a book about reading. This sort of feels like that; I will try my best to make this helpful.

For over 1000 years of church history, the center point of the worship service was the sacrament. In the Roman Catholic Church, the celebration of Mass—their version of communion—stood at the center of worship. Martin Luther, John Calvin, and the other Protestant Reformers of the 16th century brought a new focus to the center of worship—the preaching of the gospel. And so, for the last 500 years the church apart from the Roman Catholic Church has included this thing we call the sermon. I try to keep sermons under a half-hour. Some ministers can go 45 minutes or longer. The classic model for sermons developed three points. I try to bring it down to one key takeaway. Other ministers give you a whole catalogue of notes from a single sermon. It seems like there is no one agreed upon way for a sermon to go. Given all the variance in sermons and preaching styles that are out there, I wonder if we have lost touch with what a sermon actually is and why we do this thing called preaching as a part of our worship activity. It seems like your part in the sermon is just listening, but listening for what?

More and more, there are ministers who lean away from the language and terminology of sermons and preaching. The word ‘preaching’ itself has come to carry a negative meaning, sometimes being taken as a way of admonishing or chastising or scolding. And so, there are ministers who don’t call it sermons or preaching. Instead they call it the ‘teaching’ or the ‘message’ in place of the sermon. And they say they are giving the ‘talk’ or doing the ‘speaking’ instead of preaching. You see, I think all of that slants our expectations to what is really happening in that moment of worship when a minister preaches a sermon. And it shows in people’s responses.

teaching or message instead of sermon | giving the talk or speaking instead of preaching

what is a sermon?

heartwarming stories that make us feel good and happy?

There was a man who was a part of my last church who grew up in a pretty strict Baptist family. He left the church for a part of his adult life, and came back when he found connections and friendships within our church. But every now-and-then he would pull me aside and tell me that there was too much Bible in my messages. I asked him what he meant by that; what should there be instead of Bible. He said instead of so much focus on the Bible I should focus on telling stories that make people feel good. All that to say, it seemed to me that his rather militant Baptist upbringing left him feeling rather anxious about biblical preaching; he just wanted encouraging stories instead. Is that what a sermon is: heartwarming stories that make us feel good and happy?

enlightenment that comes by learning something we didn’t know before?

I had another individual in that church who loved filling his daily commute to work with TED talk podcasts. If you are not familiar with TED talk. TED stands for technology, entertainment, and design. The original TED conferences were held annually in Vancouver Canada and features speakers who were experts in these fields who would give a short presentation on their area of work. The slogan for the TED Foundation is “ideas worth spreading.” Over the years, the popularity of TED talks has expanded to include a number of notable people. There have been talks by scientists such as Richard Dawkins and Stephen Hawking. But also talks by prominent researchers like Jane Goodall, or cultural icons like Bono, and even TED talks given by religious leaders like Billy Graham and Pope Francis. The internet is now overflowing with these presumed experts sharing their ideas. The point is for the listener to be enlightened by gaining some kind of new knowledge. Is that what a sermon is: enlightenment that comes by learning something we didn’t know before?

Years ago, I had the opportunity to take part in a ministers’ group for a one-year study of preaching. For a year we met together every month and worked through the angles of developing what it meant for us to be preachers of sermons. Pretty early on we all acknowledged the reality of people in our churches who all seemed to have different—and sometimes conflicting—ideas about what this sermon/message/teaching/talk time should be all about. We also acknowledged a pressure we felt as preachers. Maybe the pressure was more imagined than actual; we were just putting this pressure on ourselves. It felt like with the proliferation of YouTube and podcasts and TED talks that we as preachers essentially had to hit a home run every single Sunday. There are so many phenomenal talks right at your fingertips, we felt like there was pressure to measure up and knock it out of the park every week so that we could compete with the internet.

ministers cannot compete with all the enlightened ideas shared by experts on YouTube

The truth is we can’t do that. Ministers cannot compete with all the enlightened ideas shared by experts on YouTube. We cannot pull at heartwarming stories that capture the imagination every single week in ways that rival what’s online. But is any of that really what a sermon is supposed to be? What are you supposed to take from this 30 minutes you come and spend every Sunday listening to a minister? I admit, I cannot hit home runs out of the park every single at-bat. No baseball player can do that. Sure, it’s great entertainment when a baseball game ends with a bottom of the 9th grand slam walk-off home run. But the truth is that most baseball games are won, not by dramatic home rums, but by consistent team play. A single, taking a walk, laying down the bunt to advance the runners, sac-fly so the tag-up can score. It’s the regular consistent execution of the little things that make the difference to win the game.

consistent pattern of working through the little things that collectively make the difference in life

And maybe this is where the weekly sermon within the worship service enters your life. It’s not about the one-off grand slam home run; it’s about a consistent pattern of working through the little things that collectively make the difference in life. Consider with me today what the wisdom writer in Ecclesiastes has to say about the pattern of life as we experience it.

Ecclesiastes 1:1–10 NIV

1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: 2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.” 3 What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? 4 Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. 5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. 6 The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. 7 All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. 8 All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. 9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. 10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

Hebrew hebel “meaningless” = momentary, fleeting, breath, insignificant

The wisdom writer of Ecclesiastes begins his reflections on wisdom by focusing on the pattern and rhythm of life. I have noted other times when looking at Ecclesiastes that the Hebrew word hebel which the NIV translates as “meaningless” carries a deeper nuance. Maybe you have heard it in the old King James as “vanity.” The word hebel literally means breath. But it particularly references something which is momentary, insignificant, and does not produce any lasting impact. I prefer the English word “momentary” as a better translation of the Hebrew hebel. What the wisdom writer is telling us is that our lives are here for such a brief and fleeting moment compared to extended rhythm and pattern of God’s creation.

Hebrew yagea “wearisome” = full of work, keeps on working

There’s another Hebrew word in this passage that I think the NIV translators get wrong. Verse 8 says that “all things are wearisome, more than one can say.” The Hebrew word yagea shows up in your Bible as wearisome. It literally means “full of work.” Sometimes this can mean weary as in tired or worn out. But in the context of Ecclesiastes 1 yagea means “full of work” in a way which more correctly means ‘keeps on working’ or ‘keeps on going’ — which is exactly the point that Solomon is making in these verses. The point is that God’s created world has a rhythm and pattern that just keeps on going and going, and our existence in that rhythm is just a fleeting moment which passes by.

you are I were made to exist in this same pattern and rhythm of the created world

Keep following me on this now. God made a world which keeps spinning in a rhythm and pattern which God created and put in place and set in motion. You and I are part of God’s creation; we were formed and given life by God. Which means that you are I—as part of God’s creation—were made to exist in this same pattern and rhythm of the created world. The philosophical and spiritual quest that the wisdom writing is searching for in Ecclesiastes is one of finding our right and true place in the rhythm and pattern of God’s created world—even if our lives count as just a brief moment within this rhythm of creation.

part of us that knows the value and benefit of rhythm and pattern even if we don’t necessarily like it or accept it

I think there is part of us that knows the value and benefit of rhythm and pattern even if we don’t necessarily like it or accept it. Think of it this way. My doctor tells me that I would be healthier by dropping a few pounds off my weight. So I go home that day and instead of a burger and fries for lunch I have a salad; but just one time for one lunch on one day. At the end of the week I can’t believe it; I did not lose even a single pound this week even though I had a salad for lunch once. And along with that I need to get in a little better physical shape. So there is one day when I do five sit ups. And the next day I get up and wonder to myself, so where are those six-pack ab muscles I am supposed to have now because I did five sit ups yesterday. Shouldn’t I be all ripped now because I ate one salad and did five sit ups?

collective effect of these patterns and rhythms which taken all together over time build up to produce the result we are seeking

It sounds ridiculous, but we try looking for exactly that, don’t we? There are weight loss surgeries and steroid supplements which promise instant results. We look for the immediate grand slam home run without having to work through the pattern and rhythm of consistent healthy diet and regular routine of exercise. Yet eventually we all need to admit that the only way physically healthy bodies can be maintained is by a consistent pattern and rhythm of healthy eating and physical exercise. You cannot point to one salad that made all the difference. There was not one sit up that changed everything. Instead, is the collective effect of these patterns and rhythms which taken all together over time build up to produce the result we are seeking.

Solomon is telling us in Ecclesiastes that our spiritual lives fit together within this same pattern and rhythm. Yet somehow we cannot seem to help looking for the huge one-off home run experience instead of the day-to-day rhythm and pattern of consistent discipleship. Even the apostle Paul, who experienced a dramatic turning event encountering Jesus on the Damascus road went on to live a life of engaged discipleship within a pattern and rhythm of growing in faith along with other believers.

God created our souls to find flourishing life within a consistent repeated pattern and rhythm

There is no one prayer that will place your spiritual life right where it needs to be and you will never need to say another prayer again. There is no one sermon which will, all by itself, provide a gospel preaching that perfectly shapes a life of discipleship based on that one sermon alone. But, again, we don’t like that, do we? We prefer something which we only have to do once and brings the promise of instant results. To that, Solomon reminds us, the world does not work that way. The world was created by God with a consistent repeated pattern and rhythm. And God created our souls to find flourishing life within that consistent repeated pattern and rhythm.

this thing we do in worship each week of showing up and listening to minister preach a sermon is not meant to stand on its own as a single message

So, let me say this. Whether you are listening to me preach a sermon or some other minister preach a sermon; don’t look for the one-off home run which wins the game all by itself. There may be sermons in which you do not learn any fascinating and enlightening new insights. There may be sermons which don’t present any immediate take away applications you can begin to set in motion in your life right now today. But all of that is okay because this thing we do in worship each week of showing up and listening to minister preach a sermon is not meant to stand on its own as a single message.

the collective effect of engaging a pattern and rhythm of sermons consistently taken in over time is what make a difference

Instead of walking away from a sermon and asking yourself, “what did I get from this sermon today?” Ask yourself, “how does this sermon today fit in the rhythm of sermons I consistently hear over time?”

It is the collective effect of engaging a pattern and rhythm of sermons consistently taken in over time which make a difference. The sermon you hear this week, when placed along side of a consistent rhythm of sermons you heard last week and the week before and the week before; and the sermons coming next week and the week after and the week after—those all add up to form a pattern and rhythm of consistent discipleship. Instead of walking away from a sermon and asking yourself, “what did I get from this sermon today?” Ask yourself, “how does this sermon today fit in the rhythm of sermons I consistently hear over time?” You see, that moves us away from the one-salad-and-five-sit-ups approach to spiritual health. It allows us to see our souls within the larger pattern and rhythm of consistent discipleship.

“how does this sermon today fit in the rhythm of sermons I consistently hear over time?”

Can I clue you into something else about sermons? It comes in verse 10.

Ecclesiastes 1:10 NIV

10 Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time.

You should know that in all these sermons I preach week after week, I don’t ever come up with any of these ideas completely by myself. During the week I spend hours digging into biblical commentaries and articles on the passage for the week. And those commentaries are also filled with footnotes and citations from other authors. Whatever I stand up here and say on a Sunday morning, someone else has certainly said before. The gospel message is 2000 years old and the message has not changed. The world into which we receive and apply the gospel is always changing, but the gospel message itself has remained the same. When I get up here on Sunday, I am never telling you anything new.

if all this gospel sermon stuff is repeated information that has already been said over and over again, why keep showing up to hear it over and over?

because the sermon is not a one-off event meant to make a difference alone by itself

because the cumulative effect of hearing the gospel preached over and over again anchors you in a rhythm of grace which nurtures your soul so God’s redemptive work may flourish in your life

So, what good is it then? If all this gospel sermon stuff is repeated information that has already been said over and over again, why keep showing up to hear it over and over? We have already partially answered this question; because this sermon is not a one-off event, it is not a salad and a sit up that can make any difference alone by itself. You have heard the gospel before, but there is a collective effect in the consistent repeated pattern and rhythm of hearing the gospel again and again. Let’s close today by considering what that repeated collective effect is like.

how to read the Bible | what is the problem? - how does God show up?

Jesus comes and redeems his people by grace in order to draw us into a pattern and rhythm of grace-filled discipleship

Do you remember a few weeks ago when we talked about how to read the Bible, I left us with two questions we should always ask of every passage in scripture. First: what is the problem? (How does the passage show the brokenness of sin in our world?) and second: how does God show up? (What does God do about the brokenness in our world?) Ecclesiastes is a tough book of the Bible to figure out; this may not be immediately evident at first glance. What is the problem being expressed in today’s passage? It comes right at the beginning. We were created by God intended to live with him forever. But because of our broken sinfulness, our lives have become a momentary blip on the radar; we are a breath that is here today and gone tomorrow with little or no lasting impact. Our days add up to exactly zero. Now then, how does God show up in this passage from Ecclesiastes? God shows up as the creator of a world in which he has placed a faithful and reliable pattern and rhythm. God creates each one of us to live within and be a part of that pattern and rhythm of life. Now I’ll step a bit outside of this particular passage to fill in the blanks. Jesus comes and redeems his people by grace in order to draw us into a pattern and rhythm of grace-filled discipleship.

Last week we talked about holiness and the grammar of Hebrews 10, that we have already been made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus once and for all, but the effects of that holiness continue to be ongoing into the present. The grace of Jesus became incarnate and manifest for us once for all on the cross. But the effects of that grace continue to be manifest in the lives of those who are redeemed by Jesus.

the very grace which saved us is a grace which also becomes a rhythm and pattern continually taking shape in our lives

In other words, the very grace which saved us is a grace which also becomes a rhythm and pattern continually taking shape in our lives because of Jesus and through Jesus. Grace is not only the expression of God’s love which saves us, grace is also pattern in which we continue to live. Jesus has brought our very lives into a rhythm of grace. Yet, in this world of broken sinfulness which tears at us every day, we need regular repeated reminders of that rhythm of grace in our lives. Our souls need a pattern of being continually grounded in the new life and new identity we have been given in Jesus.

you do not have to keep living in a rhythm of revenge and control, that you have now been given a new rhythm by which to live—a rhythm of grace and forgiveness which bears the fruit of holiness

We leave this place and go out into a world which tries to tell us over and over again that you are not good enough, that you mess up and fall short, that your only recourse is to seek revenge before others take revenge on you, to seize control before others take control of you. Out of that world, Jesus called you and redeemed you and set before you rhythm of grace. We come here each week and hear that gospel story again because it grounds us firmly on the foundation of truth, that you are loved by God just the way you are—shortcomings and all, that you are forgiven by God because of Jesus, that you do not have to keep living in a rhythm of revenge and control, that you have now been given a new rhythm by which to live—a rhythm of grace and forgiveness which bears the fruit of holiness.

I took a day off this week to go see a baseball game in Chicago. I still follow the Colorado Rockies. Did you know that the Rockies are leading all of Major League Baseball in home wins this year; their record at Coors Field in Denver is 43-22. 12 of those games have been walk-off wins in the bottom of the ninth inning, also leading all of Major League Baseball (9 of them have been walk-off home runs). The game I went to this week the Rockies lost to the Cubs at Wrigley. Unfortunately the Rockies are also leading all of Major League Baseball in road losses this year: 15-47. They’re not going to make it to the post-season with an overall record is 58-69. Walk-off wins are fun and exciting games to watch, but they don’t get you to the World Series. A consistent pattern of doing all the little things right day-after-day, game-after-game, inning-after-inning; that’s the rhythm which will win games and get you to the World Series.

Why do you come listen to a sermon week after week? Because the cumulative effect of hearing the gospel preached over and over again anchors you in a rhythm of grace which nurtures your soul so God’s redemptive work may flourish in your life.