Seven ingredients for healthy sermon listening.
Why on earth does anyone need a guide on how to listen to sermons? Don't we simply need to 'be there' and stay awake? Yet Jesus said: 'Consider carefully how you listen.' The fact is, much more is involved in truly listening to Bible teaching than just sitting and staring at the preacher.
Christopher Ash outlines seven ingredients for healthy listening. He then deals with how to respond to bad sermons - ones that are dull, or inadequate, or heretical. And finally, he challenges us with ideas for helping and encouraging our Bible teachers to give sermons that will really help us to grow as Christians.
• Where does the authority of a Bible teacher come from?
• Why is Bible teaching offensive?
• Why is it important to hear Bible teaching in church?
• How can we actually enjoy Bible teaching more?
These (and more) are the questions answered by this practical guide, which includes effective, hands-on suggestions for implementing each idea. All with the aim of helping us learn how to listen properly, so that through His word, God will make us more and more Christ like.
'We give Listen Up to all our new members' - Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church
This title is available in braille, large print or on DAISY audio CD by contacting Torch Trust's Client Services team on 01858 438260.
“Listen Up!”
This booklet is so helpful! I have recommended it to my church elders, and friends. Now I wish there was a book which went into more detail, explaining the bits that the author has been too brief with, aimed at the people, like me, with no theological training. I have written out some of the points made and I refer to them when I am listening to sermons and taking notes. Preachers definitely need to read this, and learn from it too.
“I wish everyone who listens to me preach would read this booklet”
This booklet is colorful, the artwork is entertaining and the layout is engaging. However, the content is better yet. The Director of the Cornhill Training Course in London, England, Christopher Ash has done congregations and preachers a great service. I am making them available for free to my listeners.
Each of the seven sections starts by introducing us to two different listeners and their approach to listening and why one profits from the sermon and why the other doesn’t. Each of the seven concludes with practical steps to take. In between is very good advice on listening. This advice is also good for the preacher to remember as he prepares his sermon.
Ash’s counsel is solidly based on the belief that the Bible is the Word of God. “However, when the Bible is faithfully opened up, we are to listen to the preacher’s voice as the voice of God Himself. The preacher stands in the great tradition of prophets and apostles who spoke the word of God” (p 4). He makes it clear that the preacher’s authority is borrowed and it is only as the preacher sticks to the truth of the text that he should be taken seriously. He advises the listeners to constantly ask themselves “where did the preacher get that from?” (p 10). He insightfully spells out why sermons should be listened to in person at church. He cautions against a steady diet of “celebrity preachers” (p 18).
The booklet concludes with advice on how to listen to bad sermons and suggestions for encouraging good preaching. Both preacher and listener will benefit from this booklet.
