Tips for Getting the Most Out of Sermons…
I’m super excited about working through the first ten chapters of Genesis with you guys! I’m just beginning to realize how rich it’s going to be as I start into my studies!!
Some tips for getting the most out of our time (I didn’t come up with them, just compiling):
– Take notes. I’m going to get a bunch of title company notepads and pens to have available! There’s a proven connection between jotting down notes (whether or not you ever revisit them) and retention.
– Ask questions. Either during the time for questions after the sermon, or later on during the meal (or after), make sure to bring up any questions!
– Bring up conversation afterwards/during potluck/throughout the week. During the meal is a great time to bring up discussion about the sermon/passage with other brothers and sisters. This helps everyone to grow and take the word seriously.
– Recap as a family. A good practice is to ask your spouse and children on the way home or that evening about what they got out of the sermon. Dads and moms can paraphrase the message in simpler terms for little ones. Don’t give up; at first you WON’T get much feedback from little people. In the meantime, you’re priming them to take the sermon seriously and be ready with thoughts in the future.
– Read the passage. DO NOT rely on the Sunday sermon alone. This is a group effort, and in order to get the most out of our time together, it’s helpful to include the passage in your reading during the week. Dive into any commentaries and devotionals you can get your hands on. Listen to SermonAudio sermons. Study the passage. Be familiar with the passage BEFORE Sunday.
– Discuss application. As couples and families, take the application seriously, both that suggested by the pastor, as well any that you can come up with. Ask questions like, “How do we start to apply this?,” “How will things change as a result?,” “What’s the plan for application?”
I know there’s going to be a tendency to write these steps off as “too much.” But first, I’d ask that you consider that for the most part, these activities don’t take much, if any additional time. It’s more a matter of reorganizing time (like conversation on the way home), or things you are (hopefully) already doing (like scripture reading). If we’re going to take corporate worship seriously, and the preaching of the word in the local church as seriously as we find in scripture (1 Timothy 4:13-16 & 2 Timothy 4:1-5), we should get the most out of that time to the glory of God!
Tait Zimmerman, Pastor Valley Fellowship
