# Books on hearing profitably



## Peter (Feb 9, 2006)

Can anyone recommend books, articles, or sermons on instructions for listening to sermons?

Thanks.


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## Contra_Mundum (Feb 9, 2006)

Jay E. Adams, _What To Do on Thursday_

I think he also wrote a book called How to Listen to a Sermon, or something like that...

[Edited on 2-9-2006 by Contra_Mundum]

OK, here it is:
_A Consumer's Guide to Preaching: How to Get the Most out of a Sermon,_ USA: Scripture Press, 1991, 160 pp.
Preaching. CE. 
"Among all the books on preaching, here is one that turns the tables and deals with how to listen, not how to preach: "The Scriptures themselves say more about the listener's responsibility to hear, understand, and implement the message than about the preacher's obligation to faithfully preach it." Gives practical advice on how to discover God's message to you in what is preached. Closes with 31 one page "sermon slices" on which to sharpen your listening skills."

[Edited on 2-9-2006 by Contra_Mundum]


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## rmwilliamsjr (Feb 9, 2006)

from:
http://www.lifeaction.org/articles/viewarticle.asp?id=11212295

Spirit of Revival, 12/1/1999
How to Listen to a Sermon
George Whitefield
Preaching


Keys for getting the most out of what the preacher says


Jesus said, "Therefore consider carefully how you listen" (Luke 8:18).
Here are some cautions and directions, in order to help you hear
sermons with profit and advantage.

1. Come to hear them, not out of curiosity, but from a sincere desire
to know and do your duty. To enter His house merely to have our ears
entertained, and not our hearts reformed, must certainly be highly
displeasing to the Most High God, as well as unprofitable to ourselves.

2. Give diligent heed to the things that are spoken from the Word of
God. If an earthly king were to issue a royal proclamation, and the
life or death of his subjects entirely depended on performing or not
performing its conditions, how eager would they be to hear what those
conditions were! And shall we not pay the same respect to the King of
kings, and Lord of lords, and lend an attentive ear to His ministers,
when they are declaring, in His name, how our pardon, peace, and
happiness may be secured?

3. Do not entertain even the least prejudice against the minister.
That was the reason Jesus Christ Himself could not do many mighty
works, nor preach to any great effect among those of His own country;
for they were offended at Him. Take heed therefore, and beware of
entertaining any dislike against those whom the Holy Ghost has made
overseers over you.

Consider that the clergy are men of like passions with yourselves. And
though we should even hear a person teaching others to do what he has
not learned himself, yet that is no reason for rejecting his doctrine.
For ministers speak not in their own, but in Christ's name. And we
know who commanded the people to do whatever the scribes and Pharisees
should say unto them, even though they did not do themselves what they
said (see Matt. 23:1-3).

4. Be careful not to depend too much on a preacher, or think more
highly of him than you ought to think. Preferring one teacher over
another has often been of ill consequence to the church of God. It was
a fault which the great Apostle of the Gentiles condemned in the
Corinthians: "For whereas one said, I am of Paul; another, I am of
Apollos: are you not carnal, says he? For who is Paul, and who is
Apollos, but instruments in God's hands by whom you believed?" (1 Cor.
1:12; 2:3-5).

Are not all ministers sent forth to be ministering ambassadors to
those who shall be heirs of salvation? And are they not all therefore
greatly to be esteemed for their work's sake?

5. Make particular application to your own hearts of everything that
is delivered. When our Savior was discoursing at the last supper with
His beloved disciples and foretold that one of them should betray Him,
each of them immediately applied it to his own heart and said, "Lord,
is it I?" (Matt. 26:22).

Oh, that persons, in like manner, when preachers are dissuading from
any sin or persuading to any duty, instead of crying, "This was
intended for such and such a one!" instead would turn their thoughts
inwardly, and say, "Lord, is it I?" How far more beneficial should we
find discourses to be than now they generally are!

6. Pray to the Lord, before, during, and after every sermon, to endue
the minister with power to speak, and to grant you a will and ability
to put into practice what he shall show from the Book of God to be
your duty.

No doubt it was this consideration that made St. Paul so earnestly
entreat his beloved Ephesians to intercede with God for him: "Praying
always, with all manner of prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
for me also, that I may open my mouth with boldness, to make known the
mysteries of the gospel" (Eph. 6:19-20). And if so great an apostle as
St. Paul needed the prayers of his people, much more do those
ministers who have only the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit.

If only all who hear me this day would seriously apply their hearts to
practice what has now been told them! How ministers would see Satan,
like lightning, fall from heaven, and people find the Word preached
sharper than a two-edged sword and mighty, through God, to the pulling
down of the devil's strongholds!

This excerpt is adapted from Sermon 28 from The Works of the Reverend
George Whitefield. Published by E. and C. Dilly, 1771-1772, London.
George Whitefield (1714-1770) was a British Methodist evangelist whose
powerful sermons fanned the flames of the First Great Awakening in the
American colonies.


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## rmwilliamsjr (Feb 9, 2006)

this is from:
http://www.crcny.cc/sermons/your_pastor_sermons.htm
i've not seen better....


10 Ways to change your Pastor Sermons





Week after week Pastor's pray to GOD that they will get a sermon or
message that will move, inspire, educate and sometimes chastise the
listeners....praying that the Holy Spirit will use it to make them
more effective Christians.

"They need your help"

The quality of a sermon doesn't depend upon the Pastor alone. Here's
what you can do to improve your Pastor's skills. This also can apply
in someway to Cell Groups, Bible Studies, Sunday School, Evangelists,
Etc....

So let's change our Pastor's Sermon's:

1. Prepare yourself to listen carefully. Pay attention to the
Scripture lessons read during worship--they are usually the basis for
the sermon. Meditate on the theme of the day. Read the lessons before
you go to church and listen to how they speak to you. Frame some
questions that come to mind.
2. Pray for your pastor and for your understanding. Ask God to
speak to you through the entire worship service. You should not listen
to a sermon with the frame of mind used when listening to a political
speech.
3. Expect something to happen. God promises that the word will
produce fruit. If you "turn off"--because you feel down or last
Sunday's sermon wasn't great--you struggle against rather than with
God's word.
4. Learn to focus. Concentrate intently on what you are hearing
from the pulpit rather than on the fidgeting children or the mountain
scenery on the bulletin. Try to understand how your pastor constructs
sermons or uses anecdotes and literary allusions.
5. Think about how to apply the message. Ask yourself: "Did that
ever happen to me or someone I know? How can this Scripture and sermon
lead me?" Write down key words and carry them with you through the week.
6. See that your pastor has the time needed to prepare. Make sure
your congregation's budget includes money for books and advanced
courses necessary to keep your pastor's intellect sharp. If the
preacher is stimulated and well-equipped to navigate the mysteries of
faith, sermons will be better.
7. Ask questions if you don't understand. Some congregations have
sermon discussion groups (see page 12). Most pastors love when people
ask questions. It means they were listening. And it's all right to
disagree as long as you keep the disagreement civil and helpful.
8. Remember not all sermons are winners for every listener. On a
particular day, the message might not be effective or relate to your
concerns. The sermon that touched you two weeks ago may have sounded
obscure to others. If too many sermons are ineffective, talk to
congregational leaders about providing the pastor an opportunity for
refresher courses.
9. Ask that printed copies of some "special" sermons be provided.
Holiday sermons, for example, might be provided for the congregation
after the service. The preacher is flattered, and people get a chance
to read and reflect upon what was said.
10. Tell the pastor when you think a sermon was good and explain
why. Encouraging words or notes are always welcome. Preaching, like
all communication, is a cooperative activity.

And finally, it's not a good idea to tell pastors the "dull sermon
jokes" you heard last week. There may be as many jokes about preaching
as there are about lawyers, dumb blondes and talking animals that walk
into taverns. Pastors usually bear the levity cast at their profession
with a forgiving heart, though it's difficult to hear your work
ridiculed. It's not that they would be offended, but they probably
heard it years ago.

And preaching is difficult work. So the next time you want to talk
about or diminish his Sermon's think about this.....

"He has been called by GOD to do this work, he is a spokes person for
Jesus"








i send these as new members sign up for our church's sermon discussion group.


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## Peter (Feb 9, 2006)

Excellent, thanks. This is exactly what I was looking for. I hope now Rev Bruce's book will provide details.

What is your personal practice before and after hearing a sermon? What is your goal in sermon hearing? And what do you find helpful towards that aim?


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## Peter (Feb 10, 2006)

I haven't been able to find Bruce's book. I was surprised to have such difficulty finding books on this topic as the reformation and post-reformation so stressed the power of preaching, & especially since in the puritan era there was such a proliferation of practical books. In general, this is what I do: I ask God for a blessing from the sermon in specific terms. Sometimes I take notes, I think this harms my concentration. Alot of the time I meditate on the sermon after I get home. I should do this all the time.

[Edited on 2-11-2006 by Peter]


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## rmwilliamsjr (Feb 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Contra_Mundum_
> Jay E. Adams, _What To Do on Thursday_
> 
> I think he also wrote a book called How to Listen to a Sermon, or something like that...
> ...



i ordered J.Adam's _Consumer's Guide to Preaching_ because of this posting and it is excellent. thank you very much.


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## Peter (Feb 20, 2006)

Richard, where did you find it? I just ordered mine used Amazon for ~$5


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## rmwilliamsjr (Feb 20, 2006)

> _Originally posted by Peter_
> Richard, where did you find it? I just ordered mine used Amazon for ~$5



i have a regular route for getting books.
first-look at amazon, read the reviews, add book to my shopping cart, used if less than $3 from new. this preserves the recommendations i might get from anywhere.

second-run isbn through bookhq to be sure this is the lowest price.

third-be real nice to the wife, after all she is the one paying for it, i don't work. this stops about 1/2 of the book buying.

fourth-then run the titles through both our local public library and university library search engines. i have to borrow before i can justify buying. i hope to get our church's library with a decent search engine soon.

fifth-then sit on the shopping cart for a week.

sixth-then use my church's amazon portal to actually order the books, gives the church 5% of the price. a hint, you must remove the book from your shopping cart and add back to it with the portal to get credit. i use two different browsers to pull off this little trick. portal doesn't get credit if book is currently in either part of the shopping car. the portal means about 250$/year to the church in book gift certificates at no extra cost to buyers. i recommend everyone set one up, in fact, there ought to be one here at puritanboards. or maybe i just missed it *grin* i haven't seen the whole thing, i'm sure. i use the church's portal for a .sig on my email.

so, i too, bought J.Adam's book used from amazon.
however it is not always the cheapest, for instance, i bought _the word is worth a thousand pictures_ directly from the author. and often the used price is within a few dollars of the used, and used price includes shipping additionally.


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## Peter (Feb 20, 2006)

When Bruce 1st posted that I had difficulty finding the book. I must have forgot Amazon. I know I spend too much on books, half of which I never read. 

FYI, I found an sermon online by Boston on Luke 8:18, "Take heed how ye hear". It's awesome! It's located somewhere in Boston's commentary on the WSC at this page: http://www3.sympatico.ca/d.d.s/faith.html also you can find it on Sermonaudio.

I also ordered a short booklet by Beeke on sermon listening.

[Edited on 2-20-2006 by Peter]


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