Although some may disagree, preaching is hard work. However, having sat for many years where you sit I know that being an active listener is hard as well. George Whitefield, possibly the greatest preacher of the 18th century, offers this timely advice on how to the get most out of a sermon. I offer it here, not because I myself am worth listening to, but because inasmuch as the Gospel is preached on Sunday mornings there is something there for you. It’s easy to get sidetracked on the person of the minister (mannerisms, entertainment value, etc.) rather that being focused on the message. Read and enjoy Sunday morning more!

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.

Several people have asked me about the upcoming class Building 412: Transformed Power.  Let me try to give you a brief overview of what we’ll be learning.

First of all, Building 412 is the name of our discipleship ministry at the Vineyard (you didn’t know it had a name, did you).  Technically, any of the classes we did this summer could have had the Building 412 on the front of them.  The name comes from Ephesians 4:12 where Paul talks about the church being equipped for works of service and ministry.

In Transformed Power we will specifically look at the most mysterious person of the Trinity – God the Holy Spirit.  He is mentioned in the very first chapter of the Bible (Gen 1:2) and in the very last chapter of the Bible (Revelation 22:17), and He fills most of the chapters in between either directly or indirectly.  His coming was promised in the Old Testament and was fulfilled in the New Testament.  He is prominent throughout Scripture and yet still very misunderstood.

In this class we will discover who He is – an eternally existent person who can be known, who loves, and who can be grieved.  We’ll learn what He does today – that He is still active in His church and that He is primarily involved in making us into the image of Jesus.  And we’ll see how we can be fully empowered to live a transformed life AND advance God’s Kingdom on earth as we yield to Him (being Spirit-filled).

We are going to do it all: learn, discuss, receive, and practice!  Please sign up at the back of the auditorium (so we can be sure to have enough resources).  Bring your Bible, something to takes notes with, and your curiosity.  Come prepared to be touched!

When: Friday, October 23, 6:30 – 8:30 & Saturday, October 24, 9:00 – 12:00
Where: Church auditorium
Cost: Free

I wanted to take a moment and thank everyone for the prayers, cards, and kind words this past week with the loss of my mother. While her death wasn’t totally unexpected, it still came as somewhat of a surprise with how rapidly she went downhill. I’m still a little numb I think.

Anyway, I can’t express how much your love and support has meant to me during this time. You bless my soul!

As most of you know, I’ve been working two jobs for the past year and half.  By God’s grace I was able to go part-time at my Data-Tronics job back in July.  That move was a huge blessing.  Not only did it allow me to have two days in the church office for sermon prep and counseling, but it (mostly) freed up my evenings so I could actually see my family again!

As we rapidly approach the new year I feel like it’s time to take the next step and become full-time at the Vineyard.  Over the last year and half I feel like God has confirmed my calling through Julie, my elders, and through your supportive comments.  My heart is completely at the Vineyard – I feel I need to get the rest of me there!

In order for this to happen there are a few things I am asking you to pray about:

1. Continued confirmation from God that this is the right move at the right time.
2. That the church’s tithes and offerings will continue to increase so that my full-time salary won’t be a financial burden to the church and our internal ministries and external ministry support won’t be impacted.
3. Spiritual protection from depression and frustration.  When things don’t happen as I think they should or as fast as I want I become an easy target to Satanic attack.
4. Wisdom in leading the Vineyard to the next place of kingdom fruitfulness.

I appreciate your prayers, your support, and your wise counsel.  I look forward to serving Jesus with you!