Have you been to church today? If so you probably heard a sermon. Do you remember what the sermon was about? What do you think God was saying to you through the sermon?

It’s easy to listen to the sermon each Sunday and yet completely forget what it was about come Monday morning or dare I say even by Sunday afternoon! Tim Challies has posted a very good article on his website today entitled “Consider how you listen” in which he lists six things we should seriously consider whilst listening to the sermon.

I was particularly struck by the second point he makes which reads:

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?

This has never really occurred to me before whilst listening to a sermon. In my head I know that the sermon is the minister bringing God’s word to us but I’ve often not shown the same respect to it as I should. I think that if I listened like that my life might benefit!