Prepare to Hear God’s Word

How can you best prepare to hear God’s word on the Lord’s Day? Here are four suggestions:

1. Throughout the week, meditate on the passage that will be preached on Sunday. Pray for your pastor as he prepares his sermon. Take notes on the text. Ask questions of the text. Pray through the text.
2. Prepare for Sunday morning. On Saturday night or Sunday morning, pray for your upcoming opportunity to hear God’s Word preached. Pray that your heart would be soft and humble before it.
3. Talk and pray about the sermon with friends after church. Start conversations at lunch by asking, “How did the Scripture challenge or speak to you today?” Encourage others by sharing what you learned about God and his Word during the sermon. Talk to others about how you can specifically apply what you learned in the week ahead.
4. Meditate and act on the sermon you heard throughout the week. Don’t let the Sunday sermon become a one-time event that fades from memory as soon as it is over (James 1:22-25). Review your sermon notes with friends or family. Choose one or two applications from the Scripture and prayerfully put them into practice over the coming week.

(Some of this material has been adapted from Thabiti Anyabwile’s book What is a Healthy Church Member?, 22-25)