How to Listen to a Sermon

There is some danger in a pastor recommending guidelines on how to listen to a sermon. Is he trying to avoid criticism or, worse, setting an agenda for the congregation to follow? I believe these are valid concerns but not so weighty that they should overthrow good counsel from a godly Puritan!

The following statements were originally written by Christopher Love (1618-1651). Pastor Shane Lems of the Sunnyside URC posted these “seven practical directions for listening to the preaching of the gospel”.

1) Take heed that you hear the Word of God preparedly. As the preacher must take care to find acceptable words, so the people should labor to bring acceptable affections to the work - when we come to the service of God we should hear with all attention and pray with affection.

2) Hear the Word attentively, as those did in Acts 8.6. Those who hear the Word with gazing eyes, wandering thoughts, and sleepy bodies cannot hear it attentively, but are to be reproved.

3) Hear the Word of God retentively. Labor to keep in your memory what you hear, that you may put it into practice for your life. Hearing is for practice’s sake. This also has to do with treasuring the Word, so it will have a continual impression upon your hearts.

4) Hear the Word understandingly. Christ called the multitude and bade them hear and understand. This is what the Bereans did.

5) Hear the Word applicatively. If a patient has never such excellent counsel given him, never so powerful a medicine prescribed, if he does not apply it, it will do him no more good than if he had never known it.

6) Hear the Word of God reverentially. Many people represent God to themselves in such familiar notions that they ultimately breed a contempt of God which we ought not to have. We must demean ourselves with a humble reverence in His presence.

7) Hear the Word of God obediently. Come…ready, prepared, and disposed to stoop and submit to all the instructions, corrections, and reproofs of the Word of God, like those spoken of in Acts 10.33.

To see the original post click here.

Official URC website

After many years of planning and work, our federation now has an official website. Click here.

Please note that the site is still being updated. For example if you look at Grace’s entry under the church directory you will find some errors. Hopefully this will be changed/updated in the next few months.

Another Review of ‘Expelled’

This time from a Reformed pastor. Click here.

HT: The Heidelblog

Just a Thought

As I was preparing for tonight’s sermon on the Ascension of Christ I came across an interesting thought from J.A. Alexander’s commentary on Acts (which is an excellent commentary by the way - it is part of the Geneva Series of Commentaries published by the Banner of Truth).

Many commentators state that the “two men” of Acts 1:10 are angels, which of course, is a fair assumption to make. However, Mr. Alexander tells us:

a still more striking supposition, which I owe to the suggestion of a friend, is that these two men were Moses and Elijah, who had been present at the transfiguration, and there talked with Jesus of his exodus about to be accomplished at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31.) There is something sublime in the idea, that the great prophetic Legislator and Reformer, who had come from heaven to be present at the momentary anticipation of the Mediator’s glory, now appeared again as witnesses of his departure to take final and perpetual possession of it.”

He notes that this should be regarded as mere conjecture but I believe it to be worthy of some meditation.

This Lord’s Day

We welcome Rev. Reuben Bredenhof of the St. Albert Canadian Reformed Church to our pulpit. This is one of three pulpit exchanges with the Canadian Reformed Church that I will be involved with this year.

Why Should I Read My Bible?

I was reading R.C. Sproul’s book “Knowing Scripture” recently and came across a quote from Jonathan Edwards.

“The devil would never attempt to beget in persons a regard to that divine word which God has given to be the great and standing rule… Would the spirit of error, in order to deceive men, beget in them a high opinion of the infallible rule, and incline them to think much of it, and be very conversant with it?… The devil has ever shown a mortal spite and hatred towards that holy book the Bible: he has done all in his power to extinguish that light…. He is engaged againstthe Bible, and hates every word in it.” (Cited from Distinguishing Marks of a Work of the Spirit of God)

This is rather clear in light of Satan’s twisting and misuse of scripture at Jesus’ temptation. (see Luke 4:9-11) Something to think about and act on!

“Expelled”

The documentary “Expelled”, which we mentioned before, has come out in America. So far I have had no success tracking down when it is supposed to be released here in Canada.

The movie has already been creating a lot of controversy; hopefully it will begin a very helpful discussion in homes, schools and government circles. Read this link for an intelligent review from a Christian who really enjoyed it.

Please remember though, as the review points out, that Mr. Stein is not a Christian or a creationist. This movie does not set out so much to prove Darwinism wrong (though apparently it deals with that subject as well) as it facilitates discussion about academic freedom and the pervasive and domineering influence of Darwinism in science today.

This Lord’s Day

We welcome Rev. Ralph Pontier to our pulpit. Rev. Pontier was recently installed as minister of Immanuel URC (Neerlandia) and is originally from Orange City, Iowa. Welcome!

Interview with Ben Stein

R.C. Sproul interviews Ben Stein about intelligent design here. Ben Stein has produced a movie titled ‘Expelled’ that will be out in April. We mentioned it earlier on our blog.

Please note the important caveat on the Ligonier site:

It is important to note that during this free exchange of ideas, not all of the opinions expressed by Mr. Stein in the interview are the views of Ligonier Ministries. Christians should recognize that the argument from design does not necessarily prove the Genesis view of creation.

Having said that, enjoy!

*HT: The Heidelblog

Updates

Our Good Friday sermon has been uploaded as well as our liturgy for our Sunday services.