Listen Up! A Practical Guide to Listening to Sermons

by Christopher Ash

Why on earth does anyone need a guide on how to listen to sermons? Don't we simply need to 'be there' and stay awake? Yet Jesus said: 'Consider carefully how you listen.' The fact is, much more is involved in truly listening to Bible teaching than just sitting and staring at the preacher.

Christopher Ash outlines seven ingredients for healthy listening. He then deals with how to respond to bad sermons - ones that are dull, or inadequate, or heretical. And finally, he challenges us with ideas for helping and encouraging our Bible teachers to give sermons that will really help us to grow as Christians.

> Where does the authority of a Bible teacher come from?
> Why is Bible teaching offensive?
> Why is it important to hear Bible teaching in church?
> How can we actually enjoy Bible teaching more?

These (and more) are the questions answered by this practical guide, which includes effective, hands-on suggestions for implementing each idea. All with the aim of helping us learn how to listen properly, so that through His word, God will make us more and more Christ like.

Genres: Christian, Christian Living, Church, Theology, Discipleship, Nonfiction, How To

30 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Christopher Ash works for the Proclamation Trust in London as director of the Cornhill Training Course. He is also writer in residence at Tyndale House in Cambridge, and is the author of several books, including Out of the Storm: Grappling with God in the Book of Job and Teaching Romans. He is married to Carolyn and they have three sons and one daughter.

Reviews

[Jeremy Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many years ago, I was trying to decide which juicer I wanted to buy. When you put a piece of fruit through a juicer, you want to get the most amount of juice from it and discard the least amount of it with the pulp. The difference between cheap juicers and the more expensive ones is generally how much juice they can squeeze out.

I feel like this book has the same purpose as an expensive juicer. It is an investment in time to upgrade your ability to squeeze more benefit out from the sermons you hear. As Christians, we listen to a lot of sermons. In fact, we're committed to hearing the word of God preached for the rest of our lives. So, it makes sense to spend a bit of time learning how to do this better.

Ideally, this booklet would be given to every new member of a church.

[Eric Durso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy and give away. 32 pages long and excellent for new members.

[Ryan Boomershine · Rating 5 out of 5]

(booklet)

Many books have been made about the preparing and presenting of a sermon but has ever one been made for the hearing of one?

This is a very practical and important (and brief) guide to preparing to hearing, listening attentively, and responding appropriately...even if the sermon is hard to hear, boring, or heretical.

The booklet chided me about my own lazy hearing. It prompted me with helpful action points and good reminders of how to ready my heart and direct my attention.

#helpful

[Aaron Beane · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a creative book. We will be giving this out to all new members!

[Salvador Blanco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great resource and a great reminder to read before the Lord's Day.

Favorite quote:

The Bible is not designed to give me a series of instant fixes. It is God's instrument to shape and mould my mind and my character into the likeness of Christ. And that takes time. I need to listen to the Bible passage being preached today, and to turn my heart to God in submission and trust today, not only because I may need that passage today, but because I may need that passage tomorrow. And tomorrow may be too late to learn it (17).

[Zak Mellgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful, 30 page booklet that especially gets at the heart posture we should have when listening to the preaching of God's Word. I'm guessing most of us (myself included) have not spent a lot of time consider how we can best prepare ourselves each week to listen the sermon and how we can best reflect and act on what we've heard. I'm glad this little one-of-a-kind resource exists.

[Ryan Pickwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tremendous little book - no other resources quite like it. I think this is one of those that churches should have several copies of for folks to take and read for free. So instructive on how to listen well to sermons - even bad ones!

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A tremendously helpful guide to help church goers move to actively listening to sermons. Very helpful for preachers to read and consider as well.

[Kenneth Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulous little booklet! Eminently practical. This is very helpful in preparing to listen to sermons as well as responding to sermons.

[Gretchen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read devotionally over a week. Concentrated and thoughtful info instructing congregants about how to best listen to sermons on a week-by-week basis. There is so much to be learned and considered in these pages. I've been sitting in the pew for nearly 50 years and there were paragraphs and pages that I read and learned and grew from as a result.

Highly recommend.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great little book. I read it to my children and it was easy enough for them to understand yet still profound enough for adults. My children loved the stick figure doodles that were on some of the pages.

[John Hanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and wonderful guide, should be seriously taken by church members!

[Jon Pentecost · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just a great, brief introduction to the work of listening to sermons. Ash is simple, clear, and edifying. I gave this to all our members, and plan on getting more soon. I especially appreciated his points on the importance of regularly gathering with a church, and the build-up edification of gathering with the saints repeatedly over time.

[Courtney Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

“To listen humbly is to admit that the Bible is right and I am wrong, that God is God and I need to change.”

I felt this was a very helpful book to think through how I can improve the way I listen to sermons. Only 29 pages, so easy to read quickly!

[Will Pareja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brief and engaging read on a topic not often explored in churches or pastoral theology. I would hand this out to all church leaders, new members, and even naysayers of the sacred monologue. One of cultural, yea human, deficiencies is our inability to listen well, period. This could be a helpful discipleship tool in the life of church. Just start passing it out and see what happens.

For each point, he contrasts how two fictional yet true-to-life people think about and listen to preaching.

One of the best points that flies in the face of an individualistic or 'privatized' faith is #4- "Hear the sermon in church." It's not just enough to hear and respond to God's preached Word individually; it MUST be done in the live audience of fellow journey peeps. This probably would have gotten 5 stars from me if Mr. Ash brought the corporate aspect of listening full circle to his section (at the end) on heretical preaching. Perhaps he doesn't go as far due to the kind of church structure he's steeped in, but I believe a truly godly, truly listening congregation will be tuned in enough not just to close their ears to heretical preaching but expel the source of false teaching, namely the teacher himself. This is just quibbling for a thoroughly helpful read.
While not flashy, it is contemporary in its illustrations and ruggedly biblical.

"Hear, hear!"

[Peter Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was tempted to give this book a five just because there is nothing else like this out there. Ash gives seven ways to effectively listen to a sermon. He then gives advice on how to listen to a dull sermon, a biblically inadequate sermon, and a heretical sermon. Finally, he closes with seven suggestions for encouraging good preaching.

The book strikes a balance between submissively listening to the preacher and yet also thinking through what he says. A reader should leave the book more attentive, but also more obedient to what is preached.

He does not encourage excessive criticism of the preacher, but he does encourage seeing if the Bible says what the preacher is saying.

He does encourage praying for the preachers. How many are critical of the preacher, but refuse to pray for him?

The length is also an advantage. It is only 30 pages. I am finding that my congregation is not used to reading a lot. So it helps to have short booklets to give them. Buying a stack of these booklets and passing them out, especially if your congregation is young, could benefit both preacher and listener.

[Jeremiah von Kühn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small but powerful and practical.

[Danielle Williamson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, short read for the well-churched and the unchurched and everyone in between.

[Jeff Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Adam couldn’t really be doing with sermons. There were a number of things he really liked about church, especially the friends he had made and the music (when the new music group were leading). But not the sermons….They just seemed dull.

“Beth was really looking forward to the sermon….with a sense of eager anticipation. She wondered what God was going to say to her. She felt as if someone had told her to expect a telephone call from the U.S. President….

“Beth was right. And Adam was a fool.”

So begins a very short, easy-to-read, but incredibly powerful and practical booklet by Christopher Ash called “Listen Up! A practical guide to listening to sermons.” The conviction that drives this work is stated up front: “it is good when when people who can read, do read and study the Bible; but it is vital that all people, without exception, hear the Bible preached”. Ash’s aim, then, is to help Christians “‘consider carefully how you listen’ (Luke 8 v 8).”

The main body of the booklet is a series of seven practical helps to sermon listening. I won’t, out of respect for the author, repeat them all here, but I will highlight a couple of points. First, he tells the reader, “Expect God to speak….when the Bible is faithfully opened up, we are to listen to the preacher’s voice as to the voice of God himself….We ought to listen to this kind of sermon with the utmost seriousness.” He makes the (for our podcast generation) timely point that Christians need to “Hear the sermon in church” because “there is no such thing as a ‘virtual’ church” and that, furthermore, this hearing together needs to be a regular, “week by week” occurrence. He stresses the need not only to listen but to “Do what the Bible says,” warning that “We mustn’t expect sermons to entertain us”; not only does he warn that “faithful Bible preaching will always cause offence” but, even more bluntly says “Sometimes I may even feel insulted.”

There are two additional sections that are absolutely invaluable for every Christian, both found at the end. He devotes a fifth of the booklet to “How to listen to bad sermons.” He treats three kinds of bad sermons—the “dull,” the “biblically inadequate,” and the “heretical.” Again, I won’t cover all his content, but I’ll highlight the main points. He makes the needed point that dullness doesn’t remove the responsibility to actively listen for God speaking in the message. He warns both against the danger of listening gullibly and against the (more common in Reformed circles, I fear) opposite and equal danger of developing a critical spirit: “Some of those who listened to the Lord Jesus were ‘waiting to catch him in something he might say’ (Luke 11 v 54).” He gives practical advice on how to lovingly and gently question a preacher about possible shortcomings, but still stresses the responsibility of the hearer to glean what they can regardless. He warns people about listening to heretical sermons (“don’t!”) but also highlights the importance of distinguishing between what is actually heretical (and gives a very useful three-part definition of a heretic) and what is merely biblically inadequate. After some brief thoughts on how a congregation can “get better sermons,” the second and last additional section closes with some practical suggestions for listeners to encourage good preaching (while Ash divides these topics, they really are the same).

What really sets this booklet apart is that Ash goes out of his way to be practical. Each of the seven main sections, and the final sections just mentioned, are accompanied by several “Practical steps to take” or “Suggestions.” Ash gives more than thirty such practical pointers in this little book! Here are just six of them:

• “Pray for next Sunday’s preacher in the middle of the week.”
 
• “Deliberately quieten your mind and heart before the sermon and say to yourself: ‘This is when God speaks to me.’ Pray again: ‘Lord, speak to me. I am listening.’”
 
• “Read the passage or listen carefully when it is read.”
 
• “Be aware of others in your local church as you listen to the sermon. Talk to them afterwards, not only about how we should respond as individuals, but about how the Bible passage should shape the church.”
 
• “Write down as definitively and precisely as you can some action you need to take to obey this Bible passage.”
 
• “Ask the preachers to help you see where they got a particular point from the passage; this will sharpen them up if, in fact, it didn’t come from the passage, or indeed the Bible….Be humble and respectful in the way you do this; remember, it is much harder to preach than it is to criticize preaching.”
 
Ash writes in an engaging and interesting style. In each of the main sections, he describes two people and their opposing attitudes as an illustration of the point he is making (such as the one at the start of this review). The booklet is full-colour and comes with many of the key phrases already highlighted. There’s even some lighthearted and funny illustrations! I would feel confident that youth or even middle schoolers with good reading skills could pick up and use this booklet.
 
Imagine what would happen to our churches, and to the advance of the Gospel on earth, if everyone approached the privilege of sermon listening in a deliberate and intentional manner like Ash advocates! Every Christian believer, without exception, would benefit from reading this booklet more than once. And not just as “yet another book to add to the reading list”; no, this should displace all the others and go right to the front of the line (interrupt what you're reading!), because I really do think this booklet would be more valuable to most Christians than almost any other book, besides the Bible itself. I say that because, if gathering together to hear God speak from his Word is the most vital practice of the Christian life, then striving to do so as well as we can should be our first priority.

[Kristina Hurd · Rating 4 out of 5]

“So we need, not a random series of sermon fixes, but to sit together regularly, week by week, under the systematically preached word of God. And as we are taken through the teaching of the Bible by patient exposition, gradually Christlikeness is worked in our characters, our affections, our desires, our decisions and our lives. We need to pray for this supernatural, gradual but lasting work to begin and continue in us, as we hear the word of God preached week by week.”
-p. 17

This short pamphlet is packed full of exhortation and some good conviction! I have loved everything I’ve read by Christopher Ash and this easily lived up to my expectations. He makes solid points about how we should approach listening to sermons and challenges the believer to take responsibility for preparing our hearts and minds to hear the word of the Lord.

I also appreciated the section at the end addressing how to listen to bad sermons. It was thoughtfully written and helpful.

There isn’t exactly anything ground breaking or new about what is in this pamphlet, but it is organized well and a great refresher on the importance of listening well and taking some responsibility for what you take away from a sermon.

4 stars - helpful and a good reminder to listen well. Would recommend to most anyone.

[Yrag Notsew · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a mere 30 pages. Might take you an hour (?) to read. (Less probably.) But it's really good. Do it! Do it! I want to encourage everyone (because everyone listens to sermons) to read this. It's written so well. It's like chatting with your best friend (if your best friend knows how to challenge you to grow spiritually!).
"It would be pointless to write a booklet called: "How to Watch T.V." And listening to a sermon is even easier than watching t.v. because I don't have to master the remote control." So says Christopher Ash on his very first page and immediately he has my attention. He is talking to me. And his whole book is like this. Plain. Straightforward. And at the end of each section (there are 7 sections) he gives us 3 - 5 practical (I mean PRACTICAL) steps to take.
IS "listening to a sermon even easier than watching t.v."? LOL Ha! I'm not going to tell you. Read it for yourself.

[Joe Koehler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful little booklet that highlights the importance of listening well when sitting under faithful biblical preaching. Ash offers many pithy and memorable statements that essentially challenge the reader to humble themselves. This means praying for God to work in his people (including yourself!) before and during sermons. It means praying for the preacher. It means acknowledging that the preached Word, when faithful to the text, is always right, & that I'm the one who needs to change. Here are some of those great pithy phrases: "…faithful Bible teaching will always cause offence." "Every sermon 'increases either our salvation or condemnation' (quoting C. Simeon)" "Praying before the sermon is not a formality…[we need it]." "…There is something wrong if fault-finding [in a sermon] is our great aim. For then the sermon will just make us feel good about ourselves…but it will never move us to repentance and faith." "Pray for your Preachers!"

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ash's book is a short essay that reminds its readers that the proper preaching of God's word is one of the most important parts of any church service. In order for this to beneficial to Congregants, this still requires members to carefully listen to sermons even if the message is not what a listener wishes to hear.

Ash also emphasizes that congregants should prepare in advance of listening to sermons by praying and reading the scripture prior to attending church. In doing so, the congregant/listener can pay attention towards understanding what the Bible is telling him to do and how he needs to apply it to his life.

At 30 pages, this "book" is a very quick and digestible read. The wisdom that it'll feed to its readers can however last a lifetime.

[Ricardo Daglio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enriquecedor

Consejos claros y totalmente bíblicos sobre cómo hemos de oír la Palabra de Dios en nuestras iglesias. Cada creyente encontrará en este pequeño libro suficiente material para meditar y poner en práctica en sus vidas y corporativamente con los hermanos de su congregación. Dios mediante tendremos este libro en español pronto. Excelente recurso para añadir a un curso de membresía o regalar a los nuevos miembros. Lo que puede lograr es una buena cultura de cómo oír los mensajes en la iglesia.

[Ryan Farrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great short work on how followers of Jesus can orient their hearts towards the preached word in the local church. It’s simplicity doesn’t err into reductionism but operates prophetically to a Western society that has devalued the preached Word of God. Although it’s written to the flock, the shepherds will likely appreciate this work much more, being encouraged in their weekly responsibility of bringing God’s gospel to a world that desperately needs it and either embraces it or stiff arms it.

[Matthias · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short and concise. Perfect for distribution to people who either listen to or need to listen to good preaching (which is everyone).

I would recommend that pastors and small group leaders purchase these for their hearers. If they would read this little book and take the advice in it, the church would change for the better!

[Erica Payne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick, practical check-up for every Christian to evaluate how well they are obeying our responsibility to learn from the preaching the Word. I thought this book drew attention to many aspects a Christian should be considering, but I would not read it as a theological treatise as two points seem open to misinterpretation.

[mcreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really, many things I need to take on board. Given some recent events, my heart has been very critical whilst listening to sermons. It’s not gotten too bad but I've been easily walking towards an attitude I don’t want to carry. May I focus on what builds up and encourages me and others, rather than get bogged down in minor biblical inaccuracies and woes about presentation style.

[Christie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was short and to the point which was appreciated. It used scripture to support the points - also appreciated. It also gave suggestions for how to listen to dull, inadequate or heretical sermons, which I hadn't expected.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

As the author says, "There are lots of books and courses to help people preach sermons...but I've not read anything...on how to listen to sermons" (p. 2). A great little book for growing disciples wanting to maximize their Sunday sermon listening experience.