Beloved,
Over the last few weeks, Vos has been on a rhyming kick, asking me daily questions like, “Dad, does finger rhyme with singer?” He’s inspired me to set aside my alliterative tendencies and give rhyming a shot as we consider the final part of the catechism’s answer to what God requires of us in hearing preaching: “It is required of those that hear the word preached, that they…meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.” The divines here are telling us what we need to do with the sermon after it has been preached. Contrary to what we often think, our hearing is not complete once the benediction is pronounced. When the worship service ends, the real work begins, which can be summarized with three verbs—chew, glue, and do. Let’s consider them together.
1. Chew the Sermon
That is, “meditate, and confer of it.” Meditating focuses on internal reflection on the message, while conferring focuses on discussing it with others. The word meditate literally comes from the word for mutter or mumble. We’re actually looking at meditation in Sunday school this week, so I won’t go into too much detail here. But I will say this—if the last time you think about the sermon is during the sermon, you are not hearing rightly. I’ve been meditating all week on the two messages from this past Sunday from Exodus 12 and Matthew 25. In particular, I’ve been pondering how they fit together—the morning message emphasizing the blood of Christ that liberates us to serve Yahweh, and the evening message emphasizing the judgment of Christ that motivates us to serve Yahweh. I’ve even reflected often on the phrase from the evening sermon, “risky rigor,” applying it to my own responsibilities. It’s been wonderful, and meditating on it, I can’t help but talk about it with others! If we are truly hearing the voice of Christ in preaching and the Spirit is opening our eyes to behold wondrous things in the Word, won’t we naturally want to discuss it with one another? I often gain a deeper understanding of the text when you ask me questions about it or share your own insights after a sermon. By conversing about it, we encourage each other to keep chewing so that it is fully digested. Both meditation and discussion serve to drive the Word into our hearts, which brings us to our second action.
2. Glue the Sermon
That is, get it to stick—“hide it” in your heart. There are many different ways to preach, but one reason I strive to structure my sermons with clear, concise, and memorable propositions is this: I want you to be able to recall the essence of the text and its application. Take the two propositions from Sunday night as an example:
- Steward your Christ-given abilities and responsibilities with energy.
- Steward your Christ-given abilities and responsibilities with expectancy.
These statements, as faithful explanations of the text, are now lodged in my heart and have had a profound effect on me this week. We should hide Scripture itself in our hearts, but it’s also beneficial to retain key points from sermons, like Ryle’s quote: “Beware of a do-nothing Christianity.” This is where note-taking may be helpful. Our forefathers debated whether notes should be taken during sermons (since they are not lectures), but my personal opinion is that the practice is helpful for some and not for others. If it helps you glue the sermon to your heart, then do it! That is one of the surest ways for the message to take root in your life—bringing us to the third and final action.
3. Do the Sermon
That is, “bring forth the fruits” of the message in our lives. James writes, “But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (1:22). It is possible to talk about a sermon and remember key points but fail to put them into practice. Every day since last Lord’s Day, I have been tempted toward self-service and sinful sloth. But as I have continued chewing on the messages in my mind and gluing them to my heart, they have led me to Jesus—seeking His pardoning blood for my slothful tendencies and His empowering grace to overcome them. The eschatological “Well done!” of Christ has fueled within me a passion to serve Him faithfully. In other words, the sermons have led to action. They always must if we are truly hearing rightly (see James’ argument in 1:23ff.).
So every week, we are to be chewing, gluing, and doing the sermon. Then, when another Lord’s Day arises, we hit repeat and do it all over again. This, friends, is the primary means by which God changes us and makes us useful in His service! Oh, that we would grow in our hearing of His Word toward that great end.
Yours in Christ,
Pastor Nick