This was the title of a free sample booklet I received in the mail some time ago. While I do not know the author personally, I have found his booklets to be very biblical, practical, and well-written. The author is Dr. Robert Spinney, who serves as Assistant Professor of History at Patrick Henry College. Formerly, Dr. Spinney served as one of the pastors at Grace Baptist Church in Hartsville, Tennessee. The full title of Dr. Spinney's booklet is HOW TO SURVIVE YOUR PASTOR'S SERMONS: Six Ways to Make Pulpit Messages More Profitable to Your Soul.
In light of last Sunday's sermon on Nehemiah 8, wherein we observed the people's high regard for Scripture, I found this booklet to be wonderfully beneficial. It is a quick read (24 pages) and costs only two and a half bucks. You can order it and other such helpful booklets at www.tulipbooks.com.
For the sake of today's blog, I wanted to highlight Dr. Spinney's first piece of advice in "surviving your pastor's sermon," which is: Listen to the weekly Sunday sermon as if your life depended on it. I found this bit of counsel quite interesting, given one of the cross-references to yesterday's text. Here it is again:
Moses finished speaking all these words to all Israel, and he said to them, "Set your hearts on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe - all the words of this law. For it is not a futile thing for you, for it is your life. . . .
- Deut. 32:45-47a (emphasis mine)
While Dr. Spinney does not quote this text, he presses home its principle quite clearly with the following illustration:
Imagine that you are a passenger on an airplane. You are cruising along at 30,000 feet when you hear explosions. You look out the window and see three of your airplane's four engines in flames. The plane noses downward and begins a dive toward the earth. The plane's captain comes across the intercom: "Ladies and gentlemen, I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that we have lost our engines. We cannot land safely. This plane will crash to earth in fifteen minutes. The good news is that there are parachutes located over your seats in the storage compartments. We all have time to parachute to safety. Listen carefully and I will explain how to use the parachute."
If you found yourself in such a situation, my guess is that the pilot would have your full and undivided attention! Why? Because your life depends on it! You would be all ears as he voiced his instructions! Says Spinney,
If someone's words are truly important, you will find a way to listen to them, understand them, and apply them.
Even if the airplane pilot is a tad boring, excessively serious, somewhat disorganized, or not a gifted speaker, you will find a way to comprehend his instructions - if indeed you regard his words as vitally important.
How important is it to you that you understand and apply God's Word? Do you really believe that you need God's Word in order to live successfully? Is understanding what God says a matter of life or death for you? Is hearing God speak in His Word on the Lord's Day the highlight of your week?
The Lord Jesus Christ said that man does not live by bread alone, but rather on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4)....
If God's words are truly important to us, then we will find a way to listen to them, understand them, and apply them.
Such earnestness clearly characterized the citizens of Jerusalem on that day that they "assembled as one man" to hear the Word of God. May such zeal resonate within our own hearts as we come together as a church body to hear the Word of God each Lord's Day.