Applying the Gospel Study Bible
For Teens and College Students
How to Avoid Individualism When Listening to Sermons
Listen as a Community
In 2001, the United States Army launched a fresh recruiting campaign. Times had changed, so the army wanted a new slogan for a new generation. With individualism and independence in the air, a new motto was made to match: “Army of One.” Mine was the generation that recruiters wanted to reach, yet I still remember cringing at the silly concept. I wasn’t alone—this campaign earned criticism from all sides. By surrendering to rampant individualism, marketers were gutting the heart of the military. No “Army of One” can survive for long, and neither did the new slogan.
It seems obvious that no one is an “Army of One.” Yet it’s easy to function like a church of one. When it comes to hearing sermons, we often view ourselves as solo listeners, there to consume the message only for ourselves.
But the Bible says we’re a family of siblings, a body with parts, and a flock of sheep (1 Cor. 12:12–27; Eph. 2:19–22; 4:15–16; 1 Tim. 3:15; 1 Pet. 5:2–3). So you’re not an only child but a family member, not a prosthetic limb but a body part, not an isolated sheep but part of a flock.
You are not a church of one.
It may sound strange at first, but if you want to transform the way you hear sermons, stop listening only for yourself and start listening for your church.
How Do I Get the Most from My Pastor's Sermons?
Gunner Gundersen
In this addition to the Church Questions series, Gunner Gundersen gives readers practical advice on listening well during sermons so they can get the most from their pastor’s preaching as they hear from God’s word.
Hearing Together
There are many options for listening to sermons in our digital world, but the best way to hear a sermon will always be live and in person within your local church. The Son of God came to us in person. His Spirit now binds us together. Jesus’s apostles longed to be face-to-face with the people they served. Our local bodies, families, and flocks are not to neglect meeting together; we’re even told to gather “all the more,” not less, as the day of Christ draws near (Heb. 10:24–25)!
Most New Testament letters were circulated and read publicly in church meetings. Imagine hearing these words read at your house church in Philippi: “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord” (Phil. 4:2). Both women heard these words read aloud. Paul even urged a third person to help (Phil. 4:3). The church was expected to come together, hear together, talk together, grow together, and help one another. In this case, the people of the whole church were enlisted to restore two of their spiritual siblings.
What if every church member heard every sermon with this kind of community mindset? This approach makes attendance just the starting point. Encouraging one another is the higher goal. We’re even told to plan, scheme, and get creative as we “consider how to stir up one another to love and good works” (Heb. 10:24). We get to “[speak] the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15), laugh and weep with one another (Rom. 12:15), and use our God-given gifts to “serve one another” (1 Pet. 4:10–11). Far beyond the central gathering, we get to take the truth into the week and “exhort one another every day” (Heb. 3:13).
The Bible is clear: Sermons aren’t just personal feeding times but group training times. When your pastor preaches a sermon, he’s not doing the ministry all by himself. He’s equipping you to participate so that the entire church can do the ministry together (Eph. 4:11–12).
The Bible is clear: Sermons aren’t just personal feeding times but group training times.
Talking It Out
Talking about the Scriptures is key to our training. So how can we foster better conversations about the Bible? After school, kids often get the same daily question from their parents: “How was school?” Their parents, naturally, get the same bland response: “Good.” Postsermon talk can be similar: boring questions that earn boring answers. Worse, we can frame the conversation as though we’re asking for a consumer review: “How did you like the sermon?” What if we asked better questions and gave better answers, whether in the foyer, in the car, or later in the week? Try these out after next week’s sermon:
- What caught your attention?
- Was anything new to you?
- What was a helpful truth for our church?
- Were there any reminders you needed to hear?
- What was your main takeaway?
- What did you think about _____?
- What do you think God was saying to us?
- Was there anything you want to learn more about?
- Did the passage raise any questions for you?
- Is there anyone you’d like to talk with about the sermon?
- Were you more challenged or more encouraged? Why?
- If you could have a conversation about one topic, what would it be?
- How could we encourage our pastor?
Encouraging Your Pastor
Finally, remember that your shepherd is also a sheep. Your preacher is also your brother. Your church leaders are also church members. Encouraging them is one of the most edifying things you can do.
The Bible says that our pastors will have one of two experiences: joy or groaning (Heb. 13:17). A good pastor is a “worker” who spends long hours “rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15). Faithful pastors “toil” and “struggle” for our good (Col. 1:29; 2:1). A faithful preacher pours himself into God’s word each week, seeking not only to master it but also to be mastered by it. His studies are often called labors, but they’re not just mental exercises. Preaching consumes the whole person. The last several years of my pastorate, I cried every day as I studied Matthew’s Gospel.
How can you practice encouraging your pastor? Write a note (or gather notes from others) to express what you’re learning from his sermons, how you’re putting the truth into practice, and how God is encouraging you. Ask your pastor meaningful questions—including challenging ones—to dig deeper and to let him know what you’re hearing. Sharing your own observations can be encouraging too. No matter what, be specific and personal. Any preacher will tell you that a word of thanks is polite but that specifics are treasured.
Ultimately a pastor’s greatest joy is when the truth grows legs in our lives. John wrote, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). Paul told the Galatians, “I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you!” (Gal. 4:19). His people were written on his heart, and his life was tied to their spiritual health: “For now we live, if you are standing fast in the Lord” (1 Thess. 3:8). The people Paul served were his “joy and crown” (Phil. 4:1).
All Together
No Christian is a church of one. So God has designed that his children gather each week as a family to hear our Father’s word about his Son through his Spirit. Our three-in-one God summons us as one body to listen together, talk together, and grow together. As healthy families take their meals at a common table, healthy churches enjoy the Scriptures together, nourished and fueled by the preached word that shapes us all for the shared life we were never meant to face alone.
This article is adapted from How Do I Get the Most from My Pastor's Sermons? by Gunner Gunderson.
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