I remember an awkward conversation that I had with a friend who mentioned that he thought I should preach a sermon on a specific topic/passage of scripture. He emphasized that it was a topic that he believed our church family really needed to hear. It was awkward for me because I had preached on that topic the week before. In the back of my mind I thought, “You are right! We do need to hear that message!” When the Apostle Paul wrote that we should avoid “neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some,” (Hebrews 10:25a ESV) I think that he understood the value of consistently meeting together as a church family.

One of the most intriguing classes that I took in seminary was also one of my favorites. The title of the class was Spiritual Preparation for Preaching. It was profound for me to think about all that ought to be done in preparation for preaching a sermon that goes beyond the nuts and bolts of writing a sermon. It is a spiritual process, and apart from God’s work we know that we can accomplish nothing.

These were the words of Martin Luther. He expected to hear from God and it led to a revolution in the way many of us read and understand God’s Word. While we may long for a burning bush or an audible word from heaven, I believe the primary way God speaks to us today is through His Word. An especially powerful way He does that is through receiving the preaching of God’s Word.

The other day on I-71, I drove past a person who was reading a newspaper, and they were in the driver’s seat of their car. We sure love to multi-task these days! When it comes to listening to the voice of God, especially during sermons, I am convinced that we need to be active and engaged listeners to really take in what God has for us. If we do not pay close attention to what we hear, like a distracted driver, we can put ourselves and others at risk.

That title will get your attention! I had a preaching prof say one time that he loved to listen to “bad sermons.” To be clear, he had devoted his life to helping people preach good sermons, so it was not a defense of bad sermons, but a reminder that even when we hear lousy sermons, we can learn powerful lessons from them.

Okay, so a sermon is usually about a half-hour…or 45 minutes…but what happens when I do not immediately feel like it hits me where I am at? One of my favorite things to hear from someone after I have preached a sermon is, “That was exactly what I needed to hear.” But let’s be honest, sometimes it does not feel that way. A sermon might not hit us where we are at.

Why did James have to remind us to be quick to listen and slow to speak? (James 1:19) I think it is because he made a powerful observation about human nature. If we are honest, most of us are more likely to be quick to speak instead of quick to listen.

While I was in seminary and college studying for ministry, I listened to hundreds of sermons – sermons in chapel, sermons in preaching classes, sermons at church. In that process you might think that I would have grown tired of sermons, but it had just the opposite effect. I love listening to and reading sermons. I can say comfortably that I have never heard a sermon that I did not learn something from, even if it was not exactly the “something” the preacher intended for me to learn. I had a mentor say to me once that learning to listen to sermons is one of the most important skills that you can develop in your life. He reminded me that God speaks to us in powerful ways through sermons.

Have you ever had something that was great in theory, but in practice it really did not work out? When I was a kid (in the 90’s) my parents bought a conversion van. We were so excited because this was not just any conversion van – it came equipped with a small tube television. The concept was awesome, and we imagined long road trips with endless entertainment. But in practice, especially on road trips, a TV signal would get picked up when we went through a city, only to have it go blurry after a few minutes. The problem was that the old analog TV did not have a large enough antenna. It never lived up to its potential because it never consistently received a signal. I am convinced that many of us today are like that TV, failing to reach our potential because our listening capability is too limited.

This summer, I will focus most of my weekly emails on a topic that seems like a lost art these days – the art of listening. To be more specific, we will focus on the art of listening to God.

In the 1970s, there was an ad campaign for Wonder Bread that promoted the spongy white (probably not too healthy) bread that many of us grew up with as being ideal for the wonder years between ages 1-12. While I would rather not debate the value of white bread (a classic PB&J on Wonder Bread is pretty great), I would like to celebrate how those wonder years can be among the most important times for spiritual development in our lives.

I recently came across an article that stated that almost two-thirds of American consumers have at least one unspent gift card tucked away in their homes. And at least half of those consumers lose a gift card before they use it. I cringe to think about how many gift cards I was grateful to receive, only to go on to lose. I can vividly recall standing in front of a cashier, looking through my wallet thinking…I know I have that gift card in here somewhere! I was given a gift, but never experienced its full value. Apparently, I am not alone. The study estimates that Americans have a collective $21 billion in unspent gift cards!

This week, many of us will attempt to express gratitude to our mothers for their investment in our lives. In my case, my mom put up with a lot of shenanigans. I am sure that raising my three brothers and I had a fair amount of “extra grace required” moments! Growing up, when someone would hear that my mom was living in a home with five men, they would often say, “Your poor mother!” And they were right.

We all know that words are powerful, and when used as weapons they can cause great harm. Thankfully, when used well, words can be a source of wonderful encouragement. It has been said that some words hurt and some words heal. I want to fill my life with words that heal. While we no doubt can recall harsh words that were spoken to us and about us, we can also remember the sincere kindness and encouragement that others have shared with us. Mark Twain put it well when he said, “I can live two months on a good compliment!” As we strive together to grow deep in our faith and wide in our influence, it is good to remember the power of our words!

We have all seen the images of the massive barge that struck the Key Bridge in Baltimore, MD and heard about the resulting destruction and loss of life. In the aftermath, experts have said that the cause of this devastation was that the barge lost power which resulted in its rudder being useless; it was literally out of control. James reminds us in James 3:1-11 that our tongues can also get out of control, and the result is that they too can cause massive damage.

Recently, some friends at Hope shared that they had received an email that looked a lot like it came from me. In the email, they were urgently asked to purchase gift cards and forward the gift card numbers (security codes and all) to me. At first glance, the email looked like it was from me – the name on the top (by the email address) and the bottom was spelled correctly. The body of the email included something that I found interesting. The person masquerading as me said, “You can keep one of the cards for yourself.” Now wasn’t it generous of “fake me” to say that?

“Awesome.” “Beautiful.” “Breathtaking.” “Frightening…” These were some of the adjectives that I heard people use to describe the experience of a total solar eclipse this past Monday. Many of us set aside our normal Monday routines and found ourselves in awe of God’s Creation. It truly was a breathtaking experience.

I wish that I could have been there when the Apostle Peter stood on Solomon’s portico and shared this wonderful statement recorded in Acts 3:19, “...turn back, so that your sins may be blotted out!” The imagery of God offering for us to have our sins “blotted out” is powerful.