One of the constants in church life is complaining about sermons. Pity the pastor! It isn’t an easy task to capture people’s attention with the Bible. To many people in church, it’s a totally foreign book that they don’t believe they can understand. Others think they’ve heard everything already, so their minds are prone to wander.
Since you’re reading this book, it’s a sure bet the above doesn’t describe you. You want to learn Scripture and don’t think you’ve absorbed all that there is to see in Scripture. You come to church expecting to learn something. That’s all very good. I just don’t want to see you fall into the trap (or pattern) of substituting the Sunday sermon for Bible study.
If you’re the kind of person that takes notes during a sermon, you may wonder about where I’m going here. I’m talking about the person who doesn’t take notes—who is a completely passive listener. I’ve known many people that, when asked if they study the Bible, think that’s what they’re doing when they talk about the sermon in a small group. That isn’t Bible study. It’s sharing opinions about what someone else thinks about a Bible passage. Bible study isn’t an opinion survey.
If you take notes during a sermon, you’ve already moved beyond the passive act of listening. Taking notes during sermons can convert sermon time into Bible study time. I actually recommend it, though I’ve known plenty of people that almost say it’s a sin because “sermons are spiritual exhortations, not lectures.” A pious false dichotomy is still a false dichotomy. Shutting off your brain in church isn’t a virtue.
Taking notes during sermons prepares you for Bible study. If you happen to be working through the same passage in your Bible study, you can look up cross-references while you listen or jot down questions the sermon raises in your mind. Even if you aren’t in that passage, if you take careful notes, you’ll be able to pick up your thoughts in the future when you study that passage. You’re way ahead of the curve if your notes are digital; those things are searchable!
So go ahead—make the sermon a time to sharpen some Bible study skills. God won’t mind.