Every Sunday my parents make me go to church. My friends and I all find the sermons at church boring. How can we get anything out of a message that we don’t find interesting or even understand?
Angelina
Dear Angelina,
Young people are not the only ones who sometimes get lost or bored during sermons. Many adults have the same problem. But there’s a lot more going on in church than just the sermon. God’s people come together to praise and thank God. We come together to acknowledge and affirm our faith. We confess our sins and are reminded of God’s faithfulness to forgive them.
It is also important to hear the reading of God’s Word. Next Sunday try taking a pen and notebook to church. Write down one thing from the reading that you want to remember or that is especially meaningful to you.
The prophet Haggai had to warn his people because they were not tuned in to God’s message. God had told them to rebuild the temple, but they were too busy doing their own thing to listen to God (Haggai 1:6–11).
Try each week to focus on the message. Jot down one or more things that hit you as meaningful or important. Good listening skills will help you in many ways in your life. And focusing on God’s message (whether the pastor’s sermon is interesting or not) is crucial in your life. How can you be obedient to God if you’re not listening?
Jordan
Wouldn’t it be great to hear God say to you, “From this day on I will bless you”? That’s what God said to the people of Haggai’s day. These people responded to Haggai’s message and immediately set about finishing God’s temple. Now, there’s no guarantee that if you make a habit of responding to what God says all your problems will go away. Or that your family will suddenly be very rich. Or that you’ll start getting all A’s without studying. But there is one thing you can count on. If you put God’s Word into practice, you put yourself in the place where God can bless you. And he will!
Haggai
Write It Down.
Haggai preached one sermon and the people got to work, finishing the temple they’d begun 18 years earlier.