Sitting in church as a child, I wondered at times why the person up front (the pastor) talked so much. He would have everyone open their Bibles and then spend 45 minutes or so droning (or so it seemed to me as a kid). Yet, as you well know, this is precisely what I do to you. Over the next few months, through these letters, I would like to give you a biblical explanation as to why the Sunday sermon is essential. In fact, not only is it important, I will argue that it is and should be the center point of our corporate worship.

In a day when so many churches are unwisely moving away from the proclamation of God’s Word, we must preserve truth by standing firm. Over the years, I have often argued for the regulative principle in worship. If you don’t know what that is, you can go back to those Pastor’s Pens on worship on the church website or listen to the sermons on worship on the website located in the Foundations series. In short, the regulative principle argues that we are only to do what God tells us to do in worship. We will demonstrate that God tells us to value the proclamation of the Word.

This series of letters will be divided into two parts. The first part will address the question, “Why do churches focus their service around a sermon?” We will answer the question in two parts. First, we will spend several weeks demonstrating that God is a God of words. When Jesus came in the incarnation, John identifies Him with the title, “The Word.” God created through words, revealed Himself through words, and came as “The Word.” As a result, I will argue in the second part that God is to be worshiped through words. So, the church’s corporate worship should center on the proclamation (the spoken word) of the Bible (the Written Word).

After we have sufficiently established the value God places on words in worship, we will move to the second part of the series addressing the question, “How can I get the most out of the Sunday Sermon?” We will begin by addressing both the struggle in the pulpit and the struggle in the pew. Pastors don’t always preach outstanding sermons. When Christian and I evaluate the service every Monday, we spend time discussing the sermon. Inevitably, we have significant critiques. There is also a struggle in the pew. The week is long, and there is something about Sunday mornings. I am convinced it is the work of Satan in our lives that makes us so sleepy on Sunday. As a result, we can struggle to listen. However, we must learn to listen intentionally.

When we learn to listen intentionally to the sermon (and any conversation), we get much more out of them. As a result, this section spends several weeks examining how people listen. Hopefully, this will help us learn to listen more intentionally. Then we will address how relying on the Holy Spirit and intentionally applying the sermon can transform our lives. I hope that this will be a helpful and practical series of Pastor’s Pens. I invite you to join me on this journey every week (Lord willing).