5 Ways Preacher-Boys Should Listen To Preaching

1) Clean and Moldable Heart

This point is obviously applicable, but especially important for preacher boys. We should not listen to preaching with a dirty heart. Every service, we need to get our hearts and minds pure before an almighty God. When you refuse to clean your heart, you are also refusing the presence of Jesus Christ.

Our hearts should also be moldable in preaching. When I say moldable, think of clay. Clay can easily be shaped into whatever the potter wants. In the same way, God in every preaching message wants to mold the clay of our heart. He desires to mold us to be like His Son. However, we do have a choice. We can choose to let the preaching change, mold, and shape our life, or we can harden our heart and refuse to change. It is imperative we have a clean yet moldable heart.

2) Learn His Outline

Almost every preacher has an identifiable outline to every message. The outline is the structure of the message. It is an outline that determines the direction of the sermon. Yet how can a preacher boy effectively learn and understand the outline? The answer is as simple as taking notes.

Writing down the message is a great way to listen to preaching, because when a preacher boy takes good notes, he is keeping dozens of outlines in his notebook. The best way to learn the preacher’s outline is by taking notes every time you hear a sermon.

 3) Learn and appreciate different preaching styles

Every preacher has a different style of how they effectively preach the Word of God. It is important for younger preachers to learn and pick up from other preaching styles. It is wise for one to listen and learn from many styles so that  a preacher can develop his own unique style through the convergence and understanding of the Word of God.

We have the opportunity to hear a host of different preaching styles. You too can hear the passion of Jack Trieber and the convicting illustrations of David Gibbs.  You can listen to the fiery preaching of Justin Cooper and the practicality of my Dad, Patrick Gimenez. Every preacher boy should strive to listen and learn from many preaching styles.

(4) Write down memorable quotes and biblical truth

An important aspect of listening to preaching is taking notes. We have established that. One way of taking notes is writing down memorable quotes. In the back of my Bible is a section where I write down memorable quotes.

 You can write down any memorable quote you hear. It could help you in your Christian life so much when you have some wisdom from the man of God.   Secondly, we should write down spiritual truths that we learn from God’s Word. These are important because when we study God’s Word (like we should) we get a better understanding of the most important principles found in the Bible. 

(5) Thank the Preacher

When a pastor, evangelist or missionary preaches, they are preaching the Word of God. They are sharing the Bible message of God to his people. That is a commendable thing. 

If you are a preacher boy you should take the time to thank the preacher and tell him you appreciated the sermon and share what convicted you in the sermon. When we do this we encourage the man of God and also build a special connection with the preacher.