Worship Tips - 7 Tips to Being Engaged in Worship & Bringing Home What You Hear to Change Your Life - By John C Arnold
How often have you gone to worship and heard a really great sermon, only to find yourself a week later with little or no recollection and nothing applied from what you heard? Don't get disheartened. That is a common experience and I have some incredibly simple solutions you can apply every Sunday to insure this isn't the norm for you.
- Go expecting to hear God. When you walk into worship be actively watching and listening for what God has in store for you. I have polled people many times about their favorite worship experiences. Frequently, they cite special times, such as Christmas and Easter. A few probing questions often reveals that the actual worship service isn't terribly different from other services, the biggest difference is in the mindset of the worshipper. They go mentally more alert to worship than usual. Go to worship with high expectations and passionate curiosity.
- BYOB, Bring Your Own Bible. When the pastor reads follow along in your own Bible with a pencil in hand, marking any keywords, phrases or passages that jump out at you. It is hard to listen passively with a pencil in hand. It tangibly tugs you to pay attention.
- Take Notes. Our church has a printed bulletin and I write sermon notes right on the bulletin. I use a note taking method called mind mapping which is graphical way of ordering notes. Google it or search on YouTube if you are unfamiliar with the method. While I highly recommend it as a method, feel free to take notes in whatever way most engages you in listening. Even if you never look back at your notes, the simple act of holding a pen and keeping an orderly account of what you hear makes you more attentive.
- Recall. As soon as possible after worship recall as much of the sermon as you possibly can without looking at your notes. After you have made your best effort, check your notes and see what you have forgotten. This exercise will radically strengthen your ability to retain and recall information, if you do it regularly. The key is to do it without your notes first. It's fun and helpful to try to do this with a group. I often times will ask my kids what they remember from the sermon and will push the edges of what they remember with some questions. It is both my way of recalling the sermon and nurturing my children's ability to listen and retain what they hear.
- Select and Review. Once you have taken time to recall a sermon select a handful of significant points that you want to retain. Review those specific points repeatedly with increasing gaps between times of review. For example, review those points within 10 minutes of deciding them, again before bed the first evening, then the next day and again in three days to a week. You must sustain attention around what you learn if you want to change grow.
- Set Goals. Decide upon a specific, measurable response you will enact within the next week. Be very specific. Generic intentions like, "I am going to be more thankful this week" yield nothing. Instead, have a concrete, measurable plan such as, "I am going to write a gratitude list each night before I go to bed." or "I am going to write a thank you note each day this week to someone I appreciate." Write the goal down and post it someplace visible.
- Share what you learn and your goals. Sharing has many benefits. Sharing benefits others by bringing the Word of God into their lives. Sharing you goals can also inspire others. Sharing helps you remember what you learn. Sharing helps you succeed at implementation. You create a certain degree of accountability for yourself each time you share your efforts.
All of these suggestions take only a few minutes to apply. The average person does not do these things. Why not be exceptional, when exceptional is only a few minutes away? I know you can. May God bless you richly whenever you worship.
John Arnold has been teaching people for over 25 years how to read and apply the word of God in their lives. To learn more great practical tools to help you grow as a disciple visit The Practical Disciple. At his blog, John Arnold shares numerous tips and tools for spiritual growth. His advice is extremely practical and applicable in daily life and has helped countless people deepen their relationship with God, be better disciples and live more abundantly. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_C_Arnold
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