As Presbyterians, we believe that when the preacher is preaching, the Holy Spirit transforms this into the actual Word of God, so that what reaches your ears and hearts are not human words but God's Word, which has transforming power. As a preacher, I breathe a sigh of relief at this, but as a hearer of sermons, it gives us (I podcast a number of sermons) quite a bit of responsibility. As someone who listens to sermons, if we tune out or let our attention wander, we're not just tuning out the preacher, but we're not listening to what God has to say to us.
So may we listen with a great sense of anticipation, ready to hear what it is that God has to say to us. May we listen with a sense that God is at work, through the speaker and in our hearts, and may we be transformed through a lifetime of listening to God speak to us, calling us to imitate Christ.
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