How To Stay Focused During Sermons?
Sermon Note-taking 101
Imagine this: It is a usual Sunday morning. You are in a church service, listening to a sermon. It seems like you’ve listened to it for nearly half an hour. But when you look at your watch, surprisingly, only three minutes have passed. Out of nowhere, your mind wanders off and reminds you that you have to submit the assignment which you have not even started. A few seconds pass by and your mind wanders again thinking about what food you’ll eat after the service ends. Soon, the sermon comes to an end.
Has this ever happened to you? It has surely happened to me a lot of times. Why do we get distracted so easily? I’ve thought of a few reasons (which are not listed in any particular order).
Firstly, we get distracted easily because of the nature of the world we live in. It is said that the attention span of a human is only eight seconds long — one second shorter than the attention span of a goldfish. This is attributed highly to the excessive use of smartphones, social media, etc. The use of smartphones has, ironically, made us dumber. Therefore, we get distracted easily.
Secondly, a lot of times, our adversary, the devil, steals the seed which is God’s word from our heart (see Matt. 23:19). I believe that oftentimes, his strategy would be to distract us in the first place so that the seed would not even touch the soil of our heart.
Thirdly, we get distracted easily because of the preacher. Many times, the sermon preached by the preacher is hard to understand. This could be due to a lack of preparation, a tough topic, inadequate presentation, boring delivery of the preacher, etc.
There could be many more reasons as to why we might be distracted, even in a good sermon, such as a baby crying near you, or a guy coughing every 43 seconds, etc. I’ll leave those for you to comment about. But with all this being said, let’s see what you and I, as an attentive congregation, can do to actualize all the lessons that a preacher has to preach about.
When it comes to listening to a sermon, focus is the currency you need to gain Biblical insights. Many times, it is due to the speakers’ fault that people feel sleepy or bored. However, you and I can change whatever is in our hands. Here are the things that you can do to minimize distractions and maximize your focus:
Prepare Your Heart: Before you leave your home to attend the church service, prepare your heart and mind to listen to the sermon. Pray to the Lord that He will help you focus and only bring to your mind the things that you need to pay attention to.
Take Notes: When it comes to taking notes, our brain is forced to focus as one is supposed to write the key points. One good thing is that you would have a structure of the sermon that was preached. You can later use these points in your personal study or in your sermon/Bible Study.
Avoid Phone Engagements: I try my best to avoid looking at my phone so that no notification will distract me. This is also the reason why carrying a hardcopy Bible is crucial. We can be so easily distracted by even a simple message alert. Therefore, it is better to avoid any smartphone engagements, especially during a sermon. It is best if we either put it on silent or switch it off. Either way, it will stop distracting us and our neighbours.
Jot Down the Mental Distractions: Whenever a distraction or a reminder pops up in your head, take note of it. This will ensure your brain that you’ve jotted down the task which is to be completed and you are less likely to worry about it.
Sit Strategically: Where you sit is very important. It is better to sit nearer to the speaker so that you can look at his/her face. This will in turn help you to focus more as you’ll have greater chances of eye contact. You’ll also have fewer visual distractions. These include (but definitely are not limited to) someone wearing different socks, or great-looking shirt, or even funky hairstyles, etc.
These are just a few steps that we can take to ensure that our mind and entire being is focused on God’s Word that is being preached. Let’s commit to these simple steps and make the most of our time in the fellowship.
What strategies help you stay focused during sermons? Share your tips with us in the comments.
Thank you for reading it. May the good Lord bless you and help you get the most out of every sermon!
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. Ephesians 1:18-19a (NIV)