Apr

Cultivating Expositional Listening – #5: Develop the Habit of Addressing Any Questions About the Text Itself

(I’m WAY behind on this post…..we’re reviewing the six practical ways Thabiti Anyabwile suggests for developing “expositional listening” in his book What is a Healthy Church Member? This is the 7th post in the series. Bring up all the posts in the series here.)

From the Book:
Jonathan Edwards resolved (see #11 of his Resolutions) that he would never let a day end before he had answered any questions that he had from reading Scripture that day. How healthy would our churches be if members dedicated themselves to such work?

Anyabwile suggests that one way to start along the path is to follow up with pastors, elders and other teachers in the church, asking them questions that are triggered by what we read in Scripture. We should not be passive when we read Scripture, but actively seek to answer questions that arise as we read, meditate and study the Word. After trying to answer questions yourself talk to accountability partners, your small group, etc.

After a sermon follow up with a question or comment that may be an encouragement to your pastor and a blessing to you in the process.

Thoughts:
Getting our questions answered as they come up during our time in the Word is half the fun! As Anyabwile suggests, I would encourage trying to answer questions yourself by investing the time in meditating on the text, reading and re-reading it (in context), using the cross references in your Bible, the study notes if you have a study Bible, commentaries…all the while praying that the Lord would give understanding. We are blessed to have SO many resources to help us understand!

Small groups are indeed a great place to ask questions! Men, if you’re not part of a small group you’re really missing out. Each week in my small group we spend some time discussing the previous Sunday’s sermons, sharing what we took away from it and any questions we may have or things we want to talk about.