On Listening To Sermons: The Reformation

As I have mentioned previously, sermon listening has been a vital source of spiritual nourishment for me. During the "middle ages" of my Christian experience, I listened to Reformed expositors. Most of the men that I discovered during that time, I still listen to today. However, a "reformation" of sorts came about around the end of my fourth year as a disciple of Jesus.


The reformation was sparked by the preaching of John Piper. It was a reformation for a couple of reasons. First, in my early years, I believed that preaching should be passionate, and even expressive at times. I mean, after all, a minister is preaching the Word of the Eternal God. However, during the "middle ages", I came to believe that to be a true expositor meant you should be monotone. This was not the fault of any of the faithful men that I listened to. It was my own fault, period. Why I came to believe this, is really beyond me.

In addition to this, during this period, I went through the "Ephesus syndrome", as I like to call it. That is, I had orthodoxy, but my heart was cold towards God. I had, like the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7, been able to snuff out false doctrine, but I left my first love, Jesus. Piper awakened me to this disease, and for that, I thank God for his ministry.

Now I know that emotion/passion is a tricky subject. Some people are by nature, a bit quiet. Some people by nature are a bit expressive. Just because someone is more expressive about his preaching, does not mean he is more faithful. In addition to this, just because someone is a bit more reserved in their expressions, does not mean that they are not passionate about God's Word. These types of debates were not the issue for me. I grew up in a more charismatic church, and I knew, from first hand experience, that outward expressions did not always reveal an inward disposition.

However, the discovery of Piper was still a reformation for me. As all of the bloggers on this site like to say, "That white boy can preach!" Piper is Reformed, and yet, he is expressive and passionate when he speaks. This is just how he is. But it was refreshing to me. When I began reading his book on preaching, he made it clear that he thought boring preaching was sinful. I needed to hear that when I did, I came to believe that boring preaching was godly.

I digested Piper's sermons for two big reasons: they were expository and there was a sense of gravity to his preaching. When I listened to him, and I still do today, I felt the weight of what he said. To be honest, I have listened to his sermons more so than probably anyone else. He came at an important time in my life and his preaching has shaped me immensely.