I have the incredible privilege of teaching in the Bible, Theology, & Ministry department at Biola University.

Last night, in my undergrad preaching class, while talking about communication skills that aid the clarity, memorability, and accuracy of our Bible teaching, a student asked, “What do I do if I am bored by my pastor’s preaching?” Though she respected her pastor’s character and trusted his leadership, she found it difficult to benefit from his preaching.

I love the question for a few reasons. It’s relevant. I don’t think she’s the only one with that experience. It’s practical. She wasn’t interested in complaining about her pastor, but wanted to know what she could do about it. Also, it’s important. God’s Word is what creates, nourishes, grows, and preserves our spiritual life. In addition to reading the Bible, singing the Bible, praying the Bible, and teaching the Bible, benefiting from the hearing the Bible preached each week by our God-ordained pastors is a crucial skill to hone for our joy, our church’s good, and God’s glory.

How would you answer?

Practical Counsels for Boring Sermons

After discussing this with my class and thinking about it more, here are a few counsels for listeners of boring sermons split into three categories: before, during, and after.

Before the Boring Sermon

Pray for your heart. Our heart determines what comes out of us (Proverbs 4:23) and what comes into us (Philippians 4:8). Before we focus upon the skill of our sower, we should tend prayerfully to the state of our soil (Matthew 13:1-23). Pray for hunger of God’s Word (1 Peter 2:1-3), spiritual eyes and ears that truly hear and see what God says (Matthew 13:16), and a posture like Mary whose consuming desire was to hear Christ’s word, whether thundered eloquently from a mountain or whispered conversationally from a living room chair (Luke 10:38-42).

Pray for your pastor. Paul asked the Ephesians to pray, “also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel” (Ephesians 6:19). If Paul needed prayer for preaching, your pastor would likely appreciate it too. Preaching is really hard and pastoring even harder. He’s battling and would benefit from the ministry of your prayer for his soul’s joy, family’s good, ministry’s faithfulness, and the preparation and execution of his Sunday sermon. Likely, praying for him may help you listen to him and benefit from him.

Examine your expectations. With the internet and podcasts, all of us have free access to the best preachers in the world. Do you think that may affect your expectations of Sunday’s sermon? Krish Kandiah counsels us well:

“We wouldn’t expect TV standard at our local comedy club, just as we don’t expect our parents to serve culinary masterpieces as good as Raymond Blanc or Albert Roux. But although their food may never come close to being awarded a Michelin Star, there is something remarkably precious about familiar home-cooked food and hospitality from people who love us.

This doesn’t mean to get rid of any expectations, but to adjust them from what’s preferred to what’s needed. Start with the expectation that your pastor reads the Bible, explains the Bible, and applies the Bible to the lives of his hearers. It isn’t a problem to identify how he could improve, but it’s helpful to remind yourself of what the main thing of preaching is: making God’s Word heard, understood, and obeyed. Anything less is spiritual malpractice and you shouldn’t be OK with it, But, anything more is gracious gravy.

Prepare your mind. Consider reading the passage ahead of time to familiarize yourself with the passage. Try to identify the main idea or the main points or crucial ways we ought to respond ahead of time. Familiarizing yourself with the passage may help you take all the more from Sunday’s sermon.

Prepare your body. Sunday worship begins Saturday night. Consider how your Saturday night activities may help or harm your Sunday morning receptivity. Boring sermons aren’t helped by sleepy bodies.

During the Sermon

Be worshipful. Remember that listening to God’s Word is primarily an act of worship. We honor God with our ears. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that the command to love God with all our heart is preceded by a command to, “Hear” (Deut. 6:4). We will not love the God of the Word unless we hear the Word of God. As the preacher ascends the pulpit, consider praying, “Lord, help me hear you in your Word this morning that I may love you. May my listening honor you.”

Be eager. God’s Word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). God’s Word always does God’s work, especially in the hearts of those eagerly asking (Matthew 7:8). Food serves on poor quality plates still nourishes. We should eagerly expect God’s Word to nourish even if delivered by men of faltering lips.

Be active. Don’t lean back waiting for the sermon to grab you. Lean forward and use all of your mental faculties to grab the Word of God wherever you can see it. Have your Bible open, your pen ready, your mind attentive to follow the argument of the text, spot ways to respond in faith, consider points to pray over or discuss at lunch after church. It’s hard to catch something if you’re not ready, it’s hard to miss if you are.

Be humble. Peter said:

“You who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” 1 Peter 5:5-6

God has given you and your church your pastor(s) for your church’s corporate and your individual growth (Ephesians 4:11). You’ll benefit from his ministry all the more if you are cultivating a heart of humility toward him in obedience to God. Among all the accessories of your Sunday wardrobe, humility is the most important.

Be critical. Humility doesn’t mean gullibility. Nor does it mean training yourself to be OK with unbiblical or sub-biblical sermons. Good sermons are to be received with a lot of joy, boring sermons are to be received with a little more effort, but unfaithful sermons are not to be tolerated. We must imitate the Noble Bereans (Acts 17:11), check the sermon with the Scriptures and ask, “Did he say what God said?” As you listen to your preacher make statements about the text, ask yourself, “Where did he get that from?” If you can see how he got it from the passage, receive it. If you can’t, then reject it. If your pastor preaches boring, but faithful sermons, learn how to benefit better. If your pastor is preaching unfaithful sermons, leave.

Be thankful. Hearing God’s Word preached, even if falteringly, is a great gift. We’d find easy to be grateful for if we lived in a context where it wasn’t available with great danger or at all. I imagine that listening to boring sermons isn’t a problem for believers in areas where the church is a minority and persecuted for their faith in Jesus. For them, faithful sermons, even boring ones, would always be a reason for praise and worship. There’s perspective to consider.

After the Sermon

Discuss the Word. Ask other believers at your church what they gleaned from the passage. You may not have been blessed by the sermon, but you could definitely be blessed through others’ reflections on the sermon. Ask others’ what they thought the main idea was or what kind of applications they heard or considered. Maybe they saw or caught something you missed or have a perspective that would help you better understand or respond.

Do the Word. I’ve always loved Donald Whitney’s counsel and think it applicable for how we respond to boring sermons. After having listened to a difficult or boring sermon, say to yourself: I won’t stop thinking about the sermon until I can prayerfully think of at least one way to apply what I’ve heard.

So as you reflect on the text, do you perceive something God would have you…

Stop?

Start?

Believe?

Confess?

Pray about?

Thank Him for?

Communicate to someone?

We cannot expect the Bible (or boring sermons) to advance our transformation without meditation and application.

Remember, the boring-ness of a sermon doesn’t take away the authority of the text it proclaimed or our responsibility to respond with repentance and faith.

Consider Talking to Your Pastor(s). Talking to your pastor depends on many factors like how bad the sermons really are, how well you know him, how long you’ve been at the church, the leadership structure of the church, and more. However, if you’ve an opportunity to talk with your pastor or maybe even other pastors in your church, it’s worth considering both for your sake, the church’s sake, and his sake!

If you do talk with your pastor, instead of coming to him explaining how you think he’s falling short, consider sharing specific ways you’re struggling to listen or understand the sermons and ask for his advice or counsel. It makes the conversation turn from you pointing a finger at his inadequacy to asking for his help.

If you end up speaking with other pastors about the preaching ministry of another pastor, make sure you speak respectfully, but also honestly. Your pastors have a vested interest in you benefiting from the preached Word on Sunday and are likely eager to both help you and help one another preach better. Though you may not have the kind of relationship or ability to help your pastor’s preaching improve, sharing your struggles with other pastors may equip them with what they need to help their fellow pastor’s improve.

You should want your pastors to help you grow and also be eager to give them encouragement and feedback that will help them grow too!

What other counsels would you give to someone who’s struggling to benefit from Sunday morning?