Listening & Hearing

[churchpack_superquote]Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge. (Proverbs 19:27)[/churchpack_superquote]

I was recently asked by a good friend of mine what sermons I was currently listening to. I make a habit of listening to a wide variety of Bible teachers, those that I enjoy listening to, those pastors who are friends and I want to keep up to date with their ministry, and those that I have to concentrate a little harder to! I think that this is important particularly for a pastor who is giving out a lot.

There needs to be regular inflow of good instruction into my life so that I can hear from the Lord about my life, my family and my church. I need to be receptive to the things of the Lord regardless of my ministry because I am first of all a follow of Jesus and then secondly a leader of sheep. Jesus said that “Whoever is of God hears the words of God” (John 8:47) and that “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:21).

I tend to keep fairly balanced in what I take in and try to have some lectures in theology, pastoral helps as well as preaching. It’s good to be reminded of deeper theological things but I also want to sit un a service, albeit a virtual one, and allow the Holy Spirit to challenge me personally. So, here’s a list of what I’m currently listening to:

 

Pastoral Helps

• 2009 Biblical Counseling Conference from the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary via iTunes U. 11 Sessions.
• 9Marks Audio: Building Healthy Churches. Various speakers, including Mark Dever, and interviews cover a range of topics from mission to expositional preaching.
• The Pastors Study Volume 2 by Alistair Begg. A Scotsman living in the USA. Very sound and balanced.

Personal Helps

• “Teach Truth. Love Well” from Dallas Theological Seminary Chapel. Sermons that range from 15 minutes to an hour in length and cover all kinds of devotional material.
• Calvary Chapel Modesto with Damien Kyle. A wonderful pastor who I have never had the pleasure of meeting but love to listen to him teaching the Bible so simply and allowing the Lord to be the power behind the words.
• Crossroads Community Church with Daniel Fusco. I love the way this guy teaches – it’s direct, easy and solid.
• Forward Motion is the title of Calvary Chapel’s Senior Pastors Conference topic for 2014.

Regular, occasional listens:

• Calvary Chapel South London – my friends from CCSL are always on subscribe and love their approach to ministry.
• Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa – I often tune in live to hear Pastor Brian Brodersen, John Hwang or John Henry Corcoran teach.
• Calvary Chapel Santa Barbara – David Guzik is a veteran of European missions and author of the Enduring Word.
• Redeemer Presbyterian Church with Tim Keller.
• Calvary Chapel Maricopa – my good friend Pastor Chris Ward is currently going through the gospel of Luke and it’s a great study!
• Calvary Chapel Delaware County – my good friend Pastor Bob Guaglione is an inspiration and mentored me in my younger Christian years. If you’re a Christian man who wants to enter the ministry you’d do well sell your house and move to Pennsylvania to sit under this guy!