By simply taking 5-10 minutes to read and meditate on the text your pastor is preaching in advance, you’ll position yourself to listen better. Maybe even read the footnotes in a study Bible as well. This will be easy to do if your pastor is preaching verse by verse through a book of the Bible. You can even personally study the book of the Bible your church is studying in your personal devotional time. By doing so, you’re already meditating on God’s Word. It will help you to feel more engaged during the sermon. 

Recently, I went to a conference for my denomination. I slipped up on my diet, affecting my physical and mental health. The three-hour jet lag made me tired. I spent too much time socializing. I wasn’t intentional. As a result, I found myself showing up late for public worship. My practical missteps hurt my experience of worship. 

Some Christians bemoan, “But I just don’t get anything out of the church service.” Maybe so. But often when believers express these kinds of sentiments, it’s because we don’t personally prepare ourselves for worship. We think we can haphazardly enter a worship service and assume it will be engaging because it’s a spiritual activity. We assume it’s entirely on the leaders of the church to give us a good worship experience; if we don’t have one, it must be the pastor or the music leader’s fault. But this is not the case. 

There are practical and spiritual actions you can take to prepare your soul for worship to help you get more out of the service. If you find yourself wanting more out of your church’s worship services, then take ownership and consider doing the following:  

1. Steward your Saturday nights. Steward your Saturday nights well (assuming your church meets on Sunday mornings). Your Saturday night is not exclusively a time of self-indulgent and leisurely activity, but a time to start preparing yourself for the Lord’s Day. In the fall in the American South, many of us stay up late on Saturday nights to watch college football, often derailing our sleep (and attitude). At some point, turn the T.V. off, leave that party, and put your phone on silent mode. Enjoying Sunday worship starts on Saturday night. Be intentional about how you spend your time. And be extra sure to get a good night’s sleep. 

2. Read the sermon text in advance.

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