Hearing the Sermon

Seeds of Truth

Fell on the:• Pathway & Birds ate them up• Stony Ground & Spring up, but Withered• Soil among Thorns & Got Choked• Good Soil & Produced Much Fruit :)

Modes of Hearing Truth

Aristotle identified three critical elements of rhetoric:

Ethos Pathos Logos

Ethos

• Truth is learned and appreciated through a personal connection.

• Relationship is Key.

Ethos…

• Truth through Personality.• Important: WHO delivered it.• Questions:

– Can I trust this person?– Do I even like this person?

• Might Say After a Sermon:– Ah! The preacher connected with me!– He/She acts differently in the pulpit.

Ethos Problems

• Trust• Relationship• Relate-ability• Authenticity• Accepted as Truth just because of who

said it.

Pathos

• Truth is learned and appreciated through emotional connection.

• Feeling is Key.

Pathos…

• Truth through Emotions.• Feeling is a mode of knowledge.• Important: HOW it was delivered.• What we feel is a way of knowing.• Questions:

– Does this message stir me / inspire me?• Might Say After a Sermon:

– Wow, that sermon really moved me!– I felt the Holy Spirit moving today!

Pathos Problems

• A boring / unemotional presenter• Lack of story or connection to the topic• Accepted as Truth because it moved

you.

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are needed to see this picture.

Logos

• Truth is learned and appreciated through a mental connection.

• Content is Key.

Logos…

• Truth through Evidence.• Important: WHAT was delivered.• Good evidence, Logical construction.• Want information & ideas.• Ideas need to unfold in a logical way.• Might Say After a Sermon:

– That sermon had such a good idea…

Logos Problems

• Emotionally driven presentations.• Illogical or misrepresentation of facts.• Accepted as Truth just because it made

sense.

Interesting Statistic:

• About 80% of Adventists are Logos listeners according to a study done a few years ago.

• Post-moderns are primarily Ethos & Pathos listeners.

Application:

• What Kind of Listener are You?

–Ethos --- personality–Pathos --- emotional–Logos --- logical

So What?

• What Kind of Listener You Are Affects:– Your Church Life– Your Relationships– Your Devotional Life– Your Spiritual Development

Logos Listeners

• Much of Adventist Stuff caters to you…• Suggestions:

– Traditional Bible Studies– Biblos.com original word searches– Find someone who is a logos Bible study leader

for yourself.• Ask Tatiana or Luke to pair you up with someone.

– Book of Mark or Luke– Prayer Journaling keeping a record of Answers– F.A.S.T. Class (see P. James)

Pathos Listeners

• Suggestions:– Read Stories of Faith

• A Thousand Shall Fall• Book of John

– Listen to the Bible on Audio– Listen to Steps to Jesus on Audio– Get Your Story Hour Recordings– Prayer Journaling– Get a Someone to Share their Testimony

• Ask Tatiana or Luke to pair you up with someone.

Ethos Listeners

• Suggestions:– Sit-downs with people you see God in.– Read Stories of People of Faith

• A Thousand Shall Fall• Book of Matthew or John

– Personal Bible Studies• Ask Tatiana or Luke to pair you up with

someone.– Spontaneous Bible Studies (“S.B.S. Pop”)

Further Reading

• Hearing the Sermon– by Ronald J. Allen