Thought this was excellent and wanted to share!
15 Practical Tips for Receiving the Word – by Leadership Resources
1. Prepare your heart in prayer. Pray to have listening ears and that the Spirit would sow the Word into your heart. Confess your sin and examine yourself to see if any cares of the world might be choking out your desire to receive the Word and obey it (Mark 4:18-19).
2. Pray for the proclamation of the Word. Pray for your pastor to faithfully proclaim the Word in the Spirit’s power. Pray that the congregation would be challenged, instructed, and built up from the preaching of the Word.
3. Read the passage to be preached before the service starts. This is done preferably at home to set your mind on the eternal truth you will receive during the message. Humbly pray over the passage for the Spirit’s illumination and help applying it.
4. Prepare your mind and body for receiving the Word. This means getting a good night’s rest the night before and avoiding activities that might make it hard to wake up and focus. This may also mean refraining from watching TV or checking email before the service to ensure a clear mind.
5. Arrive at church early. While this may seem impossible for some, it will reap rewards. Arriving early (or at least on time) will make it so you don’t miss anything in the service, will help avoid unnecessary anxiety from running late, and allow you to fellowship with the body of Christ with your extra time.
6. Listen to the sermon with an open Bible. Follow along in your Bible when Scripture is read and referenced. In a discerning Berean-like spirit check your pastor’s word with what God says and submit yourself to God’s truth.
Read the whole article at How to Listen to a Sermon: 15 Practical Tips for Receiving the Word « Leadership Resources.
Stand in the Storm 
My husband and I have an ongoing debate about being on time. I’m the person that arrives to everything 10 minutes early. He’s the guy that arrive 15 minutes late to everything. How did we ever get married? LOL!! He’s gotten better, but we usually miss the first 10 minutes of church. On rare occasions, we actually get there on time, but never early. We also live 30 minutes away and church starts SO early — 8:30 so that makes it a challenge. I think it’s important to get there early, but when you are married to a person who is never on time, you are only as timely as the worst person in the room. Great post! Love the tips!
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Lol! I always find it amusing when a guy takes longer than a girl to get ready. I have a friend who’s a bit of a turtle when it comes to getting out the door and it takes effort for me to be patient with him. I suppose that’s God’s point of having him in my life. 😛 Well, we just do the best we can do with God’s help each day in this world. 🙂 Thanks for visiting.
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Funny I read this today. I had a major freak out this morning with my daughter who was stalling. We were 5 minutes late to the dentist, but it might as well been an hour to me. I could complain about how often this happens, how inconvenient and embarrassing this is for me — but truth be told, I was the one that acted foolishly! I have patience to a point but then the closer the time gets to be there, the more anxiety I get, the more I unravel. Needless to say, I was the one apologizing. I just can’t deal with being late. What is my problem? I have major anxiety about it. I honestly think its a people pleasing thing. What will they think of me? I’m going to be embarrassed. You know, those kinds of thoughts. I need to somehow figure out how to not let those things bother me!
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