H7 Story: Taking Sermon Notes

Did you know that taking notes increases your ability to focus and comprehend the sermon? For most people, it helps them listen more effectively.

Well, the good news (not of the gospel😉) is that we have options for everyone!  If good ole fashioned pen and paper is what you prefer, we have ESV Scripture journals for the book of Exodus available in the hub for $6. These are super cool, because the entire book of Exodus is printed out with a blank page to write your notes next to the chapter we are studying. This is the way to go if you are like Samantha Hinkle, Kids Min Ops, and like to doodle while you listen. Check out some of Samantha's Exodus visuals and takeaways from the sermon. 

If you prefer to have everything at your fingertips and want to avoid digging through a bunch of notebooks, we have got you covered too. On the app, we have a sermon guide that allows for note-taking. At the end of each scripture section is a little blue bubble where you can type as many notes as you like. But wait! Don't we get a new Sermon Guide on the app each week? Yes, we do! Thanks for noticing! The cool thing with the Sermon Guide is that you can email it to yourself at the bottom of the Sermon Guide by clicking the blue "Email" button so that you never lose those notes. In a few seconds, your lovely notes will appear in your inbox with the sermon's date and title.

Note-taking during the sermon creates a great tool for our sermon-based Life Groups, where we study the previous week's sermon together. Travis Chapman, South Greene Co-Life Group Leader, commented, "When I take notes during the sermon, compared to when I don't, it allows me to remember how God worked through to sermon to speak to me and to share that during the Bible study time."

Erin Jones, who attends the Greeneville campus said, "I hand-write my notes during the sermon because it helps me stay focused and engaged."  Now that I have started attending a Life Group, I’ll pull those notes out every week as we sit around and discuss the sermon and application points."

Erin gave a few tips for those who struggle to take notes. "First of all, get whatever type of notebook that is pleasing to your eyes. Also, use whatever writing utensil makes you happy. I like  what I call “juicy pens,”which are pens that have plenty of ink to help them glide across the paper."

Go ahead, give it a try!
No matter how you take notes or don't take notes, we pray that God is working in your lives through the preaching of the Word.