Sunday's Message - Offering Our Gift of Attention

During the season of Advent, we talked about how we might unwrap some of the gifts given to us by God through Jesus Christ. Well, now that Christmas is over, we're going to shift gears and consider the gifts we might offer God. Beginning on Sunday, December 28, we started to consider the following:

• December 28 - Offering Our Gift of Praise
• January 4 - Offering Our Gift of Attention
• January 11 - Offering Our Gift of Time
• January 18 - Offering Our Gift of Talents
• January 25 - Offering Our Gift of Treasures
• February 1 - Offering Our Gift of Energy
• February 8 - Offering Our Gift of Enthusiasm
• February 15 - Offering Our Gift of Love

On Sunday, we continued this series by looking at how we can offer our gift of attention. Below is a presentation and the text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Now, I don’t know about y’all, but for me, well, things are finally settling down a little bit. I mean, we’re done with all the craziness of Christmas, although I’m still working through the cookies. Debbie is back home, having returned from her semi-annual pilgrimage to Indianapolis. And on Friday, I stopped playing Christmas music and took down the “Colt tree” that I put up in my office right after Thanksgiving. You see, even though, accord to the church calendar, we’re still in the Season of Christmas and on this particular day, I should be giving Debbie (say it with me) ...eleven pipers piping, ten lords a-leaping, nine ladies dancing, eight maids a-milking, seven swans a-swimming, six geese a-laying, five golden rings, four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. (The drummers are coming tomorrow), even though all that’s true, for me, well, things are a lot calmer than they were about ten days ago. 

And since Christmas 2025 is now in the books and we’ve finished up our Advent focus on what God has given us, last week we started a new series dealing with eight gifts that we can offer God. And we kicked-off this little journey by talking about how we can offer God our praise, something that’s important to do given who he is and what he does and that we can accomplish either together or alone. Now that’s what we looked at last week. And this morning we’re going to move forward by considering a second gift we can offer God, namely our attention.

And I’ll tell you, I think it’s interesting that on Tuesday, we’re remembering one of the best examples of people paying attention in the entire Bible. I mean, remember how I mentioned that today is day eleven in the twelve days of Christmas? Well that’s based on the time that separates Christmas from Epiphany, and Epiphany is the traditional day to remember the coming of the Magi, the wise men, you know, “we three kings of orient are...” And I’ll tell you, when you think about their story, man, it’s all about paying attention, isn’t it? I mean, they paid attention to the star, following it from the east. And when they got to Jerusalem, they paid attention to Herod and his cronies when they said the Messiah, the Christ, would be born in Bethlehem. And then, as sort of the cherry on top of the sundae, they paid attention to the angel who told them to go back home another way because Herod had lied to them which I know is shocking to us because we can’t imagine a politician not telling us the truth, right? You see, these wise guys were all about paying attention.

And I’ll tell you, that’s what we’re going to look at this morning. You see, using passages from both the Old and New Testaments, we’re going to consider why and how we might be more attentive to God, something that’s certainly possible for us to do but only if we’re serious about doing it. Now that’s going to be our focus this morning.

And as we did with praise last week, we’re going to start with what I think is a pretty good question: Why should we offer God our gift of attention? I mean, why is it important for us as followers of Jesus Christ to be attentive to God, you know, to be open to what he has to say and responsive to what he wants us to do? In other words, why should we be attentive to God? Now, I think that’s a great question, one that I believe was answered in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, just listen to what the psalmist wrote:

God blesses those people
    who refuse evil advice
    and won’t follow sinners
    or join in sneering at God.
Instead, they find happiness
    in the Teaching of the Lord,
and they think about it
    day and night.

They are like trees
    growing beside a stream,
trees that produce
fruit in season
    and always have leaves.
Those people succeed
    in everything they do.

That isn’t true of those
    who are evil—
they are like straw
    blown by the wind.
Sinners won’t have an excuse
    on the day of judgment,
and they won’t have a place
    with the people of God.
The Lord protects everyone
    who follows him,
but the wicked follow a road
    that leads to ruin. [Psalm 1, CEV]

Now, that’s actually the first Psalm. And from the New Testament, just listen to what Peter wrote in his first letter:

Be on your guard and stay awake. Your enemy, the devil, is like a roaring lion, sneaking around to find someone to attack. But you must resist the devil and stay strong in your faith. You know that all over the world the Lord’s followers are suffering just as you are. But God shows undeserved kindness to everyone. That’s why he appointed Christ Jesus to choose you to share in his eternal glory. You will suffer for a while, but God will make you complete, steady, strong, and firm. God will be in control forever! Amen. [1 Peter 5:8-11, CEV]

You see, according to both the Old and New Testaments, paying attention, especially to God, is pretty important. 

And I’ll tell you, so is the reason we should do it. You see, I believe being attentive to God can lead to profound personal change, and I’m talking about a real inner transformation. For example, it can lead to mental and spiritual peace, something that can get us through the trials and troubles we might face. And it offers genuine guidance and wisdom, sort of like a GPS for life’s decisions. And it can enable us to grow spiritually and develop qualities like love, patience, and integrity. Of course, when we feel weighed down by problems and pain we carry from the past, intentionally focusing on what God has said and is saying, I’ll tell you, it can heal some of the confusion and doubt. And it can free us from feeling helpless and anxious. And it can provide a sense of purpose, a sense of meaning, a real sense of mission that can shape the decisions that we have to make as we move forward. Believe me, paying attention to God can lead to profound personal change. 

But you know, even if you don’t believe me, I mean, even if you’re not sure of the peace and wisdom, the growth and healing, the freedom and purpose God is offering to those of us who pay attention, just think about all those men and women whose lives changed when they listened to God. For example, just think about Abraham who chose to pay attention to a divine command to leave everything he knew for an unknown land and as a result, became the “father of many nations,” or his great grandson Joseph who listened to God even in prison and because he did, God gave him the wisdom necessary to save Egypt as well as his own family from a deadly seven-year famine. And what about Moses, who saw the burning bush and heard the voice of God and saved his people from slavery, or Samuel, who, as a boy, responded when God called his name and grew up to become one of the most important prophets in the history of Israel, or Esther, that Jewish queen of Persia, whose willingness to see God’s higher purpose, gave her the courage and wisdom to save her people from extermination. And of course, we should never forget the Apostle Paul, and I’m talking about after he encountered the divine up close and personal on the Damascus Road. You see, because he listened to the instructions he received while he was blind, not only was his entire identity transformed, my gosh, even his name changed, he became the one commissioned to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth. And you know, these are just a few examples. I think I’m safe in saying that paying attention to God can lead to profound personal change and I’ll tell you, that’s why we should offer God our gift of attention, the answer to our first question.

And as to the second, how can we offer him our gift of attention; well I’ll tell you, I think we can get some real direction from scripture there too. In other words, how can we be more attentive to God? From the Old Testament, just check out what the writer of the Proverbs had to say:

My child, listen carefully
    to everything I say.
Don’t forget a single word,
    but think about it all.
Knowing these teachings
will mean true life
    and good health for you.
Carefully guard your thoughts
because they are the source
    of true life. [Proverbs 4:20-23, CEV]

And listen to this from the Letter to the Hebrews:

We must give our full attention to what we were told, so we won’t drift away. The message spoken by angels proved to be true, and all who disobeyed or rejected it were punished as they deserved. So if we refuse this great way of being saved, how can we hope to escape? The Lord himself was the first to tell about it, and people who heard the message proved to us that it was true. God himself showed that his message was true by working all kinds of powerful miracles and wonders. He also gave his Holy Spirit to anyone he chose to. [Hebrews 2:1-4, CEV]

Now that’s what they wrote.

And I’ll tell you, I’m not sure they could have been more clear about how a person can be really attentive. You see, if we’re serious about paying attention to God, man, we’ve got to be willing to listen. I mean, dah. Of course, there are different ways that God speaks to us. For example, he speaks through his Spirit, as Jesus Christ himself said right before his arrest, “The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment.” [John 16:8, CEV] And he speaks to us through the Bible, something that the Apostle Paul recognized when he told Timothy that “everything in the Scriptures is God’s Word. All of it is useful for teaching and helping people and for correcting them and showing them how to live.” [2 Timothy 3:16, CEV] But I’ll tell you, I also believe that God speaks to us through his people, and I’m talking about our brothers and sisters. As Jesus Christ himself said, “Whenever two or three of you come together in my name, I am there with you.” [Matthew 18:20, CEV] And so, I think I’m safe in saying that God is speaking to all of us all the time. But we’re going to miss it, if we don’t listen. 

But you know, to listen, we really need to put ourselves in places where we can hear. I mean, if we want to hear God speaking to us through his Holy Spirit, we probably need to pray consistently, to separate ourselves from all the noise and distractions that can get in the way and to become quiet and calm and focused. And maybe that’s why Jesus said to his disciples, “When you pray, go into a room alone and close the door. Pray to your Father in private. He knows what is done in private and will reward you.” [Matthew 6:6, CEV] And if we’re all fired up about hearing God speaking to us through his word, maybe we need to study diligently and to do with an open mind, ready to have our assumptions and prejudices challenged rather than confirmed, something that I think the writer of the Letter to the Hebrews believed would happen when he wrote, “God’s word is alive and powerful! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts.” [Hebrews 4:12, CEV] And finally, if we want to hear God speaking through his people, we should probably engage actively, in other words, we should be willing to join with our brothers and sisters so that we might grow together, something they did in the early church when “they spent their time learning from the apostles, and they were like family to each other. They also broke bread and prayed together.” [Acts 2:42, CEV] I’ll tell you, when we decide to pray and to study and to engage, we’ll be in the perfect place to hear God speak. And for me, that’s how we can offer God our gift of attention, the answer to question number two.

And you know, I think that may have been what the Magi, those wise guys, did as they followed the star, right to Bethlehem and then bypassed Jerusalem on their way back home. You see, they were attentive to God throughout their journey. And you know, as we move on from all the craziness that surrounds Christmas, we can do the same. I mean, we can recognize that attentiveness leads to peace and wisdom, growth and healing, freedom and purpose. Therefore, we can make the intentional decision to listen for God speaking through his Holy Spirit by praying consistently and through his word by studying diligently and through his people by engaging actively. I’m telling you, this we can do. And when we do, in my opinion, we’ll be offering God our gift of attention.