Let us take with us to church, not only our bodies, but our minds, our reason, our hearts and our consciences. Let us often ask ourselves, ‘What have I got from this sermon?’, ‘What have I learned?’, ‘What truths have been impressed on my mind?’. The heart is unquestionably the main point: but we must never forget that the Holy Spirit generally reaches the heart through the mind. Sleepy, idle, inattentive hearers are never likely to be converted.

~ J.C. Ryle

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew, [Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1986], 155.