How long is the message?

[nodak]

As someone who used to live in Evanston, and in Worland, I've heard that saying A LOT.

Thanks for bringing back some wonderful memories!

 

[Mexdeaf]

Yes. I should mention - again - that I pastor a deaf church. My preaching is geared to the Deaf culture and what Deaf culture expects. An hour or even an hour and a quarter message is not unusual if it is clearly and well-presented.

Does God give you such clarity and boundaries about a message as to its content and length?

That's a good question. I seek His guidance constantly in the preparation and during the presentation. I have messages that I have prepared thinking "this will be a short one" that weren't and messages prepared that I expected to be long (or "mormal" length) that I did not finish because I was impressed to stop in a certain place.

Does he give you the message fully or nearly fully developed?

My messages aren't finished until the last "amen" is said. Sometimes things pop up in days leading up to (or even moments before) the service that will change the message.

Or do you sense, by His leadership to preach on a certain relevant topic, and then you develop the content around that topic. I am interested in knowing for the pastors out there specifically "how specific" God is to you when constructing a message or even a series of messages.

I preach section by section through a book of the Bible. Just finished a year's worth of exposition from Ephesians this morning. Heading to Daniel next. I try to preach whatever the Scripture presents.

 

[quantumfaith]

Yes. I should mention - again - that I pastor a deaf church. My preaching is geared to the Deaf culture and what Deaf culture expects. An hour or even an hour and a quarter message is not unusual if it is clearly and well-presented.



That's a good question. I seek His guidance constantly in the preparation and during the presentation. I have messages that I have prepared thinking "this will be a short one" that weren't and messages prepared that I expected to be long (or "mormal" length) that I did not finish because I was impressed to stop in a certain place.



My messages aren't finished until the last "amen" is said. Sometimes things pop up in days leading up to (or even moments before) the service that will change the message.



I preach section by section through a book of the Bible. Just finished a year's worth of exposition from Ephesians this morning. Heading to Daniel next. I try to preach whatever the Scripture presents.

Thank you for the response.

 

[Romans7man]

Out on the Salt Creek Oil Fields (think Teapot Dome, for you history buffs) a few miles from our home, they have an adage:

"If you don't strike oil in 30 minutes, quit boring."

.

.

.

[actually the rule is 30 days, but when we think long-winded sermons that is too long even for me!!]

Then there are those preachers that might say, Drill baby drill!!! we're almost there!