How long should sermons be

[padredurand]

Yes...well you might be interested to know that companies today are reevaluating the effectiveness of meetings. My old company's meeting room was a small area without table & chairs (to discourage comfort) .....so you got in there, said what you had to say & then adjourned the meeting. So, I tell ya what Zak......if you wander on for a while thats fine with me. If I feel you are saying anything worthwhile then fine but if I hear the Charlie Brown teacher voice.....you know, then it wouldn't be worth staying around cause my mind has tuned you out & I'm gone.

Once, I listened to a preacher spend 30 minutes defining the word all. It was one of those Texas Longhorn sermons... a point here and a point there with a whole lot of bull in between. :tongue3:

 

[preachinjesus]

Once, I listened to a preacher spend 30 minutes defining the word all. It was one of those Texas Longhorn sermons... a point here and a point there with a whole lot of bull in between. :tongue3:

I've heard a lot of these. Not too long ago, one of our other pastors and I went to a conference and a fella did this same kind of thing. After about fifteen minutes of him trying (badly) to show the Greek was justifying his point (which it wasn't) we got up and left. Got to lunch early and had a great space.

Forgot the Texas Longhorn sermon joke though...thanks!

 

[Rippon]

I can do a long sermon & I got them conned to think "Longer( Bigger) is Better," & so I can blather on & on & on & on & on..... to infinity.

Wow! Are you ever blathering yourself, as is your tendency.

Longer does not necessarily better than shorter. But sermonettes are disgraceful. I am, of course figuring that most posters here go to churches where the pastor/preacher is not lazy. He's doing the Lord's work behind the pulpit. Laboring in the Word will not produce sermonettes.

You never did give a response when I asked you the following:You profess to like the sermons of Whitefield, M-L-J and Furguson. They have usually preached much longer than your 20 minute limit. How do you reconcile that?

You rarely attend church --why would you be all-fired-up for brief messages --one would think that you would want to drink in lots of biblical truth --if you are serious about wanting to grow as a Christian.

 

[Rippon]

I think you've misunderstood my post. My point in the other post is that long sermons might not be nearly as "long" as they seem when you add it all the other parts of worship that take place in a church service.

I agree with you. We ARE spoiled and do not fully appreciate our Christian freedoms or the time and effort put into the study of a good sermon. It is frustrating and disheartening when a pastor pours his heart out with no response from the congregation except bored stares.

The devil uses little things to distract us--flies, heat or cold, traffic going by, a hard pew, etc. That's why we must come with the intent to learn and focus. Many times we rush around to get to church without taking the time to prepare our hearts first. Instead of thinking about worship, we're wondering if we left the iron on or if we plugged in the crockpot for lunch.

Hi ABCgrad. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to target you in my earlier post.

I agree with everything you said above.

 

[Rippon]

A sermon can be excellent but if it goes past what most people can absorb in one sitting, it is tooooooo long.

That's because of a spoiled and mollycoddled American mindset. It's a selfish tendency --and one that is dishonoring to Christ.

And shorter, to the point, well redacted sermons without all the rabbit chasing can say more in 20-30 minutes than some could say in two hours.

You have misused the word redacted.

You assume if a sermon goes longer than 20 or 30 minutes that there is rabbit chasing going on. And who in the world here is advocating two hour sermons?!

Perhaps you have not been exposed to any good preaching. That's a possibility. But consider this --maybe outside of your field of vision there are sermons that routinely go around 40 to 45 minutes. Maybe, just maybe, some of those messages are good, quality sermons. That means no rabbit trails,no droning --but real, authentic, substantive, biblical preaching.

Just my humble opinion, your mileage may vary.

I intentionally didn't quote your incredibly lame rant against Calvinism.

 

[Rippon]

So let me lay down some principles that I have.

Longer messages do not necessarily mean better.

Shorter messages do not necessarily mean better.

Messages that are regularly in the 20 minute range are inferior. Is the minister preaching to pre-teens or what?

Some preachers speak slowly. One speaking slowly might take 35 minutes to say the same thing that a faster minister would take 25 minutes to deliver.

But I am assuming that the average pastor speaks at a moderate pace. To develop the text and explain and apply the Scripture takes time. It is not meant to be done within a rushed 20-25 minute time-frame.

A minister of the Word of God has a calling. He has the Word of God to deliver to the Lord's people. The congregation deserves more than snips from the Bible. They need to feast on what he sets before them. Soundbites are not meant for the pulpit.

I wonder how many here have actually listened to solid preaching on sermonaudio.com

If not, they should look up some preachers and see if it really is the case --that some very good preaching takes a bit of time investment. There are some excellent sermons that don't have the defects that you characterize longer messages as having. Open your minds and breath some fresh air.

I wonder how many contributing to this thread are KJV folks (not necessarily KJVO). Are you advocating brief homilies like the Roman Catholics offer up to their people? There's no better way to decrease biblical literacy than to have short and not so sweet "sermons." Oh, it will please the people all right. They can do what they really want to do out of the House of God. But in all your attempts to convey that the KJV is the best translation --why have its message watered-down with merely brief remarks?

 

[Iconoclast]

That's because of a spoiled and mollycoddled American mindset. It's a selfish tendency --and one that is dishonoring to Christ.

You have misused the word redacted.

You assume if a sermon goes longer than 20 or 30 minutes that there is rabbit chasing going on. And who in the world here is advocating two hour sermons?!

Perhaps you have not been exposed to any good preaching. That's a possibility. But consider this --maybe outside of your field of vision there are sermons that routinely go around 40 to 45 minutes. Maybe, just maybe, some of those messages are good, quality sermons. That means no rabbit trails,no droning --but real, authentic, substantive, biblical preaching.


I intentionally didn't quote your incredibly lame rant against Calvinism.

:thumbs::applause::thumbs: Clearly many on this thread have not heard good preaching.They think listening about our Lord is droning on and on.

 

[go2church]

Being on TV, "forces" me to finish on time. Usually 20-30 minutes. I find having a specific time frame for the sermon/service makes me be more concise.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Wow! Are you ever blathering yourself, as is your tendency.

Longer does not necessarily better than shorter. But sermonettes are disgraceful. I am, of course figuring that most posters here go to churches where the pastor/preacher is not lazy. He's doing the Lord's work behind the pulpit. Laboring in the Word will not produce sermonettes.

You never did give a response when I asked you the following:You profess to like the sermons of Whitefield, M-L-J and Furguson. They have usually preached much longer than your 20 minute limit. How do you reconcile that?

You rarely attend church --why would you be all-fired-up for brief messages --one would think that you would want to drink in lots of biblical truth --if you are serious about wanting to grow as a Christian.

Poor Rippon. Your problem here is you "think" but you do not "KNOW."

But so you know, I rarely listen to sermons, so with MLJ, I read his books......unless of course he is on a 5 minute Youtube. Same with Furgy.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Being on TV, "forces" me to finish on time. Usually 20-30 minutes. I find having a specific time frame for the sermon/service makes me be more concise.

Nothing wrong with that. It gives the listener a chance to delve into the subject matter themselves. Which in turn generally causes more questions and answer dialog down the road. I grow in my Christian walk partly because of self study.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

:thumbs::applause::thumbs: Clearly many on this thread have not heard good preaching.They think listening about our Lord is droning on and on.

So give us an example.

 

[Van]

An itinerant Pastor arrived at a rural meeting house on Sunday and was dismayed to find only one person sitting in the meeting room. He said, "well, I guess we can skip the sermon, and just go fishing." The person responded, well if I go out to feed my cattle and come across just one, I feed it."

Taken aback, the Pastor says "you are right" and steps behind the pulpit and begins to present God's word. He quotes and expounds and provides illustrations from daily life, he challenges and makes comparisons. An hour, then two, passes and finally the Pastor draws it to a close.

The person, stands, smiles and thanks the Pastor. The Pastor asks what the person thought, and the person responded, I said I would feed it, not drop the whole load.

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

An itinerant Pastor arrived at a rural meeting house on Sunday and was dismayed to find only one person sitting in the meeting room. He said, "well, I guess we can skip the sermon, and just go fishing." The person responded, well if I go out to feed my cattle and come across just one, I feed it."

Taken aback, the Pastor says "you are right" and steps behind the pulpit and begins to present God's word. He quotes and expounds and provides illustrations from daily life, he challenges and makes comparisons. An hour, then two, passes and finally the Pastor draws it to a close.

The person, stands, smiles and thanks the Pastor. The Pastor asks what the person thought, and the person responded, I said I would feed it, not drop the whole load.

That was a good one....will have to remember that. :laugh:

 

[nodak]

Clearly some on here HAVE heard good preaching.

Because they have, they recognize when a lengthy sermon is NOT good preaching and is just droning on and on.

Not every lengthy sermon is bad, but being long doesn't mean it is good or God honoring.

And with all due respect, some have very little meat to give us but grind it up exceedingly fine.

 

[Revmitchell]

People are going to hold on to what they want to hold on to.

 

[Thousand Hills]

How Long Should Sermons Be?

Been listening to a little bit of Leonard Ravenhill for the first time, his answer to this question (I'm paraphrasing here some):

"However long it takes to raise the dead"

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Been listening to a little bit of Leonard Ravenhill for the first time, his answer to this question (I'm paraphrasing here some):

"However long it takes to raise the dead"

How do ya get to Carnegie Hall? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! :laugh:

 

[Rippon]

But so you know, I rarely listen to sermons, so with MLJ, I read his books......unless of course he is on a 5 minute Youtube. Same with Furgy.

Some of your favorite preachers have regularly preached 40 or more minutes. Yet you do an about-face and spin away and instead join the quick chat group.

And lest you forget --you have gone on and on about listening to Sinclair.You must change your mind more often than your clothes. ;-)

 

[Earth Wind and Fire]

Some of your favorite preachers have regularly preached 40 or more minutes. Yet you do an about-face and spin away and instead join the quick chat group.

And lest you forget --you have gone on and on about listening to Sinclair.You must change your mind more often than your clothes. ;-)

I didn't say I sit there and listen to him did I? You should of had your ears cleaned out in addition to having your eyes fixed:tongue3:.

 

[Tom Butler]

A sermon should be long enough for the mind and heart to be fed, and short enough for the bottom to endure.