Featured How long should sermons be

Ok smarty pants, I had to google that. :smilewinkgrin:

 

Isnt that the guy with long hair that plays the saxophone? No it must be the guy that plays the fiddle and has a theater in Branson.

 

This is one of my favorite stories.

 

You forgot grits. How could you forget grits?

 

Ground hominy cooked like oatmeal, best served with apple butter and cinnamon with cheese and sausage on the side. Yum!

'Tis obvious you ain't no Suthin' boyah!

 

2/3 of the BB membership just fell over gasping. :laugh: Italians call it polenta and pay ten times the price.

 

You are not alone, as it was a favorite of a friend of mine's dad, so the story is probably at least 100 years old.

 

They should always be until you are done. Not when you think that you are done, but when the Holy Spirit says that you are done. So pay very good attention to the Holy Spirit.
:godisgood:

 

Hmm...
Here are your own words:

"I warn you however, that it is a sermon, so over an hour is recommended for listening to it." (10/16/12)

"I listen to at [least] one good hour long sermon a day from Sermon Audio."(10/17/12)

"I suggest you spend an hour and listen to Sinclair's sermon." (10/17/12)

"Look up Sinclair Ferguson's sermon...on election." (8/21/13)

"Sinclair Ferguson's captivates me both in his books and his sermons." (11/5/13)

 

Ha,Ha,Ha! ;-) See my prior post and your contradictions.

 

Back in post #21 I itemized seven preachers. I went through the last 25 sermons of theirs on sermonaudio.com found some interesting facts.

Green's average sermons are in the plus 60 minute range.
Begg -- in the 40s.
Renihan --in the 60s.
Ferguson --in the 40s.
Martin -- in the 60s.
Beeke -- in the 60s.
DLMJ -- in the 40s.

Conclusion? Since three average in the 40s and three more average in the 60s -- the normal length would be in the 50+ minute parameter.

I've done some more research. I have found seven more preachers that I like to listen to.

James White : 1 sermon of his last 25 was in the 20s.
4 sermons in the 30s.
18 sermons in the 40s.
2 sermons in the 50s.

Most of his are in the 40+ minute range.
______________________________________________

Michael Barrett:
7 in the 30s.
6 in the 40s.
3 in the 50s.
8 in the 60s.
1 in the 70s.

Most are in the 60+ range.
_______________________________________________

Joseph A. Pipa Jr.
7 in the 30s.
11 in the 40s.
7 in the 50s.

Most of his are in the 40+ range.
________________________________________________

Brian Borgman
6 are in the 30s.
6 are in the 40s.
8 are in the 50s.
5 are in the 60s.

Most of his are beyond 50 minutes.
________________________________________________

Chris Anderson
1 in the 20s.
3 in the 30s.
11 in the 40s.
9 in the 50s.
1 in the 60s.

Most of his are 40+ minutes.
________________________________________________

Edward Donnelly

12 are in the 30s.
12 are in the 40s.
i is in the 50s.

There is a tie between his 30+ minute sermons and his 40+ minute sermons.
________________________________________________
Peter Masters

10 are in the 30s.
13 are in the 40s.
2 are in the 50s.

So he averages out to the 40+ minute range.
_______________________________________________

Conclusion? Most are in the 40+ minute range.

 

Mini sermons are for mini Christians

Therefore,between these 14 solid preachers the average sermon length is in the vicinity of 45 minutes. From what I have gleaned from the majority of posters on this thread -- they are used to bite sized sermons. And from their experience, not having been under preaching that is rich in biblical content --they wrongly assume that those who preach for more than their ideal of 20-30 minutes are:

repetitive, mundane, boring, blathering, droning and long-winded.

What these folks need to do is actually listen to some of the preachers I have named. Look them up on sermonaudio.com. See for yourself. Open your eyes --listen and ... change.

James White, in his last sermon of 5/11/2014 called "Pursue peace and holiness" said :"Sermonettes make Christianettes."

 

:thumbsup::applause::thumbsup:

 

Good job Rippon....many who post against this have not heard a faithful pastor introduce a text...open up key words.....demonstrate the context, then give the practical uses.....not in 20 minutes.....no way...

If someone is doing nursing home ministry...sure...15 minutes,maybe 20 to focus on a point, or plant one seed....that is all they can physically endure.

Younger people who despise solid meat...are dishonoring God and His word.

No one is defending an uncalled person who just tries to fill time and has nothing to say....such a person should not be in the pulpit.God called men have so much to impart that many times they have to turn it into 4 or 5 pt series as you know:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

"Some lengthy Divines, with their many divisions, their, 'Finallies,' and 'Lastlies,' and concluding observations, spin and spin and cause their congregations to suffer—and that not a little, but exceedingly much. It is well, when we have anything good to say, to use as few words as possible, for if brevity is not the garment of Divine Grace, it is the soul of wit, and all our wits should be set to work to put Gospel teaching into such a form that it will be the better received. Assuredly, short and pointed addresses are more likely to reach the heart than long and dreary sermons. If our preaching is so poor that the people suffer, it is better that they suffer little rather than much! And if our ministry is very rich and satisfying, it is better to send the people home longing than loathing. We may also admire the prudence of Elihu in dividing his discourse into four or five portions. If you turn to the book of Job you will see that he has been speaking ever since the 32nd chapter and he has made at least three pauses. It may be that these filled up considerable intervals. His talk would have reached an unbearable length had he continued to speak on and on without a parenthesis of silence. But he stopped and gave his hearers space to breathe. Doubtless four sermonettes were better than one long discourse." —Charles Spurgeon, "God's Advocates Breaking Silence"

 

Spurgeon's main mentor (though he never met him) was Joseph Irons. If you read his sermons you would know that no one could utter those messages in less than an hour even as a fast talker. Spurgeon modeled his preaching after that of Irons. And he followed the lead of Irons with his own Penny Pulpit.

The sermons of Daniel Rowland, Charles Simeon, Alexander Maclaren and F.B. Meyer were certainly not mini sermons. Neither were the sermons of Christmas Evans, G. Campbell Morgan, John A. Broadus, Robert Muray M'cheyne, Henry P. Liddon, Robert Candlish or Alexander Whyte.

Some ministers of the gospel today are short-changing their flocks with skimpy spiritual meals. Or, as James Boice used to say --"some pretty thin gruel."