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Featured How long should sermons be

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Earth Wind and Fire, May 2, 2014.

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  1. padredurand

    padredurand Well-Known Member
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    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:
     
  2. preachinjesus

    preachinjesus Well-Known Member
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    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!
     
  3. Rippon

    Rippon Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
  4. Rippon

    Rippon Well-Known Member
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    Hi ABCgrad. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to target you in my earlier post.

    I agree with everything you said above.
     
  5. Rippon

    Rippon Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
  6. Rippon

    Rippon Well-Known Member
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    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?
     
  7. Iconoclast

    Iconoclast Well-Known Member
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    :thumbs::applause::thumbs: Clearly many on this thread have not heard good preaching.They think listening about our Lord is droning on and on.
     
  8. go2church

    go2church Active Member
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    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.
     
  9. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
  10. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    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.
     
  11. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    So give us an example.
     
  12. Van

    Van Well-Known Member
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    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. :)
     
  13. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    That was a good one....will have to remember that. :laugh:
     
  14. nodak

    nodak Active Member
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    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.
     
  15. Revmitchell

    Revmitchell Well-Known Member
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    People are going to hold on to what they want to hold on to.
     
  16. Thousand Hills

    Thousand Hills Active Member

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    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"
     
  17. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    How do ya get to Carnegie Hall? PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE! :laugh:
     
  18. Rippon

    Rippon Well-Known Member
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    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. ;-)
     
  19. Earth Wind and Fire

    Earth Wind and Fire Well-Known Member
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    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:.
     
  20. Tom Butler

    Tom Butler New Member

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