how long should a sermon be?

shepreach · Posted: Sun Jan 25, 2004 7:42 pm Post subject: how long should a sermon be?

luke 4 gives us an example of a very short sermon. Jesus read isaiah 61 and said those verses had been fulled that day. nehemiah 8 tells of ezra sermon which lasted from early morning to midday. Jesus was run out of town. the people listened and responde to ezra's preaching by saying amen, praising the Lord with their hands in the air, falling down to pray, and crying.

how long should a sermon be? or should those who preach
have any control over the length at all?

RevJP · Posted: Mon Jan 26, 2004 7:56 am Post subject:

A sermon should be as long as it needs to be to get the message across.

But that is the ideal world we are talking about.

In reality, we have to consider the congregation, the organization of the worship service, the scientific and academic data and research concerning the attention span of adults on sunday morning during football season...

I think with all things, we should do as Jesus said to do and follow His example. His sermon on the mount was, I believe, His longest recorded sermon. If you were to present that same sermon, how long would it take?

admin · Beloved Admin Joined: 28 Sep 2000 Posts: 88

I wish sermons were only 2 minutes.

Smile

shepreach · Posted: Tue Jan 27, 2004 9:30 am Post subject:

admin,
so do i; i wouldn't have to work so hard. Very Happy

Da Blonde Bombshell · Posted: Fri Jan 30, 2004 11:56 pm Post subject:

20-30 minutes tops.

Zathrus · Little Guppy Joined: 05 Sep 2003 Posts: 31

... unless of course the Spirit of God really starts moving in the service. Then it should go until 3 in the afternoon. Wink

You charismatics and Pentecostals know what I'm talkin' about.

shepreach · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 3:24 pm Post subject:

i happen to agree with zathrus. btw z, baptists do this too. methodist ministers would probably get themselves stoned (as in rocks) if they carried a morning service past 12. they're a little more lenient with evening services. Wink

Nobby · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 8:10 pm Post subject:

Hi Folks, Our Sundyschool starts at 9:30 until 10:30 Our service is suppost to be 10:30 until 12:00. Like Zathrus said it depends on the spirit.
We do not leave if the Holy Spirit working in our midst.
I am one of them Pentecostals! Wink

shepreach · Posted: Fri Feb 06, 2004 9:47 pm Post subject:

yeah but we methodists have forgotten our roots. john wesley had his congregations speaking in tongues and swooning in the Spirit but he didn't encourage it. he didn't say it was wrong, just didn't make a big deal out of it. i've never asked the church i pastor how they feel because they're very formal(what we call high methodist). the methodist church i belong to however believes in all the gifts of the Spirit and their services can get pretty lively. i love to preach there because there are no constraints.

Nobby · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 11:53 am Post subject:

shepreach, Very Happy

I love it!! Very Happy

The Holy Spirit will get ahold of you one day when your preaching & you will start speaking in tongues right up there in front of everybody! Wink

Love you Sis.

shepreach · Posted: Sat Feb 07, 2004 4:42 pm Post subject:

do it now. they just don't hear it. we do have control you know and where i preach it's liable to run a few people off. one of these days God will turn me loose and then they will be dancing all over the church.
btw have you ever danced during an invitation?

Nobby · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 4:08 pm Post subject: how long should a sermon be?

shepreach · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 5:16 pm Post subject:

i sometimes catch myself dancing when i come down from the pulpit after the altar call. my congregation thinks it is funny. i've never tried to explain it to them.

my congregation doesn't sleep. they hang on every word i say. i think they're waiting for a moment when i say the wrong thing. my preaching class professor said i didn't conect with the people i preach to. if he heard some of the comments that are made by the congregation in the middle of my sermons he'd know better. i preached on the riches in heaven the other sunday and wondered what kind of riches God had there that he could give us. one of my two gentlemen came back with the answer that he'd never seen it rain cadilacs. a 3 year old was trying to say the phrase Father, Son, and Holy Ghost and came up with Father, Son, and Oily Ghost. i couldn't help myself. i told the adults that was why we annoited with oil.

shepreach · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 5:17 pm Post subject:

nobby,
are you trying to get rid of the princess thing?

Nobby · Posted: Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:17 pm Post subject: how long should a sermon be?