How Long, O Lord?

Over at cyberbrethen there is a discussion on how long a sermon should be. Allow me to go on a bit of a thinking rant. It seems as though today we forget that the men serving in the Office of the Public Ministry are in fact -- men. Men with different talents and abilities, different backgrounds, different talents. There is no one size fits all approach to what a Pastor does or how he should do it.

How long should a sermon be? Depends upon the preacher - what are his abilities and talents. Depends upon the congregation - what is in the best interest and service to them? What aspects of the text do they need emphasis placed upon, and how long is needed to make that point of instruction?

There is no perfect sermon. A sermon which you preach at your church that may be wonderful could be horrid here - and vice versa. Asking how long a sermon should be is sort of like asking what the recipe for a Spaghetti sauce should be. My wife doesn't like onion - therefore my sauce will have no onion in it. Should your wife love onion, then there had better be onion in it. There is no one perfect spaghetti sauce.

Likewise there is no one perfect sermon - nor sermon length or structure or illustration. Rather, there are simply men in the Office preaching to their congregation. Do this thoughtfully and diligently, o Preacher, and to the best of your abilities. Repent of your lack and failures, and ask God for His blessings upon what you preach - and leave it at that.

I believe it was in the Didache (the old one, not Pless' study) where when there was a guest celebrant conducting the service - he was to do so as well as he could. Likewise with your preaching - do it as best as you can for the people God has given you to serve.