One of the challenges all preachers have is how much to actually say in a sermon.
Believe it or not there’s an art form to dialing it down to a certain amount of time where
the people will still listen while also filling a block of content between 10:30 and 11:30.
Now I had a friend that would preach for hours and yes I said hours. I can feel some of
the readers tense up just thinking about it. I never knew how much he accomplished by
preaching that long but it was his style. My first sermon only lasted seven glorious
minutes even though I had 12 pages of notes. I never knew how much I accomplished by
that short of a sermon but it was all I had! The art is developed over time; now there’s a
sense of when it gets close to 11:20 and it’s time to start dialing it back to wrap up the
service. What I’ve really learned is that sometimes less can be more and even have a
greater impactful if the artform meets the people where they are in their hearts and
minds.
When we read of David and Jesus it isn’t about the quantity but the quality of their
words and offering. It wasn’t that they had a lot more time than others or that they
spent a lot of time on any one particular thing. David reigned for 40 years from the age
of thirty; Jesus preached anywhere from 3 to 5 years from about the same age. The
amount of time doesn’t necessarily change the gravity of the impact but the quality of
the content does. Jesus’ words in John 14 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through me” ring to the heart of the matter of salvation.
There’s no need for explanation, the art was in the message. Jesus had a way of
communicating with people so that time wasn’t the only concern and the message was
a priority. When he feeds the 5 thousand we miss the fact that the people had been
there so long that it was time for dinner! They were consuming so much of the message
of Christ that they were in need of a physical meal.
What a glorious day it must have been when the small amount of food for a young boy
turned into more than enough for everyone involved in the message that day. What we
may see as small and insignificant can be used for abundantly more with God’s help. If
we are willing to learn the art of understanding the quality of what we give and how
important it is to seek quality content we just might find more in the little we have
available to us than all the things the world has to offer.
Keep the Faith,
Pastor Tommy
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