Biscuits and Sermons

I. Introduction: Recently a relative of mine shared a joke with me. “What do biscuits and sermons have in common? They both are better with a little shortening.” Such jokes are eagerly told to preachers who likely have heard them all. Told in jest, the jokes are amusing, yet I know some, like my relative, are serious about wanting short sermons and short worship services. Each time we assemble we must consider our attitude toward the worship service knowing that we will give an account to God for our thoughts and actions.

II. Responsibility of the preacher

A. Be wise

B. A wise preacher realizes that a poorly prepared message will waste everyone’s time whether it is five minutes or one hour in length. We gather to praise God, exhort one another, and discover things that must be changed in our lives. The preacher must develop lessons that accomplish these goals rather than impress people with his knowledge or simply fill the time.

C. Be courteous

D. The preacher must realize that there are some older people who, after sitting for long periods of time, develop aches that others will not feel. He must also realize that some parents are wrestling with younger children while trying to listen to the message.

E. Be realistic

F. The preacher must not be so arrogant as to think that everyone is hanging on his every word, no matter how highly he is praised. Unless someone is taking notes, little of the sermon will be remembered weeks down the road, if any part is remembered at all.

G. Be focused

H. Titus 1:1-3 – God’s word is manifested through preaching Romans 10:9-13 – Preaching develops belief in God’s word1 Peter 1:25-2:2; 4:6 – Preaching to change lives Colossians 1:26-29 – proclaim the mystery of the gospel The preacher who enters the pulpit to entertain—though many men may praise him—has lost proper focus.

I. Be accountable

J. A preacher must realize that he will give an account for every word spoken and his example. A preacher must also realize that he will be accountable for things he knows he should have preached, but did not—though the message may be difficult for the audience to receive.2 Timothy 4:1-5 – please God, not men

K. The preacher must not waste time nor be insensitive to the needs of the audience, but ultimately, he must please God with his work.

III. Some good audiences

A. Nehemiah 8:1-12 – Ezra’s reading of the law

B. The people stood when the book of the law was opened They listened from morning until midday – at least six hours The priests took time to explain the law to them so they could follow it. The people mourned when they heard the law because of their disobedience until Ezra told them to cease mourning. The people went away rejoicing because they understood God’s word

C. Mark 8:1-3 – Multitudes who followed Jesus

D. Followed Jesus for three days and some came from afar to hear Jesus

E. They were more concerned about their spiritual hunger than their bellies

F. The multitude had been so long without food that Jesus worried that the people would faint before reaching a nearby village. It did not seem that they were so anxious to get away for Sunday lunch for they were feasting on God’s word

G. Acts 20:7-12 – Paul preached until midnight

H. Paul had much to say and the Christians stayed to listen. We also see the danger of falling asleep during the lesson!

I. Though the messages were long, the audiences desired to hear the life changing word of God.

J. “Remember Lot’s wife” written under the clock on the back wall At one church, I apologized for going a few minutes over in my lesson and was rebuked by one of the elders who said, “Don’t apologize for how long you preach. We came here to worship God and hear the truth and you take what time you need to tell us what we need to hear Foreign places Christians meet for many hours to study God’s word (hungry)

IV. Some poor audiences

A. Stephen’s audience

B. Acts 7 records Stephen’s sermon to the Jewish audience regarding proper obedience to God’s appointed authorities Acts 7:54-57 – Instead mourning their disobedience, they closed their ears and killed Stephen Some are content to listen to a sermon until it addresses their sin; instead of repenting, they attack the messenger.

C. Veiled Israel – 2 Corinthians 3:12-18

D. Moses spent so much time on Mt. Sinai with God that his face glowed. The sight of Moses’ face scared the people and so they asked Moses to wear a veil when he spoke to them. Paul says that, in his day, a veil remained over the hearts of many Jews who heard Moses read for they did not want to behold the glory of Jesus.

E. Acts 13:26-27 – Jews who heard God’s word every week were responsible for crucifying Jesus

F. They heard the prophecies of Christ but were ignorant of themI wonder how many attend every service and hear almost one hundred sermons a year yet know little more of God’s will than in the previous year.

V. Observations on complaining about the length of services

A. We should not be quick to complain; time is not our right but a gift from God

B. We are not giving our time to God, He gives each second to us. We must use our time on earth to bring glory to God, not serve ourselves

C. Sunday is The Lord’s Day—He is the focus of the day, not me

D. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was sacred to the Lord and no work was done on that day – it was a day of rest and beneficial to man. We have no such restriction regarding the Lord’s Day but should not desire to dismiss the Lord’s work quickly so we can be about our own business.

E. Special day

F. During the week, the demands of school and work pull at us all day Saturday is given to recreation or working around the home and yard Sunday provides a perfect opportunity for reflection, contemplation, study, and meditation in preparation for the upcoming week.

G. Complaints are likely to be inconsistent

H. When attending a football game, some can sit in the cold and rain during overtimes and double overtimes, only complaining when one’s team loses Some can endure rain delays or watch a baseball game on a hot day with no complaint if the game goes into extra innings. Some who chafe when a Bible lesson from God’s eternal word reaches 40-45 minutes can go home and read the newspaper, the epitome of a temporal message, for over an hour Some can watch hour or longer documentaries on obscure things (History of the Abrams Tank, …the Fast Food Industry, etc) or fashionable things that will soon be forgotten like the Martha Stewart trial or the Laci Peterson case yet would be irritable if subjected to an in depth study of a Bible issue. I trust that if this characterizes anyone here they would be in the minority; however, we must be careful that our attitude and words do not reflect an inconsistency with other things to which we give attention.

I. Fruits

J. At the beginning of the lesson I mentioned the shortening joke of a relative

K. The relative in question has three sons, all unfaithful—one is an atheist Admits she is set in her ways and that she is beyond change Why bother coming if you do not come to change? Of course such a person would complain about the time of the lesson for it is something she must endure for conscience’s sake but she is not willing to make changes in her life in response to the word.

L. A man I went to church with was so focused on the time that he would leave the worship when he thought the service was supposed to end

M. It is no surprise to me that his two daughters are unfaithful to God and have nothing to do with the Lord’s church. I wonder if he complained about “long winded preachers” to the point that his kids realized that going to church was just a show and they had better things to do with their time.

VI. Conclusion: Five questions to ask. If you’ve made a sermon length comment to me, I have no one in mind so I am not responding to it; I’ll joke about it myself. No problem with people coming to me with complaints but it is a general problem facing Christians

VII. What Kind of Audience Are You?