SERMON - HOW LONG IS TOO LONG OR TOO SHORT

SERMONS AS A YOUTH PREACHER AT ROANOKE BAPTIST TEMPLE

"Dad, can I preach Sunday Night?" "Son, are you ready to preached, have you studied?" "How do I study for a sermon, Dad?" I was 15 then, and had little clue as to how to study. All I knew in those days, was watching Dad. Now Dad was sixty and had being preaching for forty years. He didn't need to study, I was thinking. He just gets up on Sunday and talks.

Dad had a wonderful library. He also owned a Bible Book Store. So I thought I will study some of the books in his library. I liked Charles Spurgeon sermons. Boy to read one sermon took a long time, Spurgeon must have preached two hours or more, to over 10,000 people each time he preached. Didn't they have anything else to do in 1850's and 60's?

I remember Al Myers and Don and I would travel to preach in youth revivals and youth rallies and in one church the preacher said to Al and Don, do you want to preach too. And Don would say, "I don't think there will be time after Charles gets finish preaching."

One time in Rocky Mount I can remember Don pointing out his watch, "Charles its time to stop."

Usually, us young preacher boys would preach about five minutes. I would preach thirty or more minutes. I could see the adults smiling as I preached. They were surprise to see that I could talk as long as I did.

Did I know how to preach? Nope. But I could read and study from Spurgeon and others.

HOW LONG SHOULD YOU PREACH! I guess until you are finished.


The photo above: Tonight I gathered up some of my sermon manuscripts.

I have some from Roanoke Baptist Temple back in 1963. Some from most of the churches I worked in. I have some from Madison Baptist Church where I was pastor for three years.

But most of the sermons are from First Baptist Church, in Altoona, Kansas.

1. The series from Romans and Matthew. (the top shelf of sermons) Matthew 17 volumes with 12 sermons in each volume. All all the message were hand written. Each sermons from Matthew was about fifty five minutes long. The book of Matthew was my first really verse by verse study. And I was learning how to study and learn how to interpret the text. Other series: Acts, I Corinthians, Ephesians, Philippians, Daniel, Revelation
   

• And I guess I would study just the KJV. Kidding. I used a number of technical books. In 1983 I attended the Shepherd's Conference in California, and from that conference, learned what was meant by expository preaching. And I had to purchase those books I learned I needed from the conference.
  

While I would study from Harry Ironside for teaching lessons in Sunday School in Dad's church , I had to learn to study with the idea of preaching/teaching. I believe I have address this process in an earlier post.

All the sermons in the photo are manuscripts and were hand written. Goodness.