Ottawa New Life Church - ONLC.org

How long should a church sermon last?

I notice that when sermons go for more than 15 minutes, it's a sign that the priest didn't really prepare or organize his thoughts in advance. It seems the spiritual content of a sermon decreases as the length of lapsed time increases. My personal opinion is that a well-thought out message can be delivered in 5-8 minutes and will be more easily remembered.

Public Comments

1. It should be a minute less than the attention span of the specific congregation.
2. Twenty to thirty minutes.
3. I think a good size of a sermon is 45 minutes to an hour. You can't really get into a message in 8 minutes! It being longer doesn't have anything to do with being unorganized, rather having more to say and taking more time to study.
4. It should be as long as God wants it to be. A really "intune" Pastor will know when it's time to stop. Sometimes we may think the sermon is going on too long, but the sermon may be for one peticular person. God will go the distance for that one lost sheep. So if a sermon is too long for you, leave.
5. Sometimes yes. The amount of time needed to deliver a good sermon is the amount of time it takes to deliver the sermon. If the words pass through a man from God, then we should not put a time limit on them. If we are not patient enough to listen or want to put a time limit on it, should we be there to start with?
6. Many times they are to long, especially when the person giving the sermon is not good in giving sermons. GOD BLESS YOU!
7. You are so right. There have been congregations of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where I could count on gaining some insight or useful instruction each Sunday. The one I am in now? I don't get much from it because my wife won't let me fall asleep. If a speaker talks to hear his own voice, to show how much he knows, or to pretend that he's better than us, I don't get much from it.
8. I find that if a sermon is only 15 minutes long, it is because the pastor is failing to teach the Word of God. 15 minutes gives you time to present and explain about 3 verses, briefly. In that manner, it would take, oh about, a century to "give the whole council of God". A message should at least be 45 minutes, an hour being preferable; which is much more tolerable than you might imagine if you have never been exposed to solid Bible teaching.
9. You could tell a nice story in 8 minutes, but you certainly can't deliver a well prepared, informative sermon from the word of God in that amount of time. I would think a minimum of 30 minutes and 45 minutes to an hour would be better yet. I am sure that you can find many churches that offer an 8 minute sermonette and they are filled with half-baked under fed parishioners also. God BLess
10. If it goes pass the time we are should be out than it's to long. I like it 15 - 20 mins. after that they just keep repeating the same thing over and over. Like you were smart enough to get it the first time. Than it's time for a nap.