Why a 45-Minute Sermon Isn’t Too Long

 

Why a 45-Minute Sermon Isn’t Too Long

It’s interesting how our culture thinks about time.

Many people can sit through three hours of football, binge-watch multiple episodes of a TV series, or scroll through social media for hours without thinking twice about it. Yet sometimes when the sermon at church reaches forty minutes, people begin to feel like it’s too long.

But maybe the question we should ask is not, “Is the sermon too long?”
Maybe the better question is, “What do we believe is worth listening to?”

Throughout church history, sermons have rarely been short.

The Puritans often preached for an hour or more. Charles Spurgeon’s sermons regularly lasted close to an hour. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was known for messages that could stretch even longer. These pastors believed something very simple: when God’s Word is opened and explained, it deserves time and attention.

After all, preaching is not meant to be entertainment. It is meant to help people understand Scripture, see Christ more clearly, and apply God’s truth to their lives.

In a world filled with constant noise, the preaching of God’s Word is one of the few moments where believers slow down and listen carefully to eternal truth.

Nehemiah 8 tells us that when the people of Israel gathered to hear the Law of God read and explained, they stood listening for hours. They weren’t bored. They were hungry for God’s Word.

Perhaps the real issue today is not that sermons are too long.

Perhaps it is that we have become used to consuming things quickly and moving on just as fast.

But spiritual growth rarely happens at the speed of scrolling.

Sometimes we need to slow down, open the Bible, and let God’s truth shape our hearts.

And if that takes forty-five minutes on a Sunday morning, maybe that’s time well spent.