Preaching and Preachers

Illustrations, Eloquence, Humourquestion of the length of the sermon. The poor preacher is in thispredicament; he does not want to offend the people who attendregularly by being too long. He knows that they do not like long sermons,and that they are tending to say that he is too long. The resultof this, not infrequently, is that he makes his sermon so short thatthey, and others, begin to feel that it is not worth their while to go tolisten to him at all. The time has long since arrived when we mustbreak into this vicious circle. We must do so at the expense, perhaps,of offending certain people who come mechanically, or out of traditionor mere self-righteousness. We are commissioned by the RisenLord, and not only by the people; our primary concern must be withthe Truth and the people's need of it. We must not think primarily interms of time nor allow the people to do so. Indeed it is a part of thepreacher's business to deliver people from the bondage of time, andlife in this world only. Let the Truth, the Message, dictate the amountof time, and, governed by that, and 'knowing the terror of the Lord'we shall truly 'persuade men' and be 'ready to give an account of thedeeds done in the body' when 'we stand before the Judgment-Seat ofChrist'. If, in addition, we can say honestly that 'the love of Christconstraineth us' we shall never go far astray in this, or any otherrespect.243