It seems that brief sermons on the Lord's Day are becoming the norm in today's fast-paced society. If a preacher could package and sell twenty-minute sermons with "preheat and serve" instructions, he would not only become rich, but would be quickly placed on the Forbes 500 list.
It's unfortunate, but the "let's hurry up and get this over with" philosophy has definitely found a home in the Lord's church. The old oil patch saying "If a man can't strike oil in twenty minutes, he's drilling with a dull bit," may provoke a laugh, but not from the spiritual mind intent on drinking deep from the well of living water (John 4:10-14). It seems that some members assemble to offer sincere homage to God, while other members convene to worship the clock. When the clock strikes noon, brother, you'd better get out of the way, for that sounds the gun for the race to the local eating establishment.
Overtime is a delight in sports events, but it becomes a source of great irritation and discomfort in preaching. It's indeed unfortunate that a prominently displayed clock, in full view of the pulpit, has become a distinguishing characteristic of the church. One brother was heard to say, "When the sermon goes overtime, I turn it off." We can rest assured that this brother would never make that statement about his favorite sports or television program. Sadly, we can easily discern Sunday's time of day, simply by taking note of the activity in the pews (putting up song books, gathering belongings, etc.). Proceeding past the "allotted time" is like scraping the top off an ant bed. Folks, overtime is no man's land where preachers, void of stout hearts, fear to tread.
Some attempt to justify the disturbing lack of interest in spiritual priorities, point to man's decreasing attention span. Folks this is just not true! It might be applicable to small children in the worship assembly, but not to adults. As adults, the capacity of our concentration, is dependent upon our sense of priority and interest (Matthew 6:19-21), not because of any decreasing attention span. An individual lacking in spirituality can devote rapt attention for several hours to some entertainment medium, while "suddenly" experiencing a severe shortage of mental vigilance under the sound of solid gospel preaching (yes, even sleeping through the sermon).
In contrast, we hear of missionaries telling stories of people walking for many miles, sitting for hours on backless boards in thatched huts and scorching heat, in order to hear the spiritual treasures contained in the gospel.
Dear reader, it is indeed tragic when our interest in spiritual things can be exhausted during the course of a twenty to thirty minute sermon. If we're guilty of watching the clock instead of intently listening to the proclaiming of God's word, maybe we need to consider re-evaluating our spiritual priorities (Matthew 6:33).
—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets
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