Hello ICC Family!
Last August at our ICC booth at the Crowfield Bash we had a short survey for people to fill out. The questions were written to gather some potentially interesting information, but the real purpose was solely to get contact information so that we could follow up with people. We passed out a couple hundred water bottles but had just 11 people willing to fill out the survey. Because of that small sample size, this data might not be a true representation of people in this area, but the responses are interesting, nonetheless. One of the questions asked was, “How long do you think a sermon should last?” Just so you know how difficult it is to please everyone when it comes to preaching, here are the results:
20 minutes or less - 2
20-30 minutes - 3
30-45 minutes - 3
45-60 minutes - 2
“As long as it takes” - 1
Now, these results might reflect people coming from different denominational backgrounds. A sermon in a Catholic church averages 14 minutes. Methodists - 20 minutes. Presbyterians and Pentecostals average around 30 minutes. Baptists average between 30 minutes and an hour. Black churches average 54 minutes! As an international church with people coming from all of these different backgrounds, we would have quite a range of answers to that question as well. So, I am feeling pretty good knowing that I shoot for 30 minutes, even if I probably usually get long-winded and go 35. Whoever wrote in “As long as it takes” as an answer to the survey probably has it right, but lets face it… nobody really wants to feel like they are being held hostage in any situation, let alone when they are worshiping and engaging the Word of God.
Regardless of how long a sermon is, though, I guarantee you the preacher could have gone longer. There is always more background information that could have been shared, another story or illustration that they would have liked to have used, or another point of application that might have been helpful.
I am writing this to let you know there is A LOT of background that I will be skipping over as we start preaching through the book of 1st John on Sunday. I’m looking forward to everything that the Holy Spirit will reveal to each of us and to our church as a whole, but please know that I will only be scratching the surface. I would ask that you try to take time to read the book before Sunday. It is just 5 chapters and won’t take you very long. Here are a few more links that I think could be helpful to you as we walk through this book in order of the amount of time you will need to invest.
1st John - the New Living Translation version. You can read it in on this site in any translation that you would like with just one click.
Bible Project intro video to John’s letters - a 10-minute video that will give you a good summary of what the book is saying.
Intro Bible Study - If you have more time and would like to study the book yourself as we go through it, here is an introductory Bible study put out by the Gospel Coalition.
Everything you ever could possibly want to know about 1st John - Exactly what the link says. I am going to preach through the book, and I can’t read and digest even a portion of what is contained on this site.
Please let me know if you have any favorite verses from this book. Or any questions that you may have struggled with. Or perhaps you just want to get together and chat about what you are learning. I would love to hear from you!
Blessings to you all. And know that I’m praying for you!
Pastor Aaron