Not saving but droning

One of the blessings of being away on holiday as a minister is that you can go to a church and just be there. When the projector isn't working or the organist gets the tune wrong or the bulletin has numerous errors you can sit back and bask in the knowledge that not only is it not your fault but that no-one expects you to do anything about it either. Bliss!


You also get to listen to sermons as a bod in the pews. I listen to a lot of sermons at home or in the car or on headphones as I move around. But I don't often sit on a (hard) pew and listen to a sermon first hand these days. (I listen to others preach here but we have great chairs).


This has got me to thinking again about how long I should aim to preach for. I think I preach for too long. I am happy to preach for 40 minutes plus but I don't want that to be a barrier to people hearing the gospel. I aim for 25 minutes but almost never hit it. It's probably regularly between 35-40 minutes. And that isn't always good.


Any honest answers on what a good length for sermon would be for you? I'd appreciate your insights as I don't want my verbosity to get in the way.