While I’m in our series on Romans 12-16, I have time to share some insights from my readings.  I have thoroughly enjoyed, Preaching & Preachers.  A few days ago I read Lloyd-Jones’ take on how long sermons should be.  He helped me when he said besides considering your preaching style (“Ten minutes from some men seems like an age, while an hour from another passes like a few minutes” pp. 252-253), “The length of the sermon should also vary, I think, with the matter. Some things can be said in a short time, in a brief compass, and we should always handle them accordingly, and not feel that we have to spin it out so as to last for a given length of time” (p. 253).  This helped because I tend to create sermons that are 40-45 minutes long, no matter the size or subject matter of the selected preaching portion.  Being in Romans 12 right now provides opportunities for shorter sermons due to the, sometimes, brief commands.  While it’s true that some churches limited time for preaching (many now around 15 minutes) may indicate a devaluing of Scripture, it doesn’t have to be that way for all preaching portions.  Shorter sermons don’t always indicate that we’ve short-changed Scripture.