IT WAS Sabbath morning, and a large congregation had gathered for worship in one of our large churches. The president of the conference was scheduled to speak at the eleven o'clock service. He had spent many years in the mission field, and since he was a friend of mine I looked forward with more than usual anticipation to an interesting and inspiring message.
The hands of the church clock pointed faithfully to eleven. I looked hopefully toward the door of the pastor's study, expecting momentarily that it would open for my ministering brethren to take their places on the rostrum. At five minutes past eleven my hopes were realized. All were in their places.
The usual opening exercises passed without incident. All the announcements appearing on the church calendar were duly read, emphasized, and enlarged upon. The seasonal campaign was good for a full ten minutes. A few late announcements and reminders were thrown in for good measure. Two offerings were received—the usual one scheduled for that week and another for an equally worthy cause.
By the time all of these good items had been cared for, the church clock reminded me it was eleven-forty. I was becoming a bit uneasy.
I was eager to hear Elder --------- speak. Much to my dismay I discovered even at this late hour "the end was not yet." Several other details required attention—letters of transfer and a deacon to be ordained. I feared lest Elder --------- might not be introduced before time for the closing hymn. My fears proved groundless, however, for at exactly seven minutes before twelve the service was turned over to the speaker of the day. Tactful man that he was, Elder --------- plunged into his seven-minute discourse without reference to delays. Both hands of the church clock were exactly at twelve when he sat down.
I felt cheated. Personally I needed the elder's full message. I left the church secretly resentful toward the many good items that had crowded out all but seven minutes of the study of the Word. This, to me, is the most important feature of the Sabbath morning worship hour.
Fortunately this truly depicted experience is an unusual one. Normally, as ministers, we have more than seven minutes for our Sabbath sermon. However, in too many churches "extra-curricula" are more and more crowding out the preaching of the Word. Many things, good in themselves at other appropriate times, are infringing upon minutes that should be held sacred for the study of the Word of God.
What Can We Do to Safeguard the Sermon Time?
Visiting our large church in a certain city is always a joy for any guest speaker. Having preached there many times I can speak from experience. Like the vast majority of our loyal pastors, Pastor --------- is a consecrated, efficient church leader. He has everything for the morning worship hour well organized in advance. Every person taking part has been notified ahead of time. There are not last-minute flurries. Each person to appear on the rostrum is handed a copy of the morning program as he steps into the vestry a few minutes after Sabbath school is over.
In this church the Sabbath morning worship service begins on time. No delay cuts into the speaker's sermon. At the appointed hour the ministers are taking their place on the rostrum. The members have come to expect this punctuality and they are seated in quiet anticipation when the service begins.
Pastor --------- has an attractive and informative church bulletin. It contains the regular announcements for the week, and since he well knows that his congregation reads the bulletin, he does not find it necessary to read all the material over to them. On some occasions, certain special announcements require added emphasis or repetition, but usually the pastor finds that the weekly bulletin is sufficient. He does not accept last-minute routine announcements. He requires all such announcements to be in the church office by Thursday evening or perhaps Wednesday, at least in ample time to appear in the bulletin.
The promotion of our various departmental plans has a place in the church calendar. Let us not neglect them. A good spiritual sermon on Ingathering or Christian education can be as much an act of worship as a sermon on the new birth. By placing a proper spiritual mold on our sermons they may qualify for the Sabbath morning service.
However, through the years I have found that the various campaigns can be effectively promoted at other hours. The first Sabbath missionary service, the weekly ten-minute missionary service, the Sabbath school, and the MV meeting—all offer excellent opportunities to emphasize the work of these various departments. They were especially designed for this purpose. If we plan carefully, these important items need neither suffer nor infringe upon time that should be devoted to the study of the Word on Sabbath mornings.
If Pastor --------- has special items to be cared
for on Sabbath morning, such as nominating committee reports, ordination of elders or deacons, letters of transfer, and the like, I have noticed he is able to adjust his program so that something less important than the sermon is shortened. If a visiting speaker of the day must yield some of his time, the pastor notifies him in advance so he is able to plan accordingly as he prepares his message.
In the --------- church the leadership avoids as far as possible receiving more than one offering during the Sabbath morning divine service. If a special offering is to be received, it is usually taken at the same time as the regular offering. This saves considerable time and also avoids giving impressions to visitors that perhaps too much of the service is devoted to financial rather than to spiritual interests.
The Sermon an Important Part of Worship
Inspiration declares that men are saved "by the foolishness of preaching" (1 Cor. 1:21). Sabbath morning preaching occupies a unique place in the life of the church. In a special sense the God of heaven meets with His people for this appointment.
How much time should the Sabbath morning sermon normally occupy? I shall not state categorically that it must be twenty, thirty, or forty-five minutes in length. Some men whose judgment I greatly respect declare a preacher should be able to condense his message into twenty minutes. Others whose opinions I value equally, feel that a Spirit-filled Adventist minister with a burden for souls should be able to profitably feed his flock for thirty-five or forty minutes on the Sabbath and still close promptly at twelve o'clock. I imagine that both the occasion and the speaker must be considered. But let it be sufficient for God's appointed messenger to present God's special message for the day. This time for the study of the Scriptures should be jealously guarded. Nothing should be permitted to crowd out or to unduly rush the preaching of the Word at this time. Let God speak! Let us not muffle His voice with incidentals, good and worthy of attention at other times. Let us give the preacher his proper place in the Sabbath morning worship service!
