Numero Uno Rule for Preachers

What is the number one rule of preaching?

Be brief.

Really.

Brief.

Jesus was, is, will be.

The kingdom of heaven is like a  mustard seed.  A tiny word grows into a tree of faith.

In our day, commnications people tell us that we can't listen for longer than seven minutes.  Seven minutes.  Seven minutes. 

The Sermon? Oh, the sermon was okaaaaay.

So the times they are a-changin.  Church membership is plummeting across the board with a few exceptions here and there but mainly we mainliners are going down.  Now that has all kinds of stuff wrapped up in it, and not all of it bad.  The days are gone most places when church membership was just another expected social marker like what car you drove or what neighborhood you lived in.  Nowadays, I don't think many people come to church because it is the socially expected thing to do or to get some help climbing some ladder or because their mama told them to.  This is not a bad thing for now I think people come because they are seekng.  And sometimes anxious and often wanting a place to stay which they cannot describe.