Long Sermons in Japan

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Oct 8, 1885

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 11, No. 38.

Long Sermons in Japan

THE cry for short sermons is never heard in Japan. Although it would be a mistake to attribute the fact solely to a love of Christian truth, yet it is, nevertheless, a fact, and a very significant one, that often the same audience will listen to seven sermons in succession, each one nearly an hour long, with only an intermission for tea after the third. When but one sermon can be had, the missionaries tell us an hour is considered short, and even after two hours many will still call out: "Go on!" Although the hearers of the word are by no means all doers thereof, yet it is a most hopeful sign that the hearers will throng the largest buildings night after night, so that the buildings will be packed and crowds standing at every window. —Sel.