In Preaching Articles: "Struggle"

Your Struggling Church Can Turn Around Today – But Greatness Takes Time

By Karl Vaters on Aug 22, 2023

If you’re pastoring a church that has or is turning around, here's some great news - and possibly your greatest challenge.

Scripture: Revelation 21:5

Tags: leadership, renewal, patience, Church Health, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

2 Rules For Transparency In The Pulpit

By Brady Boyd on Feb 20, 2025

"I think it is great when pastors are candid about their own struggles. But there are times when the pastor can share way too much information and actually cause people to stumble."

Tags: Preaching, Honesty, Authenticity, Struggles, Transparency, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

Preaching Is Like Setting A Wildfire—except When It's Not

By Jacob Myers on Mar 7, 2024

How do you decide what to burn and what to protect?

Scripture: Joshua 6:6-25, Proverbs 8:34

Tags: Reality, Struggle, wildfire, preaching, culture, Preaching, Culture  (view more)  (view less)

God’s Work In Your Depression

By SermonCentral .com on Jul 4, 2022

“Is this depression? I have almost no motivation for anything. I have been praying and I will keep praying for God to be my strength but how do you fight when you don’t feel like fighting?"

Scripture: Isaiah 43:2-3, Psalm 139:11-12

Tags: Fighting for Joy, Help for the Hurting, Emotions, Healing, endurance, Depression, Struggles, soul care  (view more)  (view less)

My Sermon ... With A Little Bit Of Bible Thrown In

By Sherman Haywood Cox on Apr 14, 2023

"If you ain't struggled with the Scripture, we have something else other than a sermon."

Tags: bible, Bible, Scripture, Preaching, Research, preaching  (view more)  (view less)

What Is The Church's Mission? And Why Does It Matter?

By Carey Nieuwhof on Jan 20, 2021

With the vast majority of churches struggling in some way, it’s time to rethink our future mission.

Tags: Preaching

Framing Thanksgiving

By Mark Looyenga on Nov 13, 2024

Again and again in Scripture, biblical characters experience contentment amidst struggle or difficulty in ways that go beyond just circumstance.

Scripture: Daniel 6:1-28, Ruth 1:16-17, Psalm 63:1-8, Philippians 4:11, James 1:2, 1 Peter 1:6, Matthew 26:53, Matthew 27:14, Romans 12:1  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Thanksgiving, Contentment, gratitude, Perspective, perspective  (view more)  (view less)

Check Your Church's Outreach Heartbeat

By Kevin Harney on Mar 16, 2025

If your church is struggling to invest in reaching your community and the world, ask yourself this question: Are we a church that is on fire with a passion for God?

Scripture: Revelation 2:1

Tags: Faith, Heart, Growth, Health

Is Your Preaching Missing This Key Component?

By Lance Witt on Jan 6, 2021

As a pastor I am embarrassed to admit this, but prayer has often been a struggle for me. And yet, it is crucial to our success in preaching.

Scripture: Ephesians 6:1-4

Tags:

Forget Seminaries: What Are You Doing To Train The Next Generation Of Preachers?

By Chris Surber on Aug 15, 2025

We have a lot of people genuinely called, sincerely gifted people who struggle to find their way past the gatekeepers in our churches and denominations.

Scripture: Colossians 3:1-5, Mark 5:24-34

Tags: Discipleship, Gift, Seminary, Next Generation

Those Frustrating Times With Church Members

By Joe Mckeever on Dec 13, 2023

"Any pastor can tell you about it. Even when you do your best to serve God by ministering to His people, some church members are not going to forgive you. You didn’t do it their way, weren’t there when they called, didn’t jump at their bark." So how do you handle these kinds of situations?

Tags: Love like Christ, pastoral leadership, church membership, Pastoral Ministry, church ministry, ministry struggles, Difficult People, conflict  (view more)  (view less)

Plan To Pray

By SermonCentral .com on Jun 27, 2023

I have been a pastor and spend a lot of time talking to pastors, and as I do I learn that one of the struggles many pastors have is prayer.

Tags: Prayer, Spiritual Discipline, Paul on prayer, Intentional Growth

There Is No 'us' Or 'them,' There Is Just 'us'

By Jeff K. Clarke on Dec 16, 2021

One of the primary reasons we struggle with differing views on any subject is that we believe acceptance equals agreement. That is, to accept a person or their argument is to agree with them.

Scripture: John 13:34-35

Tags: Love, Fear, conversation, anger, disagreement  (view more)  (view less)

What To Do With Information Overload

By Ron Edmondson on Oct 24, 2022

"One struggle I’ve witnessed consistently with leaders – including this one – is we drown in information overload. There are more good ideas than we can ever implement."

Tags: pastoral leadership, leadership capacity, good leadership, Leadership, Technology, leadership, organization, effective, productivity  (view more)  (view less)

How To Tell If A New Volunteer Is Truly A Leader (Or Simply A Doer)

By Carey Nieuwhof on May 9, 2024

"I recently surveyed 1400 small and mid-sized church pastors to find out what they struggle with most as their church grows. They overwhelmingly identified developing leaders as their top challenge."

Tags: Leadership, Volunteer, church ministry, obstacles to growth, Barriers to Growth, Growing a Church, Leaders vs Doers, leadership, Church Growth  (view more)  (view less)