In Sermon Illustrations: "hardships"

There's A Story About A Child Psychologist Who ...  PRO

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Nov 24, 2003

There’s a story about a child psychologist who wanted to observe how different children respond to negative circumstances. They got a room and filled it with horse manure. Putting the pessimistic child in there, they observed how he responded. Predictably, he whined and cried, and despaired that ...read more

Scripture: Philippians 4:8, Philippians 4:8

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Three Phrases Describing The Oppression By ...

Contributed by Thomas H on Feb 11, 2004

Three phrases describing the oppression by foreigners that the Israelites felt, are given one after the other: “the yoke of burden”, “the staff of his shoulder” and “the rod of his oppressor”. The three phrases are piled on top of each other to show a picture of terrible oppression. In those ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

With The Winter Olympics Hosted Again By Japan In ...

Contributed by John Wheeler on Mar 3, 2004

With the Winter Olympics hosted again by Japan in 1998, a U.S. figure skater who took the bronze medal in Sapporo in 1972 comes to mind--Janet Lynn. The 44-year-old mother of five boys (three of them in college) remains a cult figure among the Japanese for an unforgettable moment of seeming failure ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

When The Well Is Dry, We Know The Worth Of ...

Contributed by Sermon Central on Mar 28, 2004

"When the well is dry, we know the worth of water." ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

May 5, 2004 "You Can Walk Boy!" John 16: 19-24 ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on May 4, 2004

May 5, 2004 “You Can Walk Boy!” John 16: 19-24 Key verse(s): 21 “‘A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.’” Why do Christians have to suffer? If I had ...read more

Scripture: Romans 5:1-11

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Apollo 13 Lifted Off 2:13 Pm April 11, 1970 ...

Contributed by Tom Doubt on May 17, 2004

Apollo 13 lifted off 2:13 PM April 11, 1970 [Apollo 13 web site]. James Lovell, John Swigert, Fred Haise read their instruments at 55:52:31 into the flight. The master caution light was triggered by low pressure in hydrogen tank #1. At 55:54:57 oxygen tank # 2 read off-scale; in plain language, ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Yet God Is Bigger Than Our Suffering. We Can Have ...  PRO

Contributed by Shawn Williams on Jun 19, 2004

Yet God is bigger than our suffering. We can have hope as we place our trust in Him —in His faithfulness and in His ability to work out in our lives His purposes ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Max Lucado Tells A Story In A Book Called "It's ...  PRO

Contributed by Jeff Simms on Aug 2, 2004

Max Lucado tells a story in a book called “It’s Not About Me” about a friend of his who had cancer. Some well intentioned Christians had told him ‘If you have faith, then you will be healed”. But, no healing came, only a crisis in faith in that man’s life. Max suggested another answer to him, ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

Woody Allen In Addressing A Harvard Graduation ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Aug 28, 2004

Woody Allen in addressing a Harvard graduation said, "You have entered a crossroads of life. Down one road is despondency and ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Christian Church

A Man Who Had Hitchhiked From Coast To Coast And ...  PRO

Contributed by R. Darrel Davis on Sep 17, 2004

A man who had hitchhiked from coast to coast and had walked many miles in the process was asked what he had found the most difficult to endure. To the surprise of his questioner it was not the steep mountains or the dazzling sun or the scorching desert heat that had troubled him, but, in the words ...read more

Scripture: Song of Songs 2:15

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

I Love Phillip Keller's Details About A ...  PRO

Contributed by Timothy Smith on Sep 26, 2004

I love Phillip Keller’s details about a “cast-down” sheep and what the shepherd does to get him back on his feet. “When sheep lay on their back, gas begins to collect in their stomach. It hardens the stomach, cuts off the air passage and they suffocate. Not only that, their legs go numb in that ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Christian Church

There's Nothing Like A Good Crisis To Increase My ...  PRO

Contributed by Sermon Central on Jan 20, 2002

There’s nothing like a good crisis to increase my energy and remind me how much I need God.” ...read more

Tags: Prayer Hardship

Rabbi Harold] Kushner's Book [when Bad Things ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Kuzma on Feb 19, 2002

[Rabbi Harold] Kushner’s book [When Bad Things Happen to Good People] was a best seller not only because it is so well written, but also because it caters to a narcissistic age. For us, any suffering, confusion or tragedy is patently unfair and undeserved because we stopped trusting a God whose ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Foursquare

Noel And Jill Seemed To Have Everything. They ...  PRO

Contributed by Russell Jeffares on Apr 3, 2002

Noel and Jill seemed to have everything. They worked in ministry with youth in Germany. Noel gave up a promising basketball career to pursue full time ministry. After five years of marriage Jill was six months pregnant. She was very excited about being a new mom. They eagerly prepared for the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Value Of Life A Store Owner Was Tacking A Sign ...  PRO

Contributed by Paul Fritz on Apr 15, 2002

Value of Life A store owner was tacking a sign above his door that read ’Puppies for Sale.’ These signs had a weird way of attracting children. And sure enough, a little boy appeared at the sign. "How much are you gonna sell those puppies for?" he asked. The store owner replied" Anywhere from ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Faith Does Not State That All Things Are Good, ...  PRO

Contributed by Wade Martin Hughes, Sr on Apr 22, 2002

Faith does not state that all things are good, but that things will work together for the good. This thing we face may be bad, ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Assembly Of God

It's Not The Mountains Ahead That Wear You Down, ...  PRO

Contributed by Mary Lewis on Jul 11, 2002

It’s not the mountains ahead that wear you down, it’s the ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Baptist

If You Could Kick The Person Responsible For ...  PRO

Contributed by Steven Dow on Jul 26, 2002

“If you could kick the person responsible for most of your troubles in the backside, you wouldn’t be able to sit down for ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Though Time May Be Tough  PRO

Contributed by Joel Vicente on Aug 17, 2002

THOUGH TIME MAY BE TOUGH AND THE ROAD REAL ROUGH JUST BELIEVE THOUGH YOU’VE CRIED MANY TEARS AND WAITED MANY YEARS JUST BELIEVE IF GOD SAID HE WILL THEN JUST BE STILL AND BELIEVE FOR GOD WILL TRULY DO WHAT HE PROMISED YOU IF YOU JUST BELIEVE JUST BELIEVE IN HIS WORD TRUST IN WHAT YOU’VE ...read more

Tags: God In The Hardships

Denomination: Baptist

Edward A. Murphy Was An Engineer Working On Air ...

Contributed by Bryan Ness on Sep 4, 2002

Edward A. Murphy was an engineer working on Air Force Project MX981 in 1949, designed to see how much sudden deceleration a person can stand in a crash. One day, after finding that a transducer was wired wrong, he cursed the technician responsible and said, "If there is any way to do it wrong, ...read more

Tags: Hardship Of Life

Denomination: Adventist