Sermons on 2 Corinthians 4:7-11:

Vessels, Vessels, Vessels

Contributed by Babatunde Olugboji on Jul 22, 2008

This sermon explores the concept of treasure in earthen vessels, within the concept of preaching the gospel

This message is about vessels! I am sure you must have guessed from the title. Our main bible text is from 2 Corinthians 4: 7-9: But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Denomination: Pentecostal

Why We Should Not Lost Heart

Contributed by Randy Hamel on Aug 15, 2008

Message looks at five reasons why the Apostle Paul did not use heart and applies them to our lives

2 Corinthians 4:1-7 (NIV) Why we should not lost heart? The Apostle Paul had established the Corinthian church on his second missionary journey in AD 49. This church was very important to him. But the church struggled in their faith. Corinth was a sprawling seaport and stopover between Asia and ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

Making Hard Choices

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Oct 1, 2009

Today’s world is filled with energy-saving devices that make life easier, but there is something to be said for embracing life’s challenges. The apostle Paul found serving Christ hard, but he didn’t see it as a cause of discouragement. The goal was worth

Opening illustration: On September 12th, 1962, President JF Kennedy delivered a speech at Rice University in Houston, TX, about the difficult challenges facing the nation. He also shared his passion for the US to place a man on the moon. In balancing the needs of his people with the desire to ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Challenged But Not Conquered

Contributed by Johnny Wilson on Oct 16, 2009

Encouragement for children when things don’t go right.

Title: “Challenged but not Conquered” 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 October 18, 2009 Prior to Service: • Supply Ping Pong Balls (one for each child) • Supply Markers • Set up boundary for children’s activity (boundary should be large enough that children can run inside the boundary.) GAME: “Not Where I ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-9

Denomination: Baptist

Earthen Vessel, Feet Of Clay

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Oct 29, 2009

Ordination of Troy L. Dixon, Nov. 1989: We pursue the trappings of religion instead of what is truly value. As a common clay vessel, be wary of power games, know that your foundation can crumble, focus on the treasure of the Gospel.

Somehow in men’s minds the paraphernalia of religion get to be more important than the faith itself. It is one of the enduring problems of religious life, how it is that we get far more caught up and invested in the trappings of religion than in the faith itself. In your average church, you ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-18

Denomination: Baptist

Do Not Lose Heart (Part I)

Contributed by Tim Patrick on Nov 4, 2009

This sermon offers resources for coping with discouragement and help in overcoming despair.

Have you ever seen someone lose heart? Maybe today you are struggling with issues and are on the verge of losing heart. Maybe you have already lost heart. I will share a few examples I have observed. When I was a boy there was a man I idolized. His name was Jim Ryun. Jim Ryun was one of the ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-16

Denomination: Baptist

You Spin Me Round And Round

Contributed by Curt Cizek on Nov 28, 2008

Isaiah says that we are the clay and that God is the potter. God spins us on His potter’s wheel turning us into jars of clay for His purpose.

-Maybe you remember the song by the group Dead or Alive in the 1980s entitled “You spin me right round” -The chorus is what most people remember -It goes, “You spin me right round baby right round like a record baby, right round, round, round.” -When Andrew was younger and he would spin around in ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Denomination: Lutheran

The Hidden Gospel

Contributed by Jerry Flury on Jan 19, 2009

However, regardless of how bright the light of the Gospel is there are those who are blind to the truth. To them the gospel is hidden. How does such brilliant light become so veiled or hidden that men see not the Light?

THE HIDDEN GOSPEL 2 CORINTHIANS 4:1-7 Introduction: Paul writing to the Corinthian church speaks of the great and awesome privilege of having been given the ministry of carrying the Gospel to the lost. This ministry of bringing light to darkness was and is a work of God’s Power through His Spirit. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

The Spirit Of Faith Series

Contributed by Victor Yap on Jan 24, 2009

Paul, Pt. 10

THE SPIRIT OF FAITH (2 CORINTHIANS 4:7-18) The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Shaping The Clay Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on May 24, 2008

For Memorial Day/Christian Legacy Sunday: We must not protect the vessel in which the Gospel is carried more than the Gospel itself. The Gospel is power; the vessel must be impervious to popularity, a good transporter. Legacy giving encouraged.

I am not much of a gardener. The Scripture says that there is a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, but I must tell you that I don’t know the difference. I pluck up only what I am told to pluck up, because I don’t know a weed from a willow. However, the mistress of our little ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Broken, Worn Out, Old Clay Pots

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Jun 19, 2008

I used this sermon as one of several in a series on Clay Pots (Earthen Vessels). This was the one I used on Father’s Day during that series.

I recently came across a Chinese parable that eludes to our thoughts for today’s text. It’s a tale about a water-bearer and his two pots of clay. An elderly peasant had two large clay pots. One of the pots had a crack down its side to a point about half way. The other pot, perfect! Each had been ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:27-29, Leviticus 15:12, 2 Corinthians 4:7

Denomination: *other

God's Blessings In Cracked, Clay Pots

Contributed by Paul Dietz on Jun 21, 2008

Last in a series of sermons on Earthen Vessels

I recently read a peculiar story about a family in Lander, Wyoming that had gone to their local refuse dump to dispose of some unwanted family items that were either busted or greatly abused. As they were emptying there junk into a large dumpster, the man of the home saw something that caught his ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:1-18

Denomination: *other

When It Doesn't Make Sense, Does That Make It Senseless

Contributed by Joe Robbins on Mar 7, 2009

Why do we try to figure out how God works?, instead of just trusting He know best.

"When It Doesn’t Make Sense, Does That Make It Senseless?" 2 Corinthians 4:8,9 How do we as Christians in this world make any sense out of what makes no sense? How do we cope with things in our lives that just don’t make sense? There are 4 steps that we must take in this situation. 1. ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Denomination: Church Of God

Earthen Treasure Series

Contributed by Guy Mcgraw on Feb 13, 2012

Why doesn’t God put His valuables in the most valuable looking containers? You may think they you are not valuable enough for God to be able to use. You think have too many ‘chips’ and ‘cracks’ or past or present problems and failures. What is valuable

What is the most inexpensive container you have ever put something valuable in? Money in a sock? Cigar box? God chose to place in human vessels the very presence of His Holy Spirit. If I would have been in charge of presenting Jesus to the world 2,000 years ago I would have used a stadium ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:7-15

I Made It

Contributed by Charles Jones on Jun 14, 2011

It must also be noted that there is a vast difference between saying "I Made It" and saying "I’ve Got It Made¨.

The familiar statement, "I Made It ", is a statement that implies achievement in the midst of overwhelming odds. It is a proclamation of accomplishment for someone who has had the deck stacked against him. Its a way of saying that, "In spite of the length of the journey; in spite of the roughness ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:8-9

Denomination: Pentecostal