Sermons on Hard Knocks:

Why Did Jesus Come To This Earth And A Die As A Common Criminal?

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Dec 20, 2015

Why did Jesus come to this earth as a tiny baby, a die as a common criminal. What hope do we have for the future knowing that God himself was innocently crucified. This sermon is subtly hard hitting, giving hope for the future.

Note: The hymns "The sermon King" and "I cannot tell" to the tune Danny Boy are perfect for the sermon. Introduction One of the greatest yet strangest of stories in the bible is that of almighty God coming into this world and living as we do. ... And there is an even stranger story is that he did ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:5-10

Denomination: Episcopal

The Closest Thing To God's Love Is A Mothers Love, (A Mothers Day Sermon).

Contributed by Gordon Mcculloch on Mar 16, 2015

The closest love to God’s love is to witness the love of a good mother. Sadly this is not always the case, but it is the best model we have to follow. There are some emotional bits in this sermon making it very powerful, even hard to deliver.

Title: The closest thing to God's love is a Mothers love. Summary: The closest love to God’s love is to witness the love of a good mother. Sadly this is not always the case, but it is the best model we have to follow. There are some emotional bits in this sermon, but it is very powerful, ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 20:20-28

Denomination: Episcopal

Temporal Blessings Series

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Feb 1, 2018

Temporal blessings are gift from God, he enables to earn, enjoy. Never be arrogant but be humble. God never hates the rich but the pride and the ungrateful. God adds many blessings to the smart, hard working people. Poverty is not a curse.

Blessings of the Living God 1 Tim 6:17 Introduction: Paul talks about the salvation, world and other so many problems faced in the Church. Finally, he touched the need of carefulness on the temporal blessings and its perils. No temporal duties can overpower the heavenly duties. Think that many ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:17

Denomination: Methodist

"reformation: Finding Peace With God"

Contributed by Clarence Eisberg on Oct 25, 2019

The Reformation explosive, hard hitting, controversial, grace saturated, salvation clarifying Christ moment in history, based on Luther’s understanding of God’s grace as he lectured on Romans. The Reformation changed culture and our view or vocation.

In Jesus Holy Name October 27, 2019 Text: Romans 3:21-24 Redeemer “Reformation: Finding Peace with God” What a great event last night. Good food. Great music. Fun fellowship. Great beer. I always tell my Calvinist friends I’m so glad I’m a Lutheran. Why? Because I don’t ...read more

Scripture: Romans 3:21-24, Romans 5:1-3

Denomination: Lutheran

Living In His Presence During Difficult Times

Contributed by Mark Aarssen on Jun 19, 2018

Life is crushingly hard and so often it presents burdens our hearts are unable to bear in our own strength. The key truth is that God is with us through it all. We are not alone even as we walk through the darkest valley.

Living in His Presence during Difficult Times Psalm 23:1-4 Philippians 4:13 As our summer break began a young family suffered the sudden and unexpected death of their infant daughter. Such loss is unimaginable to comprehend. All of our hearts were broken by this news and we are at a loss to ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-4, John 14:15-17

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Santa’s Clause Is Coming To Town

Contributed by Charlie Roberts on Dec 15, 2019

God looked at the world, saw all of mankind when they were both sleeping and awake and knew the world could never change no matter how hard they tried, without a Savior to lead and bring the world back into relationship with Him!

Santa Clause is coming to town Ephesians 1:3-6 MSG 3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3-6, Colossians 1:27, Zechariah 4:6, Philippians 4:19

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Believing In Jesus Is Not Enough (John 8:12-59) Series

Contributed by Garrett Tyson on Feb 7, 2022

In John, there are a cluster of verbs Jesus wants from us, to be full disciples, and we have to hold them all together. If we focus too hard on "believing," we will misunderstand Jesus, and what he wants.

Last week, we read just two verses from John 8, spending the rest of our time in Leviticus 23 and Exodus 13. I scratched my itch to get back to the OT, and I'm ready to take another shot at this. I say that, but this is probably the most depressing chapter (I hope!) in the entire gospel of ...read more

Scripture: John 8:12-59

The Prodigal's Father Series

Contributed by Glenn Pease on Apr 7, 2021

Fathers need some encouragement. There are two things I see in the parable of the Prodigal that can be an encouragement to fathers, for these two things make it clear that fatherhood is hard, but that there is hope. The two things I see here are the intricacy and the intimacy of fatherhood

We live in the age of the marvelous machine. In Washington D. C. the traffic for a half mile around the White House is controlled by a computer system. The system is constantly telling the lights when to change to move the traffic according to the need. 450 buses have a transmitter which is ...read more

Scripture: Luke 15:11-32

River Of Life Series

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Aug 19, 2021

A day would come on that day, the luxurious cars, elegant high tower buildings and delicious food providing hotels, monuments and the beauties of the earth will be no more. Your hard-earned riches, wealth and properties will go within a fraction of seconds.

Theme: River of Life Text: Revelation 22:1-7 End of earthly life (Revelation 22:1) A day would come on that day, the luxurious cars, elegant high tower buildings and delicious food providing hotels, monuments and the beauties of the earth will be no more. Your hard-earned riches, wealth and ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 22:1-7

Denomination: Methodist

Snoring Christians

Contributed by Bala Samson on Oct 1, 2020

Why this spiritual lethargy and carelessness? Where are the tears over the perishing? Where is the groaning? Where is the fasting and hard prayer for our loved ones who are lost, people we work with and for people who have never heard the Gospel??

Snoring Christians Judges 16:14 So while he slept, Delilah took the seven locks of his hair and wove them into the web]. And she fastened it with the pin and said to him, "The Philistines are upon you, Samson!" But he awoke from his sleep and pulled out the pin of the loom and the ...read more

Scripture: Judges 16:14

Denomination: Pentecostal

Galatians 2:20 How To Persevere In The Trials Of Life.

Contributed by David Cramer on Oct 8, 2020

With all that is going on in our world regardless of where we live, it is hard. This message can help with getting in a habit of not doing it alone. We can rely on Him to help us through as we get closer to Him daily.

Galatians 2:20 How to persevere in the trials of life Good Morning Stand with me and lift up your bible and repeat after me. This is my Bible. I am what it says I am. I can do what it says I can do. I am going to learn how to be what it says I can be. Today I will learn more of ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 2:20, Job 2:10

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Not What We Expected

Contributed by Mark Aarssen on Jul 9, 2018

Opposition to the Good News of Jesus Christ is nothing new. The first 12 pastors were instructed how to deal with it. Think long and hard how you respond to the message of the Good News as there are consequences depending on your reaction.

Not What We Expected Mark 6:1-13 Jesus said that; ““A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” “He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Mark 6:4 Sometimes people think they know you. They think they know your family and your family ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 55:1-3, James 5:13-16, Mark 6:1-13

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

Do This In Remembrance.

Contributed by Howard Strickland on Apr 23, 2022

We humans often have a hard time remembering things. Maybe your memory has gotten so bad that you figure that within a few years you’ll be able to hide your own Easter eggs.

Do This In Remembrance. Luke 22:7-13NLT A man was working in his backyard one day, when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, "Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such.” ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:7-13, Genesis 12:1-4

Denomination: Pentecostal

Do This In Remembrance.

Contributed by Howard Strickland on May 18, 2022

We humans often have a hard time remembering things. Maybe your memory has gotten so bad that you figure that within a few years you’ll be able to hide your own Easter eggs.

Do This In Remembrance. Luke 22:7-13NLT A man was working in his backyard one day, when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, "Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such.” ...read more

Scripture: Luke 22:7-13, Luke 22:19-20

Denomination: Pentecostal

Looking For Leftovers Series

Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jun 29, 2014

Can God supply all your needs? The Disciples struggled with that idea... and so do many of us. Why do we have such a hard time trusting God in this and how can we learn to believe Him more?

OPEN: I once read the true story of a family that was sitting down at the dinner table for their evening meal. But one of the girls wasn’t happy because they were having leftovers, and she complained about it. The dad was not happy about that and spent a few moments explaining to her ...read more

Scripture: Mark 8:1-21

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ