Sermons on Hard Knocks:

"Whatever Was,is, Whatever Will Be Is"

Contributed by Amiri Hooker on Jan 2, 2014

New Years Eve Sermon for a Historic Watch Night Service dealing with the past year and some hard questions on the concept of God as only a Good God.

December 31, 2013 (Watch Night/New Year's Eve/New Year’s Day) Ecclesiastes 3:1-13 “Whatever was, is, Whatever will be is” Psalm 8 (UMH 743) Revelation 21:1-6a
 From time to time, God tests us—as Abraham was tested—to see just how much we trust God and how much ...read more

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

Denomination: United Methodist

Abraham: Biblical Geographical History

Contributed by Kelly Durant on Jul 15, 2015

Geography and archaeology are revealing to us more and more how the ancients lived, how intelligent they were, how hard working they were, and how they worshiped God,

Abraham: Biblical Geographical History by Kelly Durant 2-24-13 Hebrews 11:9 By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; 10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 11:9

Denomination: Salvation Army

Zechariah And Elizabeth Series

Contributed by Tim Smith on Feb 7, 2016

Waiting is hard work, perhaps the hardest work you’ve ever done. And that is what the season of Advent is all about: waiting for the coming of the Messiah

iWitness: Zechariah and Elizabeth Luke 1: 5-17, 39-45 Wayne Styles tells of sitting on the tollways headed into work and realizing how much he spent on tolls. That led to trying to go to work on the access roads but he discovered that just took more time. So he was going to pay with either time or ...read more

Scripture: Luke 1:5-17

Denomination: Methodist

Heart Construction Series

Contributed by Perry Greene on Aug 26, 2015

Not only can God remove our hard hearts of stone and give us new ones, he can construct pure hearts within us.

1. Johnny and the Duck (1) A young boy who had just rec'd a slingshot for his birthday. He'd spend hours shooting rocks at various target/but he never seemed to be able to hit his target. One day he was in his Grandmother's house and he watched as her pet duck waddled by. On impulse he took aim ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 51:1-12, Psalm 51:1

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Blessed Are The Persecuted Series

Contributed by David Swanger on Feb 27, 2013

Called to live a beatitude kind of life, the hard reality is anyone who lives out the first seven beatitudes is guaranteed at some point to experience the eighth.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus ends the beatitudes by saying “Blessed are those persecuted, reviled, and spoken against.” Would anyone care to get in “the blessed line?” Most of us prefer ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:10-12

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

The Day Of The Lord

Contributed by Terry Laughlin on Aug 22, 2020

In 2 Peter 3:1-17, Peter is dealing with the hard heart of scoffing at the return of Jesus Christ, the final Judgement and how we should be living.

The Day of the Lord It’s Delay, Our Response In some Bibles, The Day of the Lord is found as a preoccupy of 2 Peter 3:1-17. In chapter 3, Peter is dealing with the hard heart of scoffing at the return of Jesus Christ, the final Judgement and how we should be living. There once was a man who ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 3:1-17

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Who Can Stand? The Church!, Part 2 (Revelation 7:9-17) Series

Contributed by Garrett Tyson on May 21, 2023

A no-rapture, academically rigorous reading of Revelation. Life is hard now. It will be harder later, and Revelation prepares us to accept that, and to be faithful in tough times.

Last week, we worked our way through the first vision of Revelation 7, which describes the sealing of the 144,000, from the 12 tribes of Israel. I argued that this was a vision of the church. Israel, is the church. The church, is Israel. I gave a few arguments in support of this, but I left out ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17

Being A Light In The World Today

Contributed by Anthony Zibolski on Jun 19, 2023

This world has a hard time talking to each other. conversations escalate and being the light in a dark world is tough but possible with the Lord's help

Being a light in the world today Luke 11:33-36 Good Morning Everyone - it is really Good to see you and we are glad that you are! Prayer- (being a light) The Psalmist tells us; The word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path… the light of God keeps us in a right relationship ...read more

Scripture: Luke 11:33-36

Denomination: Nazarene

Ahaz: Maybe The Worst Father Ever? Series

Contributed by Jonathan Spurlock on Jun 27, 2023

Who is the worst father in the Bible? It's hard to say but Ahaz, son of Jotham and king of Judah, might rank among the worst of the worst.

Introduction: the Bible has examples of good fathers and also bad ones. When it comes to the worst, Ahaz would be hard to beat. He had a good beginning but a terrible end. What a powerful lesson for every man, especially every father. The father of Ahaz was Jotham, son of Azariah/Uzziah, one of ...read more

Scripture: 2 Chronicles 28:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Call Unto Me Series

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Jun 30, 2022

Prayer life. This is a very interesting practical subject but hard to practice, but the theory is very sweet to read and talk about it. Prayer is the only way to blessings.

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call Me” Greetings in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! This month, I am led by the Lord to meditate on the importance of the Prayer life. This is a very interesting practical subject but hard to practice, but the theory is very sweet to read and talk about it. Prayer ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 33:3

Denomination: Methodist

Rich Man And Lazarus

Contributed by Bala Samson on Jul 10, 2022

Many may go to church but alas only a few, very few, who strive hard to follow Jesus and His commandments would make it to heaven!

Rich man and Lazarus Luke 16:19 "Now there was a rich man, and he habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. 20 "And a poor man named Lazarus was laid at his gate, covered with sores..” This morning God reminded me of the parable of the rich man ...read more

Scripture: Luke 16:19

Denomination: Pentecostal

Accept One Another Series

Contributed by John Dobbs on Jul 1, 2021

This is an uncomfortable, difficult, and counter-culture teaching that is based solely on the love of Christ. They had a hard time with it - it was a shock to their system to hear it - but it was God’s way forward.

-Building Up One Another- ACCEPT ONE ANOTHER Romans 15:7 Introduction Romans 15:7 “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.” In his letter of 16 chapters, he raises this in chap 15! This is an uncomfortable, difficult, and counter-culture teaching ...read more

Scripture: Romans 15:7

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Planting Seeds

Contributed by Michael Koplitz on Apr 25, 2023

It is hard to plant seeds for discipleship that you may never see grow. Jesus did it for 3 years. If he can do it we can do it

Planting Seeds John 12:20-26 Rev. Dr. Michael H. Koplitz John 12:20 Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; 21 these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip came and ...read more

Scripture: John 12:20-26

Denomination: United Methodist

Meditation On Cross

Contributed by Mahima Kumar on Jan 2, 2025

Meditation on the Cross Hebrew: 6.4-6; This is a hard verse in the Bible. Those who donot repent of their sins, those who do not desire repentance

Meditation on the Cross Hebrew : 6.4-6; This is a hard verse in the Bible. Those who donot repent of their sins, those who do not desire repentance, those who do not like to be reproved, those who would not listen to any of remonstrance and those who do not change their life in spite of ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 6:4-6, Isaiah 53:5-6

Our Directions Determines Our Destination (1 Of 2)

Contributed by Dr. Odell Belger on Jun 19, 2025

In this scripture passage, I want to show you a family that lived among God’s people, and then due to some hard times, they packed up and moved.

You might be saying, “So what!” People move from one city to another all the time because of HARD TIMES! That is correct, but anytime we find something in the Word of God, it is there for a reason. WHAT IS THE REASON GOD PUT THIS FAMILY IN THE SCRIPTURES FOR MOVING? Because it was a ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 1:1-2

Denomination: Baptist