Sermons on Hard Sayings:

Sand Castles

Contributed by Rick Boyne on Jul 23, 2012

When we base our lives on obeying Jesus, we can weather the hard times.

Sand Castles May 17, 2009 Evening Service Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK Rick Boyne Message Point: When we base our lives on obeying Jesus, we can weather the hard times. Focus Passage: Matthew 7:24-27 Supplemental Passage: But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 7:24-27

Denomination: Baptist

As I Loved You

Contributed by The Rev Deniray Mueller on May 16, 2022

Jesus gave us one commandment: to love one another, no matter how hard it is for us

John 13:34-35 I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. (John 13:34-35) In this scripture, the command to love one another is like a candle in this dark and brutal world, in danger of being blown out by current events. We ...read more

Scripture: John 13:34-35, Luke 23:24, Hebrews 8:12, Romans 12:19, Romans 12:17  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Episcopal

Laughing At God's Promises

Contributed by Bradford Robinson on Oct 28, 2005

Sometimes God’s promises are so amazing they are hard to beleive! Yet God does the amazing.

In the movie “It Could Happen to You” which is said to be loosely based on a true story, Nicolas Cage plays a cop who stops in to a diner and doesn’t have enough money to give a tip to the waitress, so he makes an unbelievable promise. He says that he has a lottery ticket and if he wins, her tip ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 18:7-15

Denomination: Methodist

A Final Warning (Exodus 11)

Contributed by I. Grant Spong on Aug 15, 2024

How hard is it to leave our addiction to sin? Let's look at Exodus 11.

Does Pharaoh picture how stubborn the devil is in letting us go free? How easy is it to enter a self-destructive lifestyle and how hard is it to escape? Like an addiction, does sin look like freedom but in reality brutally enslave us? Let’s look at Exodus 11. How did God have Israel get ready to ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

It's Not Always Easy!

Contributed by Steven Chapman on Nov 6, 2000

A sermon that looks at the hard side of discipleship by focusing on four character traits that a real disciple develops.

It's Not Always Easy! The Tough Side of Discipleship Luke 14:25-35 We all know about how messed up things are in our world. But do we know that they aren’t much better in the church. In the article "The American Witness" in the Nov/Dec 1997 issue of The Barna Report, George Barna examined 131 ...read more

Scripture: Luke 14:25-35

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Story 17 Jeremiah Was A "Bulldog"

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 27, 2014

Jeremiah displayed a persistent, faithful quality. He was tenacious in his mission to a hard-hearted people.

1. Decisions (A Poem by Dr. Seuss) Did I ever tell you about the young Zoad - who came to a sign at the fork of the road? He looked one way and the other way too - the Zoad had to make up his mind what to do. Well, the Zoad scratched his head, and his chin, and his pants. -- And he said to ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 20:9

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Abiding In The Vine

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on Dec 7, 2013

We are nourished by His Word, and cultivate our relationship with Him through prayer.

ABIDING IN THE VINE. John 15:1-16. In Psalm 80:8-16 Israel is poignantly portrayed as a vine which has spread throughout the whole land, only to be torn down, devoured and burnt at the time of the Exile. The vineyard motif is again taken up in Isaiah 5:1-7, where a moral reason is given for ...read more

Scripture: John 15:1-16

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

When God's People Sin

Contributed by Ed Wood on Nov 2, 2006

No matter how hard we try, sin is a reality even in the life of God=s children.

WHEN GOD=S PEOPLE SIN Hosea 5:1-15 INTRO: Calvin Coolidge was known as a man of few words, a fact confirmed in a conversation he had with his wife one day. Coolidge returned from a church service which his wife had not attended. She asked, ACalvin, what did the preach¬er talk about today?@ ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 5:1-15

Denomination: Baptist

Is Jesus Really The Only Way? Series

Contributed by Pat Damiani on May 15, 2018

Fourth in a five part series that attempts to answer hard questions about God, the Bible and faith.

ENGAGE Here in the United States we worship the ability to make choices. We choose our political leaders, the kind of movies and TV show we watch, the kind of music we listen to, the products we buy at the store and even the people we associate with. And if you have any doubts about our addiction ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Failure Of A Blunt Cutting Edge

Contributed by Wah Lok Ng on Nov 13, 2006

When we are spiritually blunt, we are umproductive. We work hard but produce little results.

FAILURE OF A BLUNT CUTTING EDGE By : Ng Wah Lok Text : 2 Kings 13 :14-21 Introduction. We lose our cutting edge when we become comfortable in our Christian life. Our lives become blunt and ineffective. We drift along instead of aiming for God’s goals. King Joash was such a man. We have ...read more

Scripture: 2 Kings 13:14-21

Denomination: Charismatic

Winning The Woman Series

Contributed by Jeffery Anselmi on Aug 15, 2001

Do you find evangelism hard? Let us look at how Jesus did it.

INTRODUCTION  As we continue on our journey with Jesus, we are going to stop with Jesus by a well.  At this well we will find a woman whom once she encounters Jesus, she will never be the same and because of this meeting.  At first glance, this encounter does not look ...read more

Scripture: John 4:1-20

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

We All Need A Friend

Contributed by Dr.w.samuel Legon on Jul 15, 2010

Life is truly hard and when you have no one to lean on it,s even harder.

WE ALL NEED A FRIEND Acts 26:24And as he thus spake for himself, Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad. 25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness. 26 For ...read more

Scripture: Acts 26:24-29

Denomination: Baptist

How To Pray For Your Pastor Series

Contributed by Terry Cavanaugh on Jan 29, 2016

How to pray for you pastor to have the right words to say, and the boldness to say it.

How Disheartened, Discouraged, Confused, Pastor Tom retreated to his aging min-van. The emergency meeting of the Administrative board had gone worse than he expected. “Something has to change,” blurted out Sister Mary, self appointed spokes person for the choir, “We have heard ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:19-20

Denomination: United Methodist

Salt & Light

Contributed by Peter Fisher on Feb 9, 2020

How is our church? then how to be salt and light, with a couple of examples that will be hard to live up to.

Sermon - Salt and Light Preached 10:00 9 February 2020 @ Christ Church, Billericay Purpose: To be Salt and Light Readings: Isaiah 58v1-9a; Matthew 5v13-20 Isaiah’s Time It seems that the world in Isaiah’s time was not so different in some ways than the worlds is now. They look like they followed ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:13-20, Isaiah 58:1-9

Denomination: Anglican

A Naughty Question.

Contributed by Christopher Holdsworth on May 1, 2024

'For the hardness of your heart he wrote this precept' (Mark 10:5).

A NAUGHTY QUESTION. Mark 10:2-12. The Pharisees’ question about divorce was worse than mischievous in that it, like many of their questions addressed to Jesus, was asked with the intention of “tempting” Jesus into saying something that would cause offence (MARK 10:2). I assert this on two ...read more

Scripture: Mark 10:2-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational