Sermons on Hardships:

A Shady Character Series

Contributed by Perry Greene on Jan 10, 2013

In our desert journey we need shade from time to time. The Broom Tree is an interesting symbol for the shade of God in the difficult journey.

1. Making the most of a difficult situation Maxwell tells a story that illustrates the importance of a positive attitude. A newly married woman insisted on going to the California desert so she could be near her military husband. The only place the couple could find to live was a rundown shack near ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 21:15-17

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

God's Tough Love

Contributed by Jerry Flury on Jun 25, 2012

Often God has to spank as part of His loving discipline. Heb. 12:6 “…whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives." There are at least 3 purposes to God’s tough love or chastening - instruction, correction, and prevention.

God’s Tough Love Job 5:17-18 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. For He bruises, but He binds up; He wounds, but His hands make whole. Have you ever thought that God was upset or angry with you? When we go through some ...read more

Scripture: Job 5:17-18

Denomination: Baptist

Three Truths About God... And You

Contributed by Monty Newton on Jan 9, 2010

Christ makes himself known to us as our creator, redeemer and keeper. (We are created by God, redeemed by his grace and kept by his power.)

Title: Three Truths About God … and You Text: Isaiah 43:1-7 Thesis: Christ makes himself known to us as our creator, redeemer and keeper. (We are created by God, redeemed by his grace and kept by his power.) Introduction The Royal Caribbean Cruise Line’s “Oasis of the Seas" is the largest, ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 43:1-7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Loving Through Suffering

Contributed by Richard Schwedes on Apr 3, 2009

A sermon that explores how Jesus loves us through suffering....and how through our suffering we may have an opportunity to love.

Have you ever said if I was God I would…. If I was God there would be no weeds in my garden. If I was God no one bad would get good things. What would you do if you were God? What about if you were in the situation that Jesus faced in the reading from Matthew what would you have done? If you ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 27:32-44

Denomination: Lutheran

In The Fire! Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jul 30, 2011

WHEN the fire comes, don’t let it burn you; instead, let it refine you. How? Don’t be surprised or ashamed by the fire. Instead, be glad in the fire, glory in the fire, and give yourself to God in the fire.

A man went to see his doctor in a state of high anxiety. “Doctor,” he said, “you have to help me. I'm dying. Everywhere I touch it hurts. I touch my head and it hurts. I touch my leg and it hurts. I touch my stomach and it hurts. I touch my chest and it hurts. You have to ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 4:12-19

Denomination: Evangelical Free

Finding A Place Of Safety

Contributed by John Lowe on Jun 18, 2018

Jesus didn’t promise us a life without pain and suffering. In fact, it was just the opposite. He told his followers that they shouldn’t expect to get along in this world any better than He did.

4-27-04 Title: Finding a Place of Safety Text: “And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to ...read more

Scripture: Acts 2:9-12

Denomination: Baptist

It All Leads To Jesus

Contributed by Howard Gunter on Jun 6, 2018

It's The Message - NOT - the messenger

Mid-week Message/Devotion June 6, 2018 2 Corinthians 4:5-12 It All Leads To JESUS! In this reading, a major point that Paul is trying to make has to do with what followers look at, concentrate on and take away. If we concentrate on the messenger more than the message, we will undoubtedly miss ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:5-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Thorns Of Life

Contributed by Daniel Olukoya on May 17, 2011

There are different kinds of vessels in the house of God. So you will do well to examine what kind of vessel you are. Let me clear one thing before we go deeper into this message: God will not accept any excuse from anyone for not being a useful vessel.

Our message this week, is what I call “The thorns of life.” Genesis 3:17-19 says, “And unto Adam He said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee saying, thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:17-19

Denomination: Pentecostal

Do You Really Want To Help Your Child Some More? Series

Contributed by Alis Cerrahyan on Jul 18, 2019

Through daily prayers and supplications we must ask God to help us reclaim that which we might have lost along the way. As we aim to establish an internal peace with repentance ; we'll see that even some of the turmoils revolving around our children's lives start dissipating one by one.

Our soul where a myriad of experiences continue to leave a mark on a daily basis -some great and some pretty awful -is also the venue from which we reason with things and respond to things. The greatest accomplishment a person can achieve is when he or she is able to process life's distasteful ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 18:3, Matthew 21:15-16, Matthew 18:10, Matthew 18:4-5

Meeting God In The Garden Series

Contributed by Brian Williams on Mar 7, 2024

Adam and Eve's sin brought a whole set of problems to the human race: conflict, pain, hardship, alienation from God and each other, and finally death. God could have scrapped all of creation but instead He announced a solution to the sin problem through Eve’s descendant.

We are continuing our Dust to Life Series today and are now in Genesis 3. Some theologians consider Genesis 3 to be one of the most important chapters in the Bible because without it, we can’t even begin to understand the darkness that pervades the earth. In other words, after the account of the ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 3:8-24

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Blessed Is The Death Series

Contributed by Roger Thomas on Feb 17, 2007

Moments like this make us, like it or not, think about life and death, the future, our loved ones and our own. We ponder whether life is really worth all of the struggles and hardships that can come our way. This verse is God’s Word about all that. I t

Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO The Blessing--Revelation 14:13 I offer you one single verse of Scripture to think about today. “Then I heard a voice from heaven say, “Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.” “Yes,” says the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 14:13

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Jesus Knows

Contributed by Derrick Tuper on Sep 24, 2012

As we go through life’s hardships and difficulties and we are to be turning to Jesus but you might wonder, can Jesus really relate to what I’m going through? Let’s see what Jesus knows about the various things we go through in our lives.

JESUS KNOWS INTRODUCTION: Back in the late 80’s and early 90’s there was a baseball/football player named Bo Jackson. In 1989/1990 he had a series of commercials where the slogan was Bo knows. They depicted Bo knowing how to do other sports, activities and so on. Today, I switch Bo ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 4:15

Denomination: Christian/Church Of Christ

Your Endurance Test

Contributed by Howard Strickland on Nov 22, 2010

I want to give you seven keys that will help you pass the endurance test. Number one, “treasure the test of hardness.” 2 Timothy 2:3 You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Our soldiers who have recently defended our nation w

Your Endurance Test Text: Romans 8:24-25 24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Unlike the English word ‘hope,’ the NT ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:24-25

Denomination: Pentecostal

Your Faith Is The Victory

Contributed by Cris Willis on Sep 22, 2007

We don’t have to guess how to live a life of faith as we face life’s hardships. God’s Word lays out a simple plan for getting from a problem to a miraculous solution. It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a Christian for fifty years or if you were born again f

Introduction: Are you frustrated by the struggles in your life? Do you feel like giving up because you’re just not seeing the miracles you need so desperately? Jesus said that in this world we would have trouble. But praise God, that’s not all He said. He also admonished us, “Cheer up! I have ...read more

Scripture: 1 John 5:3-5

Denomination: Church Of God

Hope When Obstacles Discourage Us Series

Contributed by Jim Butcher on Nov 15, 2018

Encouragement on how to not lose heart. How does God use struggles to move us forward spiritually?

WHY DO WE GET DISCOURAGED? Obstacles weigh us down. - 2 Corinthians 4:16a. - In one sense, it’s good news that the first part of v. 16 is in there. It’s a reminder to us that God knows that we get discouraged and need a little hope. These verses are in here to give us that hope. Hopefully ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Denomination: Baptist