Sermons on Lost Opportunities:

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

The Church's Challenge Series

Contributed by C. Philip Green on Jan 12, 2011

The church can turn its problems into opportunities for growth if it meets needs by mobilizing people so the leaders can maintain the priority of prayer and the word.

Some time ago, wolves were picking off the livestock of ranchers at an alarming rate, so the state offered a bounty of $5,000 for every wolf killed. It turned Sam and Jed into fortune hunters. Day and night they searched the mountains and forests looking for their valuable prey. Exhausted one ...read more

Scripture: Acts 6:1-7

Denomination: Evangelical Free

What Is Your Empty This Easter? Series

Contributed by Guy Glass on Apr 3, 2013

This Easter message is an opportunity to present the gospel by asking the question concerning what is your "empty" the Easter -- an empty heart, an empty cross, or an empty tomb.

WHAT IS YOUR EMPTY THIS EASTER? OPENING ILLUSTRATION: AFTER THE SERVICE, WHEN WE GET HOME, WE WILL EVENTUALLY HAVE AN EASTER EGG HUT FOR MY GRANDSON. NOW, PREVIOUS TO THIS EVENT, I TOOK GREAT JOY IN HIDING THE EASTER BASKETS FOR OUR KIDS. I HAD A SIMPLE RULE; AS THEY GOT OLDER THE HIDING PLACES ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:1-8

Denomination: Baptist

"I Want That Mountain!" Series

Contributed by Robert Leroe on Mar 6, 2016

Caleb was resolute in his faith and objectives. He shows us that life is a matter of perspective. Where others saw obstacles, he saw opportunities.

When I was in high school in New Jersey, I attended a church whose youth leader loved to sing an old-timey chorus: “I want that mountain, I want that mountain; where the milk and honey flow, where the grapes of Eschol grow. I want that mountain, I want that mountain, the mountain that the ...read more

Scripture: Joshua 14:6-14

Denomination: Congregational

Encounter Two. Simon Peter And The Rooster. (Includes Discussion Questions At The End) Series

Contributed by Paul Hardy on May 3, 2022

Three strikes, you’re out. That’s usually how we roll in life. You get three opportunities for tolerance and forgiveness.

ENCOUNTERS WITH JESUS ENCOUNTER TWO SIMON PETER AND THE ROOSTER How will I introduce the message? Three strikes, you’re out. That’s usually how we roll in life. You get three opportunities for tolerance and forgiveness. It’s like the farmer: The Farmer marries back in the horse and buggy days. ...read more

Scripture: John 18:15, Luke 22:62, Proverbs 29:25, Hebrews 12:14-15, 1 Peter 5:2  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Principles Of Judgement Of God Series

Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Feb 22, 2022

Life is short and opportunities are more. However, the acts and deeds are going to make us to stand before the judgement of God. The Principles are laid down by God.

Romans 2:1-16 Principles of God’s judgment day Paul here mentions judgment day. The justice of God is based on the lights revealed to men of every generation. Paul talks that the Judgment is certain, Judgment is the last act of God on the universe, and it will be a righteous act. Hence, no one ...read more

Scripture: Romans 2:1-16

Denomination: Methodist

The Power Of Forgiveness

Contributed by Rodney V Johnson on Apr 7, 2024

This message is about the power of forgiveness. As Christians, we must accept that fact that our opportunity to receive forgiveness is based on our willingness to forgive others.

The Power of Forgiveness Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15; Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:12-13 Good morning Strangers Rest. The title of my message this morning is “The Power of Forgiveness.” This is the first of four messages that God has given me to be delivered to you as we begin this transition ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 6:9-15, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-13

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Easter Sunday The Resurrection Of The Lord

Contributed by Paul Andrew on Mar 20, 2020

Easter becomes an opportunity to imagine God would be present in our lives to roll away the stone from the graves in the darkest recesses of our souls.

There is a sign in Theo & Stacy’s Greek Restaurant in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that says, “People who believe the dead never come back to life should be here at quitting time.” Let me tell you an Easter story: A long time ago a Frenchman incurred the displeasure of the emperor Napoleon. He was ...read more

Scripture: John 20:1-9

Denomination: Catholic

The God Of Second Chances PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 28, 2025

God’s mercy offers second chances, inviting us to respond in obedience and repentance, turning ordinary steps of faith into opportunities for grace and transformation.

Some of us walked in today carrying second thoughts and stale regrets. Maybe the week wore you down and your prayers felt thin. Maybe a call from God sits on your heart like a note left on the kitchen table—short, simple, and somehow weighty: Go. Speak. Forgive. Begin again. If that’s you, Jonah 3 ...read more

Topics: God's Mercy, Mercy

Christ At The Center Of Our Purpose PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Oct 30, 2025

God has uniquely created and called each person to serve others, turning ordinary moments into purposeful opportunities to reflect His love and grace.

Some mornings the mirror asks more questions than it answers. You brush your teeth, pour the coffee, scroll the headlines, and somewhere between the toast and the traffic you whisper, “Lord, why am I here? What do You want with a Tuesday like this?” If that’s you, you’re in good company today. God ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 28:19-20, Ephesians 2:10, 1 Peter 2:9, Romans 8:28

Topics: Christ-Centered, Purpose, Discipleship

Your Identity In Christ PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Dec 4, 2023

This sermon encourages embracing life's struggles as opportunities for God to shape us into the people He calls us to be, through faith and trust in Him.

Welcome, beloved friends and family in Christ, to another blessed gathering where we come together, not as strangers or mere acquaintances, but as a community bound by the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We gather here, not in our own strength or wisdom, but in humble recognition of our ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 17:1-3

Topics: Aligning Perspective, God's View

Band Of Misfits PRO Sermon

Contributed by Sermon Research Assistant on Feb 22, 2024

This sermon encourages embracing challenges as opportunities to experience God's power, transforming impossibilities into purposeful service through faith and understanding of His divine plan.

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, Welcome to this place of worship, where we gather together as children of the Most High, eager to hear His Word and to find solace in His promises. It is here, in this sacred space, that we find strength in our shared faith, a faith that binds us together as ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 19:26

Topics: God's Power, Impossible

Lessons From The Cave (1 Samuel 22:1-4)

Contributed by Donald Whitchard on Sep 1, 2024

David was in the deepest time of his life. He lost his support network and on the run from Saul. He possessed nothing of material worth or value and all seemed lost. He hid in a cave, but it is in the cave where God prepared him for greater things.

In his film, "Johnny Cash: The Redemption of an American Icon", Pastor Greg Laurie described the time where Mr. Cash had reached the lowest point of his life and career. He had become addicted to pills, which lead to an erratic and hostile behavior that cost him his first marriage, a ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 61:1-2, 1 Samuel 22:1-4, Job 14:1, Ecclesiastes 2:17, Hebrews 13:5  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Baptist

Judgment Of God Is Described Series

Contributed by John Lowe on Jun 16, 2018

Israel missed the opportunity to be a Witness for Jehovah. The nations in Canaan were in terrible bondage to ignorance, idolatry, and immorality, and they desperately needed to know the true God of Israel.

Chapter 10 Judgment of God Is Described [Judges 2.11-19] Scripture 11 And the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the LORD, and served Baalim: 12 And they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them out of the land of Egypt, and followed other gods, of the gods of ...read more

Scripture: Judges 2:11-19

Denomination: Baptist

Our Small Minds And The Cost Of Discipleship Series

Contributed by W Pat Cunningham on Jan 29, 2022

Jesus Christ, son of God and son of man, appears in our midst and when He does, we count the cost of discipleship to Him and often pass up the opportunity.

Monday of 4th Week In Course To be frank, David messed up, and messed up royally. He did only one thing right in getting involved with Bathsheba. He acknowledged and repented of his royal, deadly sin. And he was forgiven, but that was not the end of the story. He and Bathsheba lost their child, as ...read more

Scripture: Mark 5:1-20, 2 Samuel 15:13-30, Psalm 3:1-6

Denomination: Catholic