Sermons on Overcoming Difficulties:

Invisible Gold

Contributed by Ajai Prakash on Aug 5, 2008

Don’t give into life’s troubles. You may not see in them the rich potential of a strong faith, but it’s there. To have it developed is much more precious than gold! Faith-Testing Times Can Be Faith-Strengthening Times.

Opening illustration: In the 1980s, Northern Nevada was the site of a gold strike. The discovery would have been beyond the imagination of 19th century prospectors, for the gold in those western hills is virtually invisible. Even after being magnified 1,500 times, most of the particles remain ...read more

Scripture: 1 Peter 1:1-7

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

A Bitter Goodbye Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Jan 28, 2009

Life’s crossroads can be messy, but sometimes you cannot walk around the mud, but you must march right through it. Yet even [when we are] walking through the mud, God does not abandon His children.

A Bitter Goodbye (Genesis 31:17-55) 1. At Kokomo’s Jackson Morrow Park, Marylu and I were hiking. We like to walk several times a week, and a walk in the woods can add an pleasant environment. I decided to take a short cut near the creek…I thought the ground was solid, but I immediately sunk in ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 31:17-55

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Why Does God Allow Pain? Series

Contributed by Russell Brownworth on Jan 8, 2010

If God really is there and loves me, why do I still hurt?

Why is my pain unceasing, my wound incurable, refusing to be healed? Jeremiah 15:18a It’s always helpful at the start of a journey to know where you’re headed! Let me share some of the “roadmap” for our series on ‘WHY’ – the questions people ask. The well-known artist and songwriter Bill ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 15:18

Denomination: United Methodist

Mourning For Haiti

Contributed by Mark Aarssen on Jan 21, 2010

Isaiah 57:1 NIV The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil.

Mourning for Haiti Psalm 23 On January 12, 2010, at 4:53 pm Eastern Standard Time Haiti was struck by a magnitude 7.0 earthquake, the country's most severe earthquake in over 200 years. The epicenter of the quake was just off the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince, a city of 2 million. Our world has ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Denomination: Presbyterian/Reformed

The Night Time Ain't So Bad Series

Contributed by Ken Hubbard on Feb 11, 2010

A message about how the tough "night times" of our lives make us stronger and deepen our faith

INTRO VIDEO Rocky III Clip EXPLAIN Video Clip - If you're going to survive the battles - If you're going to survive what the enemy throws at you - If you're going to survive... 1. You Need a Tribe You Won't Get Voted Off 2. Can't Go Over the Hedge 3. You Can't Curse Your Crisis 4. ...read more

Scripture: Numbers 17:3-8

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

"What To Do When God Disappears”

Contributed by Andy Grossman on Jul 28, 2009

“What to do When God Disappears” There are three things you can do.

“What to do When God Disappears” August 2, 2009 Psalm 42 God had disappeared – or so it must have seemed to David. He was the one who had sat under the night stars with his sheep and communed with God. With the starry host overhead by night and the meadows filled with flowers and romping ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 42:1-11

Denomination: Holiness

What Are The Five Biggest Problems Of Life And Does God Really Care?

Contributed by Larry Moyer on Aug 5, 2009

God not only cares, but when you are rightly related to God, you have the answer to the five biggest problems of life. This message examines Psalm 23 and explains how when the LORD is your shepherd, it’s enough.

I am no different from anybody else here. And the proof of that is that there are times I feel like looking at people and saying the same seven words you do. They are, "Sometimes I wonder if you really care." Now obviously there are times I feel like saying that more than others and there are some ...read more

Scripture: Psalm 23:1-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

You Must Put Up With The Rain To See A Rainbow

Contributed by Richard Cook on Aug 25, 2009

Teaches people that, if you want to see God’s deliverence and glory, you sometimes must endure hardships and pain.

Genesis 9:12-14 And God said, This is the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations: I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 9:12-14

Denomination: Pentecostal

Ain't Life Sweet?

Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Aug 25, 2009

God turn those bitter life experiences into sweet ones.

Diligence which is concerned with Moses? attitude to his assignment. What assignment has God given you in your family? What assignment or duty has God given you in this church? What assignment or duty has God given to you, in your community? Who are you called to bring from one ...read more

Scripture: Exodus 15:22-27

Denomination: Baptist

This Is The Pits

Contributed by Jimmy Haile on Aug 27, 2009

Sometimes life seems like the pits but God can even take the pits and make them useful!

Genesis 37:18-36 Verse 20-We shall see what will become of his dreams There is someone who wants to crush your dreams! Satan is out to get you, to discourage you, to detain you, to derail you from reaching your dreams! Just remember the brothers who gave Joseph so much trouble had slept ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 37:18-36

Denomination: Baptist

Why? Understanding Life Events (I) Series

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 7, 2009

Sometimes the events of our lives do not seem to make sense. But there are three things God is always doing (1) Bringing People to Moral Choice (2) Revealing Himself (3) Preparing His People for Eternity. This sermon examines what God was doing in the eve

Why? Understanding Life Events (I) 1 Kings 21 5-31-09 Intro I want to begin this morning with a brief clip from the movie, Faith Like Potatoes. How many have seen it? It’s a very good movie—based on a true story. Let me give a little background for the clip. Angus Buchan is a farmer in South ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 21:1-29

Denomination: Charismatic

Suffering And The Human Condition: Where Was God? Series

Contributed by John Barry on Jun 12, 2009

The editor-in-chief of Bible Study magazine addresses the topic of suffering and God’s place in it and through it.

I was in a room close to 7:00 AM playing Jazz with my High School Jazz Band. We had band practice at 6:00 AM Monday to Friday mornings. (What kind of deranged person came up with that idea?) As I was sitting there at the drum set playing along half-asleep, the intercom began to come on and off. It ...read more

Denomination: *other

New Beginnings Series

Contributed by Matthew Kratz on Jun 15, 2009

In Ruth 1:19-22 we see a New Beginning moving from a 1) Total Loss to a 2) Total Gain.

The chalk cliffs of Beachy Head on England’s south coast are the British answer to the Golden Gate Bridge: a place of beauty and stillness that has a terrible allure, both practical and aesthetic, for suicidal people. Neil and Kazumi Puttick, a married couple jumped to their deaths on the evening ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 1:19-22

Denomination: Other

Understanding The Twelve Purposes For Trials, Trouble, Testing

Contributed by Larry Wolfe on Jul 7, 2009

A survey of the Bible texts concerning trials

UNDERSTANDING THE TWELVE BIBLICAL PURPOSES FOR TESTING, TRIALS & TROUBLES 1. God allows trials so that we might become stronger Christians (James 1:3, 4) Reason #1 To Praise The Lord! “My brethren count it all joy when ye fall into divers generations; knowing this that the trying of your ...read more

Scripture: James 1:2-4

Denomination: Independent/Bible

Surviving Life's Dark Times Series

Contributed by Ed Vasicek on Apr 27, 2009

Life’s dark times can pull us in all directions and produce all sorts of feelings; we must cling God during those bleak experiences.

Surviving Life’s Dark Times (Jeremiah 20:1-18) 1. After Jeremiah’s trip to the pottery shop, he had been commanded to assemble the elders and leaders of the city and smash a completed piece of pottery to pieces before them. Then he preached a message that God was going to do just that with ...read more

Scripture: Jeremiah 20:1-18

Denomination: Independent/Bible