Sermons on Struggle:

Your Struggle With Worship Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

The commandment against idolatry is "good news". It was not given because God enjoyed saying, "You can’t do this" and "you can’t do that either". The commandment against idol worship is at the top of the list after worshipping God because idols are counte

By Rev Bill Stewart [Marilyn] "Paula, do you think there’s a God?" [Paula] "Of course, there’s a God. What do you think I’ve been on about all these years? God is in everything and everything is in God. You are God, darling, if only you could see it and understand it." [Marilyn] "No, I’m not ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 44:9-20

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle With Time Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

The Sabbath is not just a day of rest. It is the fulfilment of the whole wek of God’s work and our part in that work

I think you’d have to agree that the fourth commandment has led to more legalism than all the other 9 put together. It’s such a quantifiable thing isn’t it? "Six days you shall labor and do all your work but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work." So we make ...read more

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle With Religion Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

God cares about how his name is used, both in words and in what we do and what we fail to do.

By Rev Bill Stewart Back in the late 1990s everyone was talking about Y2K and wondering if their computer would still work on the 01/01/ 2000. The new millennium was all over the media. The Australian magazine even ran an article called "10 Commandments for the next Millennium" (7-8 March 1999). No ...read more

Scripture: Isaiah 52:4-10

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle With Authority Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

God puts us in this world with a small subset of the human race to begin relating to. Our parents are the first representatives of fallen humanity that we meet and our first model for authority figures that we’ll meet later in life.

Introduction Jesus said that the commandments are summed up in the dual command, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and your neighbour as yourself." Well today we come to the fifth commandment. This seems to be about loving your neighbour, but it’s one of the ...read more

Scripture: Proverbs 2:1-11

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle For Peace Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

The commandment not to kill is also a commandment to make peace.

By Rev Bill Stewart 1 Chris said last week that the first five focus on Loving God while the final five Commandments deal with Loving our neighbour. The Sixth Commandment says very simply: "You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17). Our translation "murder" makes it clear that ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle For Purity Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

God calls us to committed faithfulness to one another as part of our commitment to him. He calls us to purity of mind and action, to help us maintain the purity of our relationship with our spouse. He calls us to keep our promises just as he keeps his.

Introduction There’s a phenomenon that I’ve noticed over the past few years. That’s the phenomenon of ’the better offer’. It comes in two forms: the first is where you don’t reply to an invitation until the last minute because you might get a better offer; but the second is worse. That’s where ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 5:27-30

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle For Integrity Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 7, 2008

the caommandment not to stealis a commandment to maintain one’s integrity in everything we do.

1 What images come to mind when you hear the eighth Commandment "You shall not steal" (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19)? You shall not take what doesn’t belong to you. If you are like me you might have an image of a masked thief in a stripped shirt climbing over a wall with a bag of loot over his ...read more

Scripture: Amos 8:1-8

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle With Truth Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 8, 2008

How do you decide when is the right time to tell the truth and when is the right time to keep silent?

I sometimes wonder whether God has structured these ten commandments with the most obvious sins first and the least obvious or most subtle at the end. Or is it just that our age has become blind to the last couple of commandments? Truth is a difficult concept in this day and age isn’t it? ...read more

Scripture: John 8:31-47

Denomination: Anglican

Your Struggle For Contentment Series

Contributed by Chris Appleby on Aug 8, 2008

The commandment against coveting is about contentment. God wants us to be godly with contentment

Blind Spots I recently discovered that I have a blind spot. In fact I have two. I had my eyes checked for new glasses a few weeks ago and while I was there they said I should have a field vision test. This is a test that checks whether there are parts of your retina that aren’t functioning ...read more

Scripture: 1 Timothy 6:2-11

Denomination: Anglican

Pilate's Moral Struggle Series

Contributed by Richard Tow on Sep 22, 2005

Expository sermon dealing with Pilate’s decision. Movie clip from the "Patriot" illustrates the importance of making courageous decisions.

Pilate’s Moral Struggle Fortifying the Foundations # 41 John 19:1-16[1] 7-18-04 In our text this morning we encounter a tremendous moral struggle. The man experiencing this struggle is the governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate. His struggle begins when providence brings him face to face with the ...read more

Scripture: John 19:1-16

Denomination: Charismatic

Life Will Cease To Be A Struggle Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Jul 19, 2004

Second in a series on popular illusions; and for Independence Day. Life will not cease to be a struggle if justice is not fully realized, feelings are not fully expressed, and wrong decisions are not fully reversed.

What kind of a retirement party was this? He had worked so long, he had struggled with so many things, and now, here, at the end, it seemed there was still unfinished business. His worries were not behind him, nor were all the issues settled. And why not? Had he no right to expect that now life ...read more

Scripture: 1 Kings 2:1-12

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling To Be A People Of Integrity

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Aug 12, 2009

Preached 1989. A people of integrity will not act as though God is automatically on their side, apart from righteousness; and they will pay attention to the way in which leadership is chosen.

On this Independence Day weekend we think about our nation’s history, our nation’s life. As we do so I want to assure you that we will be wrestling with the word of God, not just scattering political opinions over the landscape like birdseed. I am not here as political pundit, but as a pastor and ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 8:1-7

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling To Work For Peace Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 19, 2009

August 1989, Day of Prayer for World Peace: Making peace in the world begins with making peace with God. It does not mean making peace WITH the world.

Just a few weeks ago they re-enacted, not very far from here, a small but crucial Civil War battle. The Battle of Fort Stevens did not get into a lot of the history books, but it was important in that it turned back the Confederate armies on the very edge of the capital city. Had the South taken ...read more

Scripture: Hosea 10:12-15

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling With The Pain Of Faithlessness Series

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Sep 20, 2009

July 1989. Our sexual behavior matters to God, and He has expressed His will. When we go our own ways, it hurts Him as well as others and ourselves. He can and will redeem even from this most painful sin.

A number of years ago a friend of mine was teaching a group of children the Ten Commandments in Vacation Bible School. In order to teach the Ten Commandments, she says, she was given a set of pictures. Each of the pictures illustrated the bad behavior forbidden by the Commandment; each picture ...read more

Denomination: Baptist

Ministry Can Be A Struggle!

Contributed by Jon Mackinney on Dec 7, 2006

There is no doubt that when Paul arrived, alone, in the sinful city of Corinth, it was a little bit of a shock. Worn down, lonely, discouraged, he needed the provision of God.

Passage: Acts 18:1-17 Intro: When we read Acts, we get a picture of Paul in our minds. 1. we picture him striding powerfully from one rejection to another, brushing off the effects of this beating or that imprisonment. 2. but here in Corinth, it seems to have caught up with him. 3. many miles on ...read more

Scripture: Acts 18:1-17

Denomination: Evangelical Free