Sermons on Struggles:

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

Encouragement To A Struggling Church Series

Contributed by Guy Glass on Aug 23, 2006

This section deals with the appropriateness of expressing our gifts within the church service. Now, one thing needs to be noted at the onset, the Corinthian church was operating before a completed revelation and as such, the church is operating in a peri

ENCOURAGEMENT TO A STRUGGLING CHURCH 1 CORINTHIANS 14:26-40 INTRODUCTION: our passage this morning brings us to the end of Paul’s teaching concerning spiritual gifts in general, and tongues in specifics. This last section deals with the appropriateness of expressing our gifts within the church ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 14:26-40

Denomination: Baptist

Struggling For Your Breakthrough

Contributed by Jess Bousa on Sep 3, 2006

Getting your breakthrough will move you from where you are, to where God wants you to be on your spiritual journey because God is always thinking two steps ahead!

Struggling for a Breakthrough! Do you want a breakthrough? Many of you may be thinking obviously, how stupid can he be? But in all seriousness, do you want a breakthrough? I have one disclaimer I want to make clear. When I say breakthrough, I am not talking about the Lord in all his glory with ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 32:22-28

Denomination: Pentecostal

Things Christians Struggle With

Contributed by Clint Shrum on Jan 7, 2007

Even though a person is saved there are still some things they may deal with concerning their conversion. This message explains some of the struggles Christians may encounter.

THINGS CHRISTIANS STRUGGLE WITH Romans 7:15-21 Intro: Paul uses the word “flesh” in several different ways. In this particular passage Paul denotes the flesh as the personality of man controlled by sin and directed to selfish pursuits rather than to the service of God. Often times I find myself ...read more

Scripture: Romans 7:15-21

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

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

Our Real Struggle

Contributed by Kent Kessler on Dec 27, 2006

We are tempted so many times to go by the way things seems to us, or "the seems like", but a believer knows not everything is as it seems. There are other factors involved non-believers are not aware of. We need help in understanding how to deal with thes

Illustration: The Mafia Game “Not everything is at it seems.” One thing we learn quickly as a believer is you cannot live life by the way things SEEM! When Paul writes to the Ephesian believers, “We wrestle not with flesh and blood” [KJV] Or Our “struggle” is not against flesh and blood [NIV] ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:12

Denomination: Methodist

The End Of Suffering And Struggle Series

Contributed by David Flowers on Aug 14, 2007

Part 3 in the series Power for Living. This message looks at God’s promise to one day deliver all of creation from suffering and struggle.

The End of Suffering and Struggle Power for Living, part 3 Wildwind Community Church David K. Flowers August 12, 2007 I have often preached at Wildwind that what brings people together is weakness, not strength. Tales of strength create competition. Tales of weakness create companionship. I ...read more

Scripture: Romans 8:18-27

Denomination: Free Methodist

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