Sermons on Try Harder:

Don't Get Sidetracked

Contributed by Sherman Gordon on Aug 30, 2008

LIFE WILL THROW MANY CHALLENGES OUR WAY, BUT THE TASK AT HAND IS TO NOT GET SIDETRACKED. JESUS WAS CONFRONTED BY A GROUP OF PHARISEES TRYING TO DERAIL HIM OF HIS PURPOSE, BUT HE EXEMPLIFIES HOW TO PRESS FORWARD.

DON’T GET SIDETRACKED MATTHEW 12:1-13 FEW WEEKS – LESSONS OF PERSEVERANCE OLYMPICS – MICHAEL PHELPHS SHAWN JOHNSON REBECCA SONI (HEART SURGERY) DNC – SENATOR BARACK OBAMA . . . RNC – SENATOR JOHN MCCAIN/GOV. SARAH PALIN (PAY-LIN) . . . LONG BEFORE THERE WAS A SEASONED JOHN MCCAIN LONG ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 12:1-13, Matthew 12:1-12

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Turn The Power On

Contributed by Joseph Neil Adams on Jan 17, 2008

We can’t find meaning & proclaim truth if we are not plugged into the Holy Spirit, yet so many Christians try to live without any relationship or even contact with the Spirit of God.

Mark 1:4-11 & or John 1:29-36 Some things are just obvious aren’t they? Yet sometimes we act in a way that seems to deny common sense. For instance we drive sometimes without thinking properly about where we are going, almost on automatic pilot; do you know what I mean? Sometimes I’ve got in the ...read more

Scripture: John 1:29-36

Denomination: Methodist

Why Do Good People Suffer? Job 1

Contributed by Ellick Wu on Mar 30, 2013

In view of many church members’ personal problems that happened in a short period of time, this sermon is trying to find some insights for encouragement in answering the question “Why Do Good Righteous People Suffer?”

1.0 Introduction: I think this will be a year of trial for our church. There is bad news everywhere! Our Children Ministry has been hard hit! Julie is off because of surgery, Pastor Byron has cancer, Alan So’s mother passed away and leaving for HK, Gladys has back and shoulder pain, Paul Hung’s ...read more

Scripture: Job 1:1-22

Denomination: Baptist

Pergamum: Satan's Throne Series

Contributed by Gordon Pike on Jan 24, 2021

Are we clinging to our faith in Jesus and His word as firmly and as stubbornly as the Christians in Pergamum did or are we guilty of trying to live a compromised life with one foot in the world and one foot in the church?

There was once a king who ruled over a vast city. He was feared for his might and loved for his wisdom. Now, in the heart of the city was a well whose waters were pure and crystalline from which all the inhabitants drank … except the king. He lived in a castle on top of a hill overlooking the ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 2:12-17, 2 Peter 2:2-3, Philippians 2:15-16

Denomination: United Methodist

Everyday Prophets - Zephaniah Series

Contributed by Brady Boyd on Feb 24, 2021

Zephaniah lived during a time when King Josiah was trying to reform Israel from idol worship, but Israel was too far gone at this point, and Josiah would die a tragic death on the battlefield.

Everyday Prophets – Zephaniah February 28, 2021 Zephaniah lived during a time when King Josiah was trying to reform Israel from idol worship, but Israel was too far gone at this point, and Josiah would die a tragic death on the battlefield. This book offers us some of the most intense language ...read more

Scripture: Zephaniah 1:2-3, Zephaniah 2:3, Zephaniah 3:12-13, 1 Kings 19:14, 1 Kings 19:18, Zephaniah 3:17, Colossians 1:13-14  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

Together In Sin, Alone In Jesus

Contributed by Joseph Smith on Nov 18, 2009

Done as a pulpit dialogue between a spectator at the stoning of the woman taken in adultery and a prosecutor trying him for not sharing in the stoning. JMS, my initials; HM, initials of the church member who played the prosecutor.

JMS: What are you doing to me? This is outrageous! You have no business putting me on trial! I didn’t do any more than anybody else did. Let me go! This is crazy! HM: You know exactly why I’m putting you on trial. That woman was as guilty as sin, and so are you. You were with her. You ...read more

Scripture: John 8:1-11

Denomination: Baptist

Thankfulness Makes You Full Inside

Contributed by Stephen Aram on Nov 14, 2019

We can only get so far towards becoming new by trying hard or getting educated. The real power comes from inside, a changed heart, and thankfulness is a key to a changed heart.

There was a time when I thought that if we wanted to change our lives, to start good habits, or to break bad habits, all we had to do was decide to do it. We just had to choose. I come from a family with a lot of will power. But the more I have had to wrestle with my own weaknesses, the more I ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 5:3-4

Wedding Feast Series

Contributed by Russ Barksdale on Jun 6, 2019

How do I know if I’m a Pharisee? 1. If I struggle to enjoy the party. 2. If I get distracted by other parties. 3. If I’m not trying to populate the party

Wedding Feast Matthew 22:1-14 How do I know if I’m a Pharisee? 1. If I struggle to enjoy the party. Vv.1-4 2. If I get distracted by other parties. Vv.5-7 3. If I’m not trying to populate the party vv.8-14 Opening illustration Turn with me to Matthew 22:1-14 Begin a new ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 22:1-14

Denomination: Baptist

Going Home

Contributed by Hans Krause on Oct 19, 2018

Jesus promise to prepare us room in his Father's house. There is more to that promise than the idea of our souls going to heaven to be with God. What did Jesus try to tell his disciples?

[Sermon preached on 22 April 2018, 3rd Sunday after Easter / 3rd year, ELCF Lectionary] Last week Saturday I conducted a funeral. It was a bright sunny day. Mostly, when I attend a funeral the weather is gloomy, windy and cold. But over the years, I have also attended funerals of some very special ...read more

Scripture: John 14:1-7

Denomination: Lutheran

The Unsent "S.o.s."

Contributed by Dwight Davis on Mar 13, 2018

In this sermon I try to awaken a sense of urgency, both for unbelievers and professed believers alike, to examine our spiritual lives and see our immediate need for an intimate, saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

The Unsent S.O.S. You may remember a story that was all over the news back in October of last year. Two women were rescued by the US Coast Guard after being adrift at sea for nearly 5 months. They were on sailboat that sustained damage to the mast and lost the use of its motor. Jennifer Appel and ...read more

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

Denomination: Seventh-Day Adventist

"No Smell Of Fire"

Contributed by John Gaston on Aug 22, 2016

We're going to look at the trying of the faith of the 3 Hebrew “worthies” and see how some parts of the narrative are indicative of trials in general, how trials are really beneficial to us.

"NO SMELL OF FIRE" Dan. 3:16-27 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR: OLD AGE DOUBLE TROUBLE 1. "Man, it’s tough getting old," said Sam to his friend Frank. "If it’s not one problem, then it’s another. As soon as I awoke this morning, I had two shocks, one after the other." 2. "So what ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 3:16-27

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Devil You Can't Have Back What God Gave Us

Contributed by Maurice Mccarthy on Aug 3, 2017

Jephthah tells the Ammonites the land God gave the Israelites will not be surrendered back to them. A message about how the enemy is always trying to take back lost territory and how we should respond.

Devil - You Can't Have Back What God Gave Us! PPT 1 Message Title PPT 2 Text Judges 11:23 'Since now the LORD, the God of Israel, drove out the Amorites from before His people Israel, are you then to possess it? (NAS) Judges 11:23 It was GOD, the God of Israel, who pushed out the Amorites in favor ...read more

Scripture: Judges 11:23

Denomination: Pentecostal

You Must Do It God’s Way

Contributed by John Gaston on Oct 1, 2017

David was trying to bring revival when his godly priest Uzzah was struck down for touching the Ark. David was afraid to bring the Ark to Jerusalem, but learned that God's blessings outweigh His dangers.

YOU MUST DO IT GOD’S WAY (THE LESSONS OF UZZAH) 1 Chron. 13:1-14, 15:1-2 INTRODUCTION A. HUMOR 1. Sometimes, good intentions don’t quite get the job done! 2. A businessman was scheduled for a very important meeting that required him to take a late-night train to his destination. 3. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 13:1-14

Denomination: Assembly Of God

Face To Face With God!

Contributed by Jan Oosthuizen on Oct 7, 2017

I believe the best way to communicate is meeting face to face. Yet we try to substitute this most ancient and proven way with technology and social Media and have become terribly disconnected as a result.

A face-to-face request is 34 times more successful than an email In research Mahdi Roghanizad of Western University and I conducted, recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, we have found that people tend to overestimate the power of their persuasiveness via text-based ...read more

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 4:4-6

Denomination: Evangelical/Non-Denominational

I Didn't Know That I Was Starving Until I Tasted You Series

Contributed by Fr Mund Cargill Thompson on Jun 18, 2017

A sermon for a mixed congregation (adults and children) trying to get across why it matters that Jesus became flesh and why it matters that he still makes himself present to us now in bread and wine.

............................. “ Beloved, I received from the Lord what I also hand on to you” (1 Cor 11:23) - where to begin? Perhaps with meeting someone famous…. Have you ever met anyone famous? ............. [take answers from congregation] ............ Once when I was 20 I met a famous person. ...read more

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, John 6:1-58, Matthew 26:26-29, Mark 14:22-25, Luke 22:14-23, John 1:10-14, Philippians 2:1-11, Luke 2:1-7  (view more)  (view less)

Denomination: Anglican