Sermons on Try Harder:

Laodicea; The Chruch Of Today? Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Sep 30, 2010

Does the church of today resemble the lukewarm Laodiceans? Are we the last era of the Christian Church?

Revelation is the scariest book in the Bible, yet it’s also one of the most comforting, reassuring, and exciting books in the Bible. The beloved disciple John is almost certainly the author of the book, but unlike other New Testament letters, the first few chapters of this book seem to be ...read more

Scripture: Revelation 3:14-22

Day One Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jun 24, 2009

We do not only need to know the story of creation, but we need to see how we are part of it and how it all becomes relevant for our lives today.

The entire story of the Bible from the Israelites as God’s chosen people, to the Christian church, is about not being the same as the rest of the culture. God has always asked us to be different from the majority culture that we live in. Toward the end of the 20th century and into the 21st century ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-5

What Is The Bible?

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jul 8, 2009

Without the Bible there is no Christianity. We need to give it the credit it deserves.

What is the Bible? (2 Peter 1:12-21) Emperor Menelik II was an African ruler who defeated the Italian army at Adwa in 1896 and established the nation of Ethiopia. He believed that the Bible had the power to cure illness, and he would eat a few pages of it anytime he got sick. He suffered a stroke ...read more

Scripture: 2 Peter 1:12-21

A Time To Weep, A Time To Laugh Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Mar 18, 2010

Abraham, Sarah, Ishael, and Hagar represent faith and promise, spirit versus flesh, and grace versus Law. Abraham shows faith by letting his son Ishmael go forever.

Some of you have had the pleasure and/or pain of participating in a step-family. On rare occasions this works out really well and goes smoothly, but most of the time it’s very hard and all the parents and children involved, have major adjustments to make both lifestyle wise and ...read more

Scripture: Genesis 21:1-21

The Fruit Of The Spirit "Self Control" Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Dec 4, 2009

Not only does self-control mean saying no to yourself, it also means doing what has to be done.

Tomorrow is Labour day. Interesting isn’t it that Labour Day is a celebration of work yet we get the day off. Wouldn’t it make more sense for us to go work for free to celebrate the fact that we get to work? Anyway I’m not going to talk about Labour Day today, we’ll touch on work more next week, ...read more

Scripture: Galatians 5:22-23

The Ten Commandments Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jul 5, 2013

The rest of the book of Exodus takes place at Mt Sinai, the mountain of God. This of course fulfills the sign promised to Moses at the burning bush, that “when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve the Lord on this mountain”.

It says they arrived here on the 3rd new moon which gets them here about 7 weeks after the Exodus out of Egypt. Again think about that. They are about half way to the Promised Land after 7 weeks, but the next half takes them almost 40 years. The other thing significant about this timing is that ...read more

Avoiding Apostasy Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Sep 6, 2012

The word apostasy , literally means to withhold under. Depending on your bible it may say shrink back, draw back, turn away, and the key to understanding that word is that it refers to withholding or hiding out of sight because of timidity or fear. The w

The word apostasy is for obvious reasons not a popular word in the church. On the one hand it sends shivers down your spine, on the other hand many people don’t even believe in it. Frankly, I would prefer not to preach a sermon on it especially on a long weekend, but I said I would preach ...read more

Scripture: Hebrews 10:23-39

Nothing Can Stop Us Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Oct 4, 2013

Have you ever thought, “There’s got to be more to being a Christian than this?" Apparently there can be, and by studying the book of Acts, hopefully we can learn how to get more out of our Christian life.

Have you ever thought, “There’s got to be more to being a Christian than this?” Coming to church, singing some songs, trying to stay awake through a sermon. Apparently there can be, and that is what we are seeing in the book of Acts, and hopefully today we can see how to get more ...read more

Scripture: Acts 5:12-42

Can God Use You? Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Oct 31, 2013

Some of you will walk away today completely untouched or even offended by what you heard, others will be positively convicted. Either way you and I need to make a decision about how we want to be used. Like Saul, or like Paul?

The truth is God is using you. Whether you are a Christian or not, whether you know it or not, the sovereign God of the universe knows everyone and is orchestrating everything either by intervening or by taking his hands off. He uses all human beings to fulfill His purpose. The question becomes is ...read more

Scripture: Acts 9:1-31, Ephesians 4:25-28

Ruth Scene 4 Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Mar 1, 2013

Christ died on the cross for you; he went to the grave for you; and even today he stands at the door of all people and knocks...notice he doesn’t crash the door, we have to invite Him in, take the gift of eternal life by faith. Ruth gave Boaz permission a

Ruth has come all the way from the land of Moab into the heart and home of Boaz. And we who were one time strangers, far from God, without hope in the world, are now sealed in the heart and home of Jesus. We today have been redeemed into the family of God, and one of these days we are going to live ...read more

Scripture: Ruth 4:1-22

Journey From Victim To Victor Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Mar 21, 2013

The stories of the Bible through the age of the patriarchs like Abraham, the Exodus, the wanderings in the wilderness, the conquest of Canaan, the period of the judges and Kings - eventually led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the captivity of God's p

It was May 1940. The allied French and British forces had been badly defeated by Germany in the Battle of France. Around three hundred fifty thousand men, including the entire British army, were backed up against the sea at the port of Dunkirk, on the coast of France. They were sitting ducks. Their ...read more

Scripture: Daniel 2:1-48

Are We Committed?

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jan 21, 2011

The Bible is clear on what a true Christian should look like. Are we committed to being that person?

If there is one thing I have found to be crucial to my Christian walk, it is the constant surrender of my will. When doubt is creeping into my faith - I surrender. When I am afraid, I surrender. When I want Scripture to say something other than what it says, I surrender. When I don’t ...read more

Scripture: Romans 12:1-21

More Dos And Don'ts Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on May 11, 2011

Billions of people are asking, why would a loving God allow such a thing? God didn’t create this, He created perfection. We humans have caused this through our wanting our own way, but just like Adam and Eve, we don’t want to take responsibility for it.

(After the Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan) Billions of people are asking, why would a loving God allow such a thing? God didn’t create this, He created perfection. We humans have caused this through our wanting our own way, but just like Adam and Eve, we don’t want to take responsibility ...read more

Raising Kids To Be Healthy Adults Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Jun 16, 2010

There are a few specific scripture references to parenting, but I think we need to look at the entire scope of scripture to really get a complete picture of how we are to parent. After all, God is the ultimate parent as our father, so all of Scripture giv

Before I became a counsellor, while I was still going to school, I worked as a family support worker. Essentially I would pick up kids from troubled homes who social workers were involved with but hadn’t taken the children away yet, and I would spend a couple hours with them and take them ...read more

Scripture: Ephesians 6:4

Go Tell It On The Mountain Series

Contributed by Sean Harder on Apr 11, 2012

Not "go say it in your closet". 95% of professing Christians never share their faith, and of the 5% that do, 80% of them are new believers.

Not "go say it in your closet". 95% of professing Christians never share their faith, and of the 5% that do, 80% of them are new believers. As I tell this story from 1 Kings 18, I want you to wonder why I’m using it to begin a sermon on evangelism…. Imagine the scene, over 400 decked ...read more

Scripture: Acts 1:8