Sermons About Struggle
My Perfect Storm: Steve Deckrow
Steve Deckrow shares insights from his personal journey of loss, challenge and faith
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The Great Things of God
Since arriving in Garner to plant Sovereign King Church, I have had what I will call a holy despair. Let me explain that because "holy" and "despair" seem to be contradictory. You see, I don't want when it is all said and done, for Sovereign King to launch and have everything we need (buildings, youth ministries, great music, etc), and God not do something great among us. It is quite possible for us to have a great building, an incredible ministry to all ages and stages of life and have rocking, professional level music, and we never come close to sniffing great things for God. When I look into the coming year, I see a bunch of those things becoming reality. This will be the year Sovereign King will become financially self-sufficient, and we will begin looking towards greater platforms for ministry. More than likely, we will not finish 2009 in the same building that we are in now. I imagine we will build on the efforts of Children's Church and the events we did this past summer, and our children's/youth activities will flourish and become much more consistent. And the temptation of our hearts when all of those things happen is to think that we have arrived, that the goal has been accomplished, God has blessed us, and the central struggle is over. Do not, and I repeat, do not give in that type of thinking. If we have those things, and I pray we do, that does not mean that God is doing great things with us. And I pray and plead to God and to you for great things. We are in dangerous territory because at least in our culture, those very good things (financially stability, good facilities, great music) can actually be enemies of great things because we see them, we grow complacent, and lose our desire for the great things of God. This week, as we return to the book of I John, I want us to ask, "What do the great things of God look like?"
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Song of Faith
The Bible tells us that the first Christmas brought good news of great joy. Those who doubted regained faith. Those who felt small received blessing. Those who were overlooked found peace. Those who waiting for something big to come along, celebrated. We believe Christmas still brings good news of great joy. Come, celebrate with us.
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Following Like Jesus
The hallmark of our Christian faith is that we actually live it out! "Our faith" is to be more than just an intellectual knowledge or an emotional experience but it is to have practical and powerful impact on our daily lives! As we speak of Jesus "incarnation" it becomes clearly apparent that in order to achieve what He achieved, He had to have absolute TRUST in the plan of the Father! The classic "struggle" was when He faced His impending death, and cries out in the garden of Gethsemane "not my will but Your will be done." Those four words might summarize the entirety of our commitment to Jesus Christ - "Your will be done." So here is the rub....why do we find it so difficult to release control of our lives into the loving hands of Jesus? Why is "following" often such a struggle for us? What is it that keeps us from this deep, abiding contentment of taking our hands off and surrendering 100% to Him? Following the Father's plan took Jesus to the cross! Are we prepared to "lay it all on the line" in order to follow Him today?
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Message from Nick Yother, Minister with Jr. High
August 10, 2008 was "Youth Sunday" at Hickory Flat UMC. Nick Yother, Minister with Jr. High, wraps up the service and shares a testimony. "The struggle before us is not as great as the Power behind us."
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The Struggle Within
Do you ever feel like you are living a contradiction? You know what is right, but don’t always do it. You delight in God’s law, but parts of you covertly rebel. Why is it that we sometimes don’t feel free? Romans 7-8 speaks to us about the struggle within. The good news is that Scripture is honest about the struggle, but offers the hope of freedom at the same time. Today in the Word, we will look more closely at one of the most realistic yet hopeful passages in the Bible.
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Waiting (Psalm 40)
Life is filled with all sorts of landscape. An all terrain faith is equally balanced for the breathtaking view from the mountaintop and the confusing trek though a cold, dark valley. It provides adequate support for walking in rough, rocky stretches and stability for the slippery spots. In this exploration of the Psalms, we will see that no matter where you find yourself in life there is an appropriate faith response to your life situation. Are you ready for the hike?
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Peter Keeps It Real pt. 7
The Christian life is not about being free from struggle. Peter says that Satan is always a presence in our lives and we need to be careful so that when struggle comes we need to be able to resist temptation to sin
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The Psalms and Our Negative Emotions
The Psalms are a window into the soul in all its complexity and variety. Christians often think the negative or dark emotions are sign of immaturity or a lack of faith. But, in fact, all our emotions reveal our deepest questions about God and our invitations to a greater faith.
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The Psalms and Our Negative Emotions
The Psalms are a window into the soul in all its complexity and variety. Christians often think the negative or dark emotions are sign of immaturity or a lack of faith. But, in fact, all our emotions reveal our deepest questions about God and our invitations to a greater faith.
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