Sermons on Suffering (Page 2)
Understanding Christian Persecution | Acts 16:16-40
Christianity is like a nail; the harder you hit it, the deeper it goes.[1] In 1966, Mao cast out Western missionaries and persecuted Christians. A Star in the East reports, “Ironically, the persecution of Protestants may have been the single most beneficial event for the success of the Christianity in China!” It transformed the Chinese Christian movement into a local movement led by the Chinese. It got rid of the liberal missionaries who didn’t believe in Christ. Those who endured…
Barriers to Multiethnic Reconciliation | Acts 10:23b-43
Last week we talked about the Bible’s vision of churches working towards becoming diverse multiethnic congregations that reflects his church family in Revelation 7:9-10. Today I want to talk about the things that hinder us from doing that, barriers to unity in diversity. When we look at the New Testament, we find one of the most commonly reoccurring themes is racial tensions between Jew and Gentile. The church had to call a council in Acts 15 to deal with the…
The Way of Jesus | Acts 6:8-15 (Stephen)
What does it mean to follow Jesus? The early Christians in the book of Acts identifies themselves as “the way” (Acts 9:2). It sounds kind of mystical—“the way…” They were following “the way” of Jesus, who identified himself as the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Jesus tells us what his way is like: Luke 9:23 (NIV) Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily…
Joy in Adversity | Acts 5:17-42
How can we have joy in adversity? How can we experience happiness when we’re also experiencing setbacks or even suffering? I want to read you the last words in our passage. Acts 5:40b (NIV) …They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. The apostles, who are the twelve disciples including Peter and John and all the rest, are arrested by those in power…
Life in the Shadow | Acts 5:12-16
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) put out a graph that’s been going around the internet. It’s called “flattening the curve” and it shows two trajectories. The first trajectory shows what will happen when people don’t take protective measures seriously—when we don’t practice social distancing and hand washing and self-quarantine. It shows a high number of cases overloading our healthcare system, which can lead to high loss of life. This curve is steep and sharp. It looks like a looming…
CHRIST OVER COVID | Matthew 8:14-17
A plague hit Rome from 249 to 262 AD. This plague lasted 13 years. Our pandemic has been a week and a half and we’re already going crazy. Can you imagine what that was like? Historians have studied this plague and it was bad, real bad. I don’t want to describe it to you but if you look up the Plague of Cyprian you can read all the details. It killed about 5,000 people a day. The city of Alexandria…
The Road to Emmaus: When You Can’t See Jesus | Luke 24:13-35
Have you ever had that experience when you can’t see something and it’s right in front of you? This week I needed to give Elijah his milk and I knew Monica had put some in the fridge but I couldn’t find it. When I opened the fridge it wasn’t there and when I moved some of the food and other items it wasn’t there either. So I called Monica and I asked her if she had put the milk in…
A Good and Faithful Death | Psalm 90
Tonight we are going to talk about death. At the Ockenga Fellows Retreat last week we discussed “Science, Technology, and Healthcare.” I’m going to cover technology in May but tonight I want to discuss how to die well. By show of hands, who here thought about death this week, either your death or that of a loved one, family member, or friend? A lot of us thought about death this week. Our culture doesn’t like to talk about death but…
The Certain Gospel: Wait… What? God’s Storyline | Luke 5:17-26
When you expect one thing and God does something completely different, remember God is telling a bigger story than you can ever think or imagine. Watch, listen or read this sermon on Luke 5:17-25 by Mark Pender. Click “Save” to download the pdf manuscript. Church Service You can watch the full service on Facebook or only the sermon on YouTube. Sermon Slides
Praying in the Dark | Psalm 18:1-19
Do you ever have a really bad dream? I mean just a terrible dream. I have a recurring dream of being chased by a bear. Maybe you’re lost and alone in the woods or maybe a close family member or friend dies? Isn’t it great when you wake up in the morning and realize you’re not lost or alone and your loved one is still there? In those moments do you ever just take a deep breath and say, “Thank…
Discipleship 101: Disciples who Suffer | Philippians 4:10-23
Have you ever finished reading a book and wondered, what did I just read? I have lots of books on my bookshelf that I know I’ve read, but I have trouble remembering what they are about. To try to solve this, I’ve become a lot more interactive with my books. Now when I read, I underline and try to paraphrase points in the margins, writing down a word or two that will remind me what it’s about. *Please click “Save”…
- 1
- 2