Tag: hardship
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![Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. [Proximity]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/water-walking.png?w=1024)
Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid. [Proximity]
Being in close proximity to the right people in the right situations makes all the difference, including situations of difficulty and danger. This sermon on Mark 6:45-56 (also released as a podcast episode) unpacks Jesus’ words: “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” What if these were words specifically for you?
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Listen For It: Save Your
Faith isn’t just about pursuing life after death, but life before death. This sermon explores a healing and a girl raised back to life from Mark 5:21-43 and invites us to consider Jesus’ role as Saviour in our daily lives, especially in moments of pain and desperation.
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Look for the good (even when life is hard)
If things are hard or dreary, know that your current chapter isn’t your only chapter, and it certainly isn’t the last chapter. This short episode encourages you to look for the good (even when life is hard). “Though the fig tree should not blossom… yet I will rejoice in the Lord.”
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![Crooked Sticks Draw Straight Lines – Esther, Part 5 [Sermon]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mar10.png?w=1024)
Crooked Sticks Draw Straight Lines – Esther, Part 5 [Sermon]
Things are turning into a bloody mess. And yet, there is joy. The Jews of ancient Persia stand under an annihilation order. But now they are allowed to defend themselves. Through it all, providence. This sermon brings our Esther series to a close with chapters 9-10. “God uses crooked sticks to draw straight lines” (Ignatius).
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![God Works In The Trenches – Esther, Part 4 [Sermon]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/mar3.png?w=1024)
God Works In The Trenches – Esther, Part 4 [Sermon]
Life can feel like a war zone. It gets messy, difficult and painful. When that happens, does God stop working? Of course not. This sermon explores Esther 8 and God providentially working in the trenches.
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![Hope lifts you forward [Sermon]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/hope-forward.png?w=1024)
Hope lifts you forward [Sermon]
What difference does hope make when life is hard? That’s what I explore in this sermon on 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10. It is part 1 in a series called The Beginning is Nigh.
