Tag: hardship
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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.
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![I have calmed and quieted my soul [Sermon]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/psalm-131.png?w=1024)
I have calmed and quieted my soul [Sermon]
Deep within we can feel chaos, noise, confusion and fatigue. But the battle is waged from a place of stillness. How do we get there? This sermon explores Psalm 131.
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![The Lord does battle for you [Sermon]](https://matthewruttan.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/psalm-91.png?w=1024)
The Lord does battle for you [Sermon]
Psalm 91. It’s been used to ward off evil and is sometimes called The Soldier’s Psalm. It’s for approaching danger, fear, pestilence and battle. What protection does it promise? And what are we to think when calamity still comes? The sermon explores this rich text and invites us to consider how to live under the…
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He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High (Growing Deeper with Psalm 91)
It is a psalm for when trouble is near, for battle, and therefore, for protection. We dwell in the shelter of the Most High, our fortress, who covers us with his wings. But is this a guarantee of total safety? It’s quoted often, even by Satan. This episode is a Bible study on Psalm 91.
