Countdown to 30: Day 16

I have been listening to sermons my entire life (even in utero), but there is one sermon that sticks out as the most important sermon that I ever listened to. Today I want to share it as part of my countdown series.

The sermon was suggested by our youth minister at the time. It was back when I had bought or received as a gift my first mp3 player, but prior to the iPod days. I listened to the sermon for the first time in February 2006. I had been dealing with Hurricane Katrina for quite a while by then. Someone I knew had been murdered, and it was the first person I knew that was murdered that I can remember. It was a difficult time, but a great time for me sorting out what I believed about God and His plan. These were events that were difficulty brought on by something other than my own sin, so I needed to figure out how to deal with everything in a biblically correct way.

The name of the sermon is A Beliver's Response to Difficulty and it was preached by Dr. Rick Holland. I know nothing else about the person who gave this sermon. The focus scripture is Lamentations. Some things that stick out about the sermon even more than three years later are the truths about how God is never surprised by natural disasters or tragedies in our lives because He is sovereign. The believer's appropriate response is grief and rejoicing; sorrow and praising God. The sermon ends with a letter that a man who was to be executed for his faith wrote to his wife reminding her that his death was God's will and God's plan and that believers should be full of grace and courage in the midst of difficulty. I highly recommend listening to this sermon. Different sermons mean different things to different people depending on what they are going through at that time of their life. I am glad that I listened to this one when I needed to hear it most.

Link to download the sermon

If the link does not work, you can go here, chose the year 2006 and the category Lamentations.