25 Ready-To-Use Short Sermons on the Difficult Sayings of Jesus: For Busy Preachers, Lay Leaders, Teachers and Volunteers

By Barry L Davis

If you've ever struggled with Jesus' more challenging statements-His commands to hate family members, His warnings about camels and needles, His promises about eating His flesh-you're not alone. These "difficult sayings" have puzzled believers, frustrated skeptics, and challenged interpreters for two thousand years. Yet perhaps it's precisely because these sayings are difficult that they demand our attention and deserve our careful study.

The hard sayings of Jesus represent some of His most profound and transformative teachings. They cut through comfortable religiosity to reveal the radical nature of discipleship, the cost of following Christ, and the revolutionary values of God's kingdom. While His gentler words comfort and encourage us, His difficult sayings confront and transform us, forcing us to grapple with spiritual realities that we might otherwise ignore or avoid.

This collection was born from a conviction that the church needs to engage honestly with all of Jesus' teachings-not just the comfortable ones that affirm our preferences, but especially the uncomfortable ones that challenge our assumptions and call us to deeper discipleship. Too often, difficult sayings are either ignored completely, explained away through creative interpretation, or relegated to academic discussion rather than practical application.

Sermon 1: "Hate Father and Mother" (Luke 14:26)
Sermon 2: "Camel Through a Needle" (Matthew 19:24)
Sermon 3: "Not Peace, But a Sword" (Matthew 10:34)
Sermon 4: "Eat My Flesh, Drink My Blood" (John 6:53)
Sermon 5: "Why Call Me Good?" (Mark 10:18)
Sermon 6: "Let the Dead Bury the Dead" (Matthew 8:22)
Sermon 7: "Gouge Out Your Eye" (Matthew 5:29)
Sermon 8: "Many Called, Few Chosen" (Matthew 22:14)
Sermon 9: "Not With Me, Against Me" (Matthew 12:30)
Sermon 10: "Sell Everything" (Luke 18:22)
Sermon 11: "Adultery in the Heart" (Matthew 5:28)
Sermon 12: "Turn the Other Cheek" (Luke 6:29)
Sermon 13: "Cannot Serve Two Masters" (Matthew 6:24)
Sermon 14: "Become Like Children" (Matthew 18:3)
Sermon 15: "Woe to the Rich" (Luke 6:24)
Sermon 16: "Only Through Me" (John 14:6)
Sermon 17: "Forgive or Be Unforgiven" (Matthew 6:15)
Sermon 18: "Lose Your Life to Find It" (Matthew 16:25)
Sermon 19: "Love Your Enemies" (Matthew 5:44)
Sermon 20: "Go and Sin No More" (John 8:11)
Sermon 21: "First Must Be Last" (Mark 9:35)
Sermon 22: "Millstone Around the Neck" (Luke 17:2)
Sermon 23: "Carry Your Cross" (Luke 14:27)
Sermon 24: "Don't Give Dogs What Is Sacred" (Matthew 7:6)
Sermon 25: "Some Will Not Taste Death" (Matthew 16:28)

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FLPGDXLN
• ISBN13: 9798296971364
• Release Date: August 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 158 Pages
• Weight: 0.48 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"