Sermon

Help in Times of Trouble

Theme

God is with us in times of trouble

Object

"Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day"

Scripture

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1 (NIV)

Have any of you ever read this book? It is the story of Alexander who has a day when everything seems to go wrong. We don 't have time to read it right now so I will just quickly tell you the story. Alexander fell asleep with gum in his mouth and wakes up with gum in his hair. Then he steps on a skateboard and drops his sweater in the sink when the water is running. He has a bad day at school and then has to go to the dentist. His family has cauliflower for dinner and Alexander hates cauliflower, then there are only shows with kissing and hugging on TV. At bedtime, Alexander's brother takes his pillow back, his night light is burned out, and the cat sleeps on his brother's bed instead of his. WOW! That truly was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. Alexander thought he could solve his problems by running away to Australia.

The bible says that God is our refuge, our safe place, in times of trouble. God is always near and wants us to bring our problems to him and listen to his word. Since God's power is greater than anything in this world, we don't need to be afraid to ask for help. God helps us when we can't help ourselves. God wants us to come to him, to accept his love and forgiveness, and to be part of his family.

So this week when you have a problem that seems to big to solve, remember that God is always available and ready to listen. Let's pray.

Dear God,Thank you for your love and forgiveness when we make mistakes. Help us to remember that you are never too busy to listen to our prayers. In your name we pray, Amen.