Summary Rick Warren shares how discouragement hits hardest at the halfway point of life’s marathon, using Nehemiah chapter 4 to highlight four common causes: fatigue, frustration from rubble, feelings of failure, and fear from threats. He explains [...]

Summary Pastor Rick Warren reminds us that genuine praise to God—done with all our heart, in spirit and truth—is a vital daily habit, drawing from Psalm 150:6 and John 4:23. He stresses that lukewarm worship disgusts God, while heartfelt praise [...]

Summary In this second message of the «Shaping Your Future Self» series, Rick Warren teaches that pleasing God requires faith, expressed through setting faith goals, based on Hebrews 11:6 which states that without faith it is impossible to please [...]

Summary In this sermon from the «Strategies for Stressful Times» series, Rick Warren uses the analogy of running out of gas in a car to illustrate why people feel spiritually, emotionally, and relationally empty, listing ten common reasons such as [...]

Summary In this message, Rick Warren draws from recent tragedies like mass shootings and personal losses to emphasize that God expects believers to comfort others in grief using the comfort we’ve received from Him, based on 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. He [...]

Summary In this message from the «Building a Better Future» series on Nehemiah (Part 6, focusing on Nehemiah 4), Rick Warren addresses handling opposition when pursuing God’s will. Opportunity and opposition go hand-in-hand («Opportunity + [...]

Summary In this message from the «Building a Better Future» series on Nehemiah (Part 8, focusing on Nehemiah 5), Rick Warren teaches how to earn respect through handling internal conflict wisely. Respect is a deep human need and is earned, not [...]

Summary Rick Warren shares how God’s sovereign timing led him to found Saddleback Church in the Saddleback Valley back in 1979-1980 through miraculous coincidences like crossed letters mentioning the same location. In this historic June 2021 [...]

Summary Rick Warren teaches that true happiness is a choice, not dependent on circumstances, drawing from Paul’s joyful letter to the Philippians written while imprisoned in Rome. He identifies four common «killjoys» of happiness—pain, pressure, [...]

Summary In this message, Rick Warren warns that misplaced priorities are a major cause of discouragement and fatigue among pastors and believers alike, often because we focus on urgent but secondary issues instead of what truly matters eternally. [...]

In a world full of upheaval and uncertainty, God doesn't want us just to survive but to thrive and succeed, no matter how bad things get. Drawing from Jeremiah 29:11 and the life of Daniel, the preacher explains that God uses the problems and [...]

God shakes up our lives on purpose, using problems not to hurt us but to help us grow in ways we desperately need. Looking closely at how He inspects our hearts and motives through trials, drawing from stories like Adam, the Israelites in the [...]

In a time when societal values are flipped upside down—just as Isaiah 5:20 warned about calling evil good and good evil, leading to cultural collapse like ancient Israel experienced—the preacher introduces the book of Daniel and a new series called [...]

Just like Jesus' death on Friday brought pain, His burial on Saturday confusion and grief, and His resurrection on Sunday victory and joy, we all cycle through these "days" in life over and over. Drawing from the disciples' [...]

The resurrection validated Jesus as God, proved life after death, and gave a model for handling life's worst pain through His death (Friday), burial (Saturday), and rising (Sunday). Drawing from 1 Peter 2:21 and Jesus' example in [...]

Crazymakers crave attention through conflict and manipulation, often stemming from unmet needs for love and approval, but Scripture teaches us not to engage their arguments or cave to their demands. Drawing from Proverbs on quarrelsome people, [...]

This concluding message of the "You Make Me Crazy" series summarizes six types of difficult people and offers six biblical steps for dealing with them. The core scripture principle is that love overlooks wrongs, and the key is to refuse [...]

The Bible warns in 2 Timothy 3:2 that in the last days abuse will dramatically increase, and we're seeing exactly that as culture drifts further from God. The preacher stresses: if you or someone you know is facing physical or sexual abuse, [...]

The Bible warns in 2 Timothy 3:2 that abuse will increase in the last days, and Scripture is full of examples like Job's torment and David's enemies; everyone carries a sinful nature that breaks relationships, but there's hope to [...]

The Bible gives minimum requirements for a God-blessed marriage: spiritual unity, shared life purpose, and emotional health in both partners—no uncontrolled anger, addictions, bitterness, selfishness, greed, but instead generosity, kindness, and [...]

The Bible gives clear guidelines for choosing a marriage partner, starting with spiritual unity (both committed believers) and life-purpose compatibility (shared calling and direction from God). Myths like "God picks your mate" or [...]

The Bible teaches that anger often stems from hurt, frustration, or fear, and dealing with "crazy makers" who push buttons requires wisdom: overlook offenses, think before reacting, understand the pain behind words, respond gently to [...]

Anger isn't always wrong—it's sometimes an appropriate response to injustice or harm, reflecting God's image in us, but uncontrolled or selfish anger destroys relationships and health. The sermon explains four ways people express [...]

The only way to resolve conflict is to face it head-on with humility: confess your part first (even if small), listen for the other person's hurt, consider their perspective, speak truth tactfully, attack the problem not the person, fix issues [...]

Conflict is everywhere in a broken world, but unresolved conflict blocks fellowship with God, hinders prayers, and destroys happiness. The Bible gives seven steps to resolve it biblically: take the initiative (don't wait or ignore it), confess [...]

James 3:13-18 describes heavenly wisdom as pure, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, impartial, and sincere—producing good deeds and a harvest of righteousness through peacemaking. In relationships, wisdom means refusing to compromise integrity, [...]

James 3:13-18 describes heavenly wisdom as pure, peace-loving, gentle, merciful, impartial, and sincere—producing good deeds and a harvest of righteousness through peacemaking. In relationships, wisdom means refusing to compromise integrity, [...]

Kay Warren shares how surrender brings peace in grief: accept what cannot change (like a loved one's death), trust God's care for the future, refocus on Him through worship, care for yourself physically, do something productive, and keep [...]

God has five eternal purposes for your life: worship (knowing and loving Him), fellowship (learning to love others), discipleship (growing to become like Christ), ministry (practicing service by serving people), and mission (sharing your life [...]

God has five clear purposes for your life: worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission. The preacher explains how God often uses pain and suffering to advance these purposes—if we cooperate with Him instead of wasting our hurts, we can [...]

Wrapping up the Jonah series, the pastor dives into chapter 4 where Jonah resents God's mercy on repentant Nineveh, regretting the mission's success. Through Jonah's failures—running from God, prejudice, bad attitude, and especially [...]

This sermon turns the familiar Christmas story around by highlighting three wise women—Elizabeth, Mary, and Anna—who faced deep disappointment, sudden change, and profound loss. Through the accounts in Luke 1 and 2, we see how each overcame her [...]

This Christmas message contrasts the humble, quiet first coming of Jesus as a baby born to save the world with the dramatic, glorious second coming when He returns instantly as King to judge, gather His family, and end all evil forever. Drawing [...]

On Christmas morning, this message unpacks John 3:16 as God's ultimate gift—His deep, unconditional love shown by sending His only Son so that anyone who believes receives forgiveness, purpose, and eternal life instead of perishing. The pastor [...]

This Christmas message celebrates the angel's announcement that the good news of Jesus' birth brings great joy "for all people"—no exceptions, no restrictions, regardless of race, background, or past. Drawing from Luke 2 and [...]

This Christmas Eve sermon invites everyone to "behold" the true meaning of Christmas by focusing on Jesus, using the ancient word "behold" (meaning to gaze with awe) to urge deeper attention amid modern distractions. Tracing [...]

This message dives deep into those raw moments when we're wrestling with God—angry, disappointed, feeling let down because prayers went unanswered. Drawing from his own heartbreaking loss of a son to mental illness and suicide despite years of [...]

In this part of the "Getting Through What You’re Going Through" series, the preacher kicks off the "Struggle" stage, explaining that because of sin, life is full of battles—with others, with ourselves, and deepest of all with [...]

This sermon opens the series on "Getting Through What You’re Going Through" by focusing on the first stage: shock when catastrophe hits out of nowhere. Using Ecclesiastes 9:12 and examples from Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and David, the [...]

In this sermon on the "sorrow" stage of getting through life's losses, Pastor Rick explains that while loss is unavoidable in a changing world, grieving those losses is a deliberate choice that unlocks spiritual growth and God's [...]

Pastor Rick shares lessons from his own recent grief after losing his son, teaching that loss is unavoidable in life but choosing to grieve is what allows us to move forward and grow spiritually. Using Jesus' words "Blessed are those who [...]

Kay Warren opens up about the long, agonizing battle with her son Matthew's mental illness, sharing how she clung to audacious hope through prayer teams, Scripture cards in a "hope box," and a personal fleece that seemed [...]

Rick Warren explains that sin and evil have broken everything on earth—people, relationships, nature, and society—leading to widespread confusion, suffering, and pain in every area of life. He counters hopelessness by pointing to Romans 8:28, [...]

Rick Warren opens with 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, sharing how Paul's words about God as the Father of compassion who comforts us in suffering so we can comfort others have been a lifeline after Matthew's death. He explains that firm hope comes [...]

Rick Warren explores the astonishing truth that God desires a deep, intimate friendship with us, not just a distant relationship of rules and rituals. Drawing from James 4:8, Romans 5:10-11, John 15:15, and the original friendship in Eden, he shows [...]

God stresses that to build an awesome family we must model good behavior and hold meaningful conversations about important things, while firmly avoiding criticism, nagging, and comparisons that only breed resentment. Using scriptures like Ephesians [...]

The preacher explains that awesome families don't happen by accident but require fighting against societal forces that undermine them, drawing from Nehemiah's call to fight for family. From God's Word and decades of counseling, he [...]

The preacher teaches that everyone must honor marriage as God's sacred design, regardless of personal status, using Hebrews 13:4. He outlines six divine purposes: connecting men and women against loneliness, multiplying the human race, [...]

The preacher draws from the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17 to show how to overcome the "giants" that block us from pursuing God's dream for our lives—giants like delay, discouragement, disapproval, and doubt. David [...]

Concluding "50 Days of Transformation" with vocational health, the preacher stresses that dreaming is a God-given gift reflecting His image, essential for purpose beyond mere jobs. Using David and Goliath from 1 Samuel 17, he identifies [...]