WHEN LIFE GETS HARD 

Part 3: When Life Falls Apart 

April 21, 2026 

 

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Acts 8:1-3 (NIV) And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. 

 

• You’re doing  

 

2 Timothy 3:12 (MSG) Anyone who wants to live all out for Christ is in for a lot of trouble; there’s no getting around it. 

• God  

 

Proverbs 19:21 (NIV) Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails. 

• God  

 

Romans 8:28 (NIV) And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

 

Genesis 50:20 (ESV) You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. 

 

1. You don’t have to  your season to stay  in it. 

 

Acts 8:4 (NIV) Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 

 

Hebrews 11:8 (NIV) By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 

           2. Your  may be God’s . 

 

Acts 8:5-8 (NIV) Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. 

You Can Get…  

2.  

Acts 8:9-23 (NIV) Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” 

John 2:23-25 (NIV) Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Festival, many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all people. 

 

James 2:19 (NIV) You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. 

 

 Hardship  what you really .