Comfort, ease, pleasure, happiness, these are worth pursuing, say the preachers of this world. Suffering is not. Do whatever you must to avoid it. In Christ, however, we see suffering differently.
This self-effacing God delights in showering His favor upon those of low estate. He lifts up the humble, reaches out to the downtrodden, welcomes the outcast, and befriends the foreigner.
In many cases, the expectations are not realistic. Sometimes we expect things to be much better than they could possibly be. On the other hand, sometimes our expectations are far too low.
God commands we serve only Him. We serve Him with all we have and all we are, including the 90% of our income which does not go in the plates. What does it look like to serve God above money?
The heart of your sermon is the promise that God, in Jesus, has sought and found each of us. He receives us sinners and invites us to eat with Him at His table.
Nuance and subtlety have been replaced with scorched-earth contempt. It is us versus them. Compromise is not an option. Jesus, however, would have none of it.