Sermon Central
-
If I Had A Hammer!" Genesis 32:1-21 Key ... PRO
Contributed by Mark Brunner on Feb 17, 2005 (message contributor)
“If I Had A Hammer!” Genesis 32:1-21 Key verse(s): 9-12:“Then Jacob prayed, ‘O God of my father Abraham, God of my father Isaac, you prosper,’ I am unworthy of all the kindness and faithfulness you have shown your servant. I had only my staff when I crossed this Jordan, but now I have become two groups.”
“O my goodness! If I don’t act right now, that thing is going to fall and dent the car!” I sped into motion. “Where’s that hammer? Where did I put it” I looked up to see my old nemesis, the garage door from “you no where”, about to slam headlong into my wife’s car. One of those sixteen foot “behemoth-brand” garage doors, it had no doubt been designed not only to withstand wind and weather but also direct hits by kamikaze airplanes. The hinged giant weighed hundreds of pounds and had been fickle from the day I moved it from one side of the garage to the other. Simply, it liked coming off-track. My wife had tried to open it herself once and it promptly came off-track not just on the one side but also the other. Evidently it really wanted to impress on her first effort. Needless to say, my wife wasn’t impressed. Had she the ability to contend with it at the moment, it would have felt her wrath. She reserved that for me however.
I had succeeded in coming up with a system of dealing with the door for the most part. I had even taught my son the nuances of opening and closing so that, should I be gone, there would be a “recruit” available to “deal” with the door. It was a subtle combination of touch, speed and, of course, the five-pound hammer that I kept tucked away on a workbench next to the door. “It was all in the wrists.” I told my son. It’s your wrists and stamina verses the doors knack for going off-track. It’s man against door. And you’re much smarter than the door.” I told him. Success was a matter of taking command and making the door know who was boss. Over time the opening and closing of the door had become a contest. Most of the time man won, succeeding in stopping the pull or the push just in a nick of time; preventing the door from cleverly extracting a wheel here or popping a hinge there. But, there were those times when, mind wandering for a moment and, perhaps, a hand gloved and not able to feel the door’s impulses, the door would get the jump on me and beat me. That’s where the hammer comes in. If a wheel comes off track you simple have to stop everything that you are doing; find the culprit and hammer it back into ranks. It was nearly a fool-proof system unless, of course, some fool didn’t put the hammer back.
Such was the situation this morning when, in one of those rare moments, the door not only came off-track but now hung perilously close to top of my wife’s car. There it stood, creaking and groaning like some old dinosaur, popping one wheel at a time, bending the track to its maximum, straining to come to its final rest atop an innocent Jetta. “Where’s my hammer!” It wasn’t where I “always put it”! Suddenly I was filled with fear. If that door smashed the Jetta I knew I would be in very serious trouble having told my wife many times that I could “handle” it and she need not “worry” about it. Panic set in. In my mind were those projected images of a topless Jetta and a very angry wife who wanted to use her car this very morning. Fight or flight. I knew I had to do something. It was a choice of thinking or acting. Stepping out of character, I chose the first. Instead of choosing the norm, that being to run around the garage frantically looking for the hammer, I chose to ponder for the moment. Suddenly, it struck me. There was enough clearance to move Holly’s car out of the garage and thereby out of danger! Man -1. Door-0! The hammer? Out in the shed where I put it.
Fear happens! We are surrounded by situations and circumstances that produce fear in our lives. There is nothing wrong with being...
Continue reading this sermon illustration (Free with PRO)Related Sermon Illustrations
-
After A Forest Fire In Yellowstone National Park, ... PRO
Contributed by James Botts on Sep 10, 2002
After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the damage. One ranger found a bird literally petrified in ashes, perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Startled by the eerie sight, he knocked over the bird with a stick. ...read more
-
Rick Warren Writes In "The Purpose Driven Life," ... PRO
Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Nov 30, 2004
Rick Warren writes in “The Purpose Driven Life,” “I have been at the bedside of many people in their final moments, when they stand on the edge of eternity, and I have never heard anyone say, “Bring me my diplomas! I want to look at them one more time. Show me my awards, my medals, that gold watch ...read more
-
September 11th, 2001 Just Past 9:00am, Stanley ... PRO
Contributed by James Botts on Sep 10, 2002
September 11th, 2001 just past 9:00am, Stanley Praimnath, Vice President for Fuji Bank, was in his office in the South Tower at WTC when his phone rang. “Are you watching the news?’ asked a woman the Chicago office. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine” he said wondering why she had called. Just then he ...read more
-
Donald Miller Tells This Story In Blue Like Jazz: ... PRO
Contributed by Mike Wilkins on Jul 26, 2005
Donald Miller tells this story in Blue like Jazz: Don had gone to hear a folk singer who ended up telling the story of a friend of his who was a Navy SEAL The folksinger said his friend was performing a covert operation, freeing hostages from a building in some dark part of the world. His ...read more
-
Todd Beamer And The Others On Flight 93 Had A ... PRO
Contributed by Don Hawks on Sep 10, 2002
Todd Beamer and the others on Flight 93 had a choice to make. Sit by and watch it happen, or take action. You all know what choice they made. After Todd had recited the 23rd Psalm and asked if the other guys were ready, they headed into action with the words, “Let’s roll!”¨ Jesus had the same ...read more
Related Sermons
-
How To Receive Peace
Contributed by J Jeffrey Smead on Oct 9, 2014
Be anxious for No Thing. Do not be anxious even over one thing. That's right not One thing.You can chose to worry. You can choose to be anxious or you can chose to take the alternative, And Give It To God.My yoke is easy .and my burden is light.
-
Be Of Good Courage Series
Contributed by Rich Anderson on Jan 7, 2011
Where do we get our strength? How can God work in our lives? Through Jesus Christ
-
What Voice Are You Listening To? Series
Contributed by Troy Campbell on Mar 15, 2016
We must choose to listen to the right voice. Fear has a voice and Fatih has a voice. Which one are you going to pay the most attention to?
-
It Was Grace That Taught My Heart To Fear
Contributed by Jeff Strite on Jul 16, 2007
John Newton believed that God’s grace taught him to fear. But we’re not supposed to be afraid of anything are we?
-
Fearing Fear
Contributed by Joseph Smith on Mar 15, 2010
Delivered 1986. Fear is often a self-fulfilling prophecy, based on our image of a vengeful God. But challenging God is faith-filled, and His response is Jesus, who experiences all that we experience.
