Sermon Central
-
Fresh Starts! (10.05.05--Beginning ...
Contributed by Mark Brunner on Oct 3, 2005 (message contributor)
Fresh Starts! (10.05.05--Beginning Again!--Numbers 20:1)
A number of years ago my wife had an opportunity to spend several days camping at a church camp with several of her friends. They kept the little ones and the family pets with them. The only thing lacking for the time was husbands. It was mid-summer and the weather was scorching. Unfortunately there was one thing that needed to be done before leaving our wives in camp--making firewood for the week.
My friend Jon and I had brought along our chain saws in anticipation of wrestling down dead oaks, blighted by wilt, that dotted the campground. After several hours of felling, cutting and splitting, the heat had finally gotten to both of us. We were exhausted and weren’t looking forward to restacking the wood in campsite. Our wives suggested we cool our heels in a nearby lake. It seemed like a drastic move in the midst of all the work that still needed to be done. But, we peeled and dove in. It wasn’t long before the refreshing waters gave us back the will to finish the job. We needed a fresh start.
As Christians we often find ourselves in need of a fresh start when life becomes tedious, even burdensome. Carving out that start might call for some creative thinking, even what might seem drastic for the moment. We need to be able to be willing to see opportunities that might remain otherwise hidden.
A sculptor had ruined a huge piece of beautiful Carrara marble. It was left in the courtyard of the cathedral in Florence, Italy, for almost a hundred years. Artisans thought it was beyond repair. But in 1505, a young sculptor by the name of Michelangelo was asked if he thought anything could be done with “The Giant.” He measured the block and carefully noted the imperfections caused by the bungling workman of an earlier day. To his mind came the image of the young shepherd boy David. He carefully made a sketch of that biblical character as he envisioned him. For 3 years he worked steadily, his chisel skillfully shaping the marble. Finally, when one of his students was allowed to view the towering figure, 18 feet high and weighing 9 tons, he exclaimed, “Master, it lacks only one thing, and that is speech!” (Unknown.)
Beginning again often is a product having the vision to see beyond the ordinary and into the extraordinary. Stepping back from our lives every now and then and reexamining what we have made of them is probably a very good idea. The Bible is full of stories of people and nations who, with a perspective on what was, were able to envision what could be. Sometimes we just need to be conditioned by the hardship to be able to be able to appreciate a fresh start.
Related Sermon Illustrations
-
A Small Storeowner Was Being Pressured To Sell ... PRO
Contributed by Paul Decker on Nov 19, 2002
A small storeowner was being pressured to sell his store to the owners of a large department store who had bought every building on the block, except his. Frustrated by the man’s refusal to sell, they eventually opened their huge store on either side of the small one, with a big banner running ...read more
-
An American Missionary Was Traveling Across Korea ... PRO
Contributed by George Rennau on Aug 25, 2003
An American missionary was traveling across Korea by train. At a busy station an old man boarded and sat across from Him. The man was Korean and he addressed the American in his native tongue. The Missionary responded in the only Korean phrase that he knew which was "I DON’T UNDERSTAND". A ...read more
-
Waiting For God Is Not Laziness. Waiting For God ... PRO
Contributed by Donnie Martin on Nov 11, 2002
Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; ...read more
-
The Bible Tells The Story Of Absalom. He Was ... PRO
Contributed by Rodney Buchanan on Aug 28, 2005
The Bible tells the story of Absalom. He was the son of King David — Israel’s greatest king. Through a series of circumstances, Absalom began to despise his father and made plans to become king in his father’s place. He surreptitiously sowed seeds of division and rebellion in his father’s ...read more
-
Wisdom Is The God-Given Ability To Perceive The ... PRO
Contributed by Eric Olson on Nov 12, 2002
“Wisdom is the God-given ability to perceive the true nature of a matter and implement the will of God in ...read more
Related Sermons
-
Recovering From Grief & Loss Series
Contributed by Todd Leupold on Nov 3, 2008
Losses and grief are inevitable parts of our lives in a world that has been corrupted by sin. The real struggle is not in avoiding these times but in learning how to understand and deal with them when they do come.
-
Hope In The Midst Of Chaos Series
Contributed by Pat Damiani on Sep 13, 2010
We can have hope in the midst of chaos because God knows us, protects us and equips us.
-
The Race Set Before Us Series
Contributed by Maurice Mccarthy on Jun 25, 2012
From Heb. 12:1 the race set before us is: 1. A Set Race (Sovereignty); 2. A Marked Out Race (Guidance); 3. An Individually Crafted Race; 4. A Forward Looking Race (The Race before us)
-
Almost Drowned By Life’s Distractions
Contributed by Spencer Miller on Apr 27, 2013
One of the worst and most serious of all life’s distractions is our fears which may momentarily cause us to take our eyes off of Jesus.
-
Job Holds To His Integrity - Job Chapter Twenty Seven Series
Contributed by Tom Shepard on Mar 13, 2008
This is a study on Job chapter twenty seven.
