Sermon Tone Analysis
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liberty bible church 1~/27~/08 P.M.
By Tom Zobrist
“Overcoming the pitfalls of family life”
Genesis 21:1-21
introduction
Illus. of “the pressures on the family in a changing world.”
READ from article.
Families have had different pressures since the beginning of time.
There’s the story told of Adam walking with his boys one day when they happened upon the entrance of the Garden of Eden.
One of the boys asked, “What’s that?” Adam replied, “That’s where your mother ate us out of house and home.”
Unfortunately that little “joke” doesn’t tell the theological truth of the responsibility that Adam bore for the fall of man.
There are enormous pressures on the family today that are changing with every month that passes.
What can we do, as Christians, to overcome these pitfalls that are destroying our homes?
OPEN to passage.
*Prop.
*In this passage, we see how it is possible to overcome pitfalls of family life, even after we make huge mistakes.
Open in PRAYER.
PREVIEW the passage.
Abraham has not been perfect.
Even though he was chosen of God, we have seen him make a lot of mistakes.
Last week he lied about Sarah being his wife again and God bailed him out of that situation.
Today, he must deal with another problem of his own making.
How does he survive?
How does his family survive?
First, we must remember that…our outline is three p words.
(That’s what pitfall begins with)
i.
God fulfills his promises vs. 1-7
Illus. of Abraham would have believed this, it would have helped him avoid the problem that he deals with tonight; but, Abraham was human, as we all are, and had to learn the hard way.
a. God’s promises sometimes are miracles
V 1 1.
All this was done, just as God had spoken.
He wasn’t slow, He didn’t change anything, it was just as He had said.
God, is never late!
It is we who get impatient!
V 2 2.
It was a miracle.
*Verse 5* says that Abraham was 100 years old.
We know that by this time Sarah was 90.
In chapter 18, it said that she was passed the age of childbearing.
But, this was time set by God.
The child of promise would be a miracle child.
V 3 3.
They named his Isaac, which means laughter, calling to mind their response to God when He had made this promise.
Cf. 18:15 The laughter at the suggestion that she could bear a child in her old age would be changed to a laughter of rejoicing.
V 4 4.
Abraham is obedient by circumcising Isaac as God had commanded.
b. god’s promises result in rejoicing
V 6 1.
As I said a moment ago, Sarah’s mocking of God is now turned to rejoicing at this miracle and all who hear of this will rejoice as well.
V 7 2.
No one would have believed this, but it happened.
So we learn about the promises of God.
Even when they seem far out there, He fulfills them, even if it takes a miracle.
*Trans.*
If we want to overcome the pitfalls of family life, we must believe that GOD FULFILLS HIS PROMISES.
Second, we must be alert for…
ii.
problems we may face vs. 8-14
Illus. of “Magician” The carnival director was interviewing a young man looking for his first job as a magician.
“What’s your best trick?” the director asked.
“Sawing a woman in half—that’s my best.”
“Isn’t that a difficult trick?” “Not really.
I’ve been able to do that one since I was a child.
I always used to practice on my sisters.”
“And do you come from a large family?”
“Well, I have eight half sisters.”
Blended families is just one pitfall.
We see that in this passage, but even non-blended families can have these same struggles.
a. Sibling rivalry
V 8 1.
This would have happened when Isaac was 2 or 3 years old.
Ishmael was 14 years older so he would have been 16 or 17 years old at this time.
You know that Isaac was the “golden child.”
He was the child of promise, the miracle baby that everyone made a big deal about.
This would have been hard to take for an older sibling.
V 9 2.
Sarah observed “scoffing” behavior from Ishmael.
Sarah never liked him or his mother.
She had caused his mother to flee before when she was pregnant and now she doesn’t like what she sees from Ishmael.
“Scoffing” is from the same word that Isaac is from, meaning laughter.
However, this is not rejoicing laughter; this is mocking laughter.
One brother mocking another, who is too young to even know what is going on.
Sibling rivalry must be dealt with from time to time.
Another problem…
b. competing allegiences
V 10a 1.
“Get rid of this “salve” and “her” son.
She didn’t want to recognize that this was Abraham’s son and she certainly didn’t want to remember that this whole plan originally was hers.
It was a past that they continued to pay for in the present.
V 10b 2.
Sarah wanted Ishmael to have no share in the blessings of Abraham.
He was not the firstborn.
He was not the son of promise.
And this was all true.
She wants Abraham to get rid of them.
V 11 3.
Ishmael was Abraham’s son and I’m sure he loved him.
Illus. of when step-children told get along with step-parents.
This can be very painful for the biological parents that have torn allegiances.
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