Hiker, Aron Ralston. Marine, Merlin German. Afghan schoolgirl, Nabila. Each one of these people, in their own way, has come up against unbeatable odds. They have met face to face with that foe named impossibility. And their stories bear witness to the power of God to make a way out of no way.
      In 2003, Aron Ralson was hiking in a slot canyon near Moab, UT when a boulder fell and pinned his right forearm to the wall, crushing it. When rescue didn't come and his efforts to break the boulder didn't work, Ralston did the impossible. He broke his own arm and freed himself by cutting through it, so he could walk out to safety. God has the power to make a way out of no way. Ralston continues to climb mountains to this day.
     Merlin German has come to be known as the Miracle Marine after suffering burns over 95% of his body while serving in Iraq in February, 2005. Surviving against all odds for almost three years and over 100 surgeries, he died this past April after complications following another routine surgery. Before his death, he set up a foundation for burned children called "Merlin's Miracles". God has the power to make a way out of no way. Through this foundation, German's legacy lives on.
      NBC Nightly News did a story this past week on an Afghan schoolgirl named Nabila. She is one of 2.5 million Afghan girls who attend school in Afghanistan - an impossibility earlier this decade when the Taliban ruled. There is still a long way to go. 3.5 million girls of school age are still not in school. The Taliban does their best to intimidate the Afghan people so fear will win out over education. Still, Nabila knows her best way to fight back is to get an education. God has the power to make a way out of no way. She doesn't know a single girl who doesn't look forward to going to school.
     There's something about hearing a story of someone coming up against unbeatable odds and winning. We love watching the impossible become possible. We take great joy in seeing a situation that seems hopeLESS become hopeFULL. But, why? One of the reasons is that many of us also, from time to time, face odds that seem unbeatable, too.
     Stories like the ones I've shared this morning help us have hope that we will be able to find our way out of the tight spots in our life: financial stress, health issues that never seem to get better. Stories like these help us have hope that we will be able to survive the ways that we sometimes get burned in our lives. I don't mean physically as much as emotionally. Who hasn't been burned in a relationship at one time or another? Who hasn't felt burned out at work or in taking on your role as a parent, spouse or student?
     Stories like these help us have hope that the future can be more than the present. The job that seems like an impossibility to secure will come. The deepest desire of your heart that you barely even dare to hope for any longer will be a reality. Stories like the ones I've shared today help show us that God has the power to make a way out of no way. We can add desert wanderers, Abraham and Sarah to the list of people from the beginning of this sermon.
      It has been 25 years since God promised Sarah and Abraham land, offspring and many blessings. In the Old Testament lesson today, God comes to them again in the form of three men to repeat his promise that Sarah would indeed bear a child and it would be within the year.
     Sarah's response is to laugh. It's not a lighthearted laugh, but one of cynicism. Her laughter in this moment is the laughter of unbelief and impossibility. She's up against unbeatable odds and she knows it. She's old. Abraham's old. She has heard this promise before to no avail. She dares not believe the impossible because so far it has only led to heartache, disappointment and schemes gone wrong.
     Sarah has found herself in a place of impossibility and hopelessness. For her, it is a place of no future, but for God it is a place of opportunity. For God, it is a place to make a way out of no way. And this is exactly what God does. In due season, as had been promised, Sarah bore a son. God made her laugh once again. This time her laughter was one of joy. It was a laughter of fulfilled promise. God made a way out of no way. This son was named, Isaac, which means "he laughs".
     We don't have to imagine too hard how this son brought great joy to his parents. As we read on in Genesis, we certainly see that Isaac was not perfect, but my guess is that he probably hung the moon in Abraham and Sarah's eyes.
     Fathers, as we celebrate you today, maybe you can attest to this same feeling of unconditional love for your own children. Beyond bringing joy, though, we can also see how Isaac became a daily reminder for Sarah and Abraham of God's ability to bring hope to a hopeless situation. Of God's ability to make a way out of no way. It's a reminder that they no doubt needed throughout their lives as they continued their journey of faithfulness with the LORD.
     We need this kind of reminder, too. In our lives, we live under the promise of God every day, yet like Sarah and Abraham, we often have to wait for it to be realized. It's easy to become cynical. It's easy for our laughter to be one of disbelief instead of joy. To combat a sense of hopelessness, we have to find daily reminders of hope, too.
     For Aron Ralston, I imagine it's his mechanical arm. For the German family, we can guess that it's the Merlin's Miracle Foundation. For Nabila, maybe it's the alarm clock that gets her up for school. For Christian people, it's that cross traced on our foreheads at our baptisms reminding us that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, marked by God for God forever.
     God has the power to make a way out of no way. What, in your life, serves as a reminder of this power? Whatever it is, find a way to get it in front of you this week. So you can be filled with hope. So you can be reminded that the power of God can beat the most unbeatable odds. Amen.

Kids's sermon
Have dads/parents share something about the birth of their kid, why they were named their name, becoming a dad, etc. Isaac was a miracle to his parents from God. You are a miracle to your parents from God, too.