This week we have used nails.

Nails to build a secure home for a family,

a place where they can find rest when they are weary, encouragement when they are discouraged, peace when they are in turmoil.

This is a home where

they can see faith, hope and love in each nail.

We used many different sizes of nails on their house. Some small and some large, each one

made for a different purpose(We are all different people, with different strengths and weaknesses, each one with different talents, each one made for a different purpose.).We used hundreds of nails to make sure that the home was safe and secure.

After a while out hands began to throb, they became red and tender, sore, blisters began to form and yet we hammered on. The blisters rose and finally popped, the clear liquid running down our palms, making the handle of the hammer slick. Our hands burned with open wounds, sweat and dirt being ground in with each swing.

Yet we hammered on.

Why didn't we stop? Put down our hammers and say, "No more, this hurts too much.".

Because there was work yet to do. It was up to us to make a sacrifice to provide a place of rest for this family.

Someone else knows about nails. That someone is Christ. He did not swing the hammer, he was swung at. Did his hands ache? Were they red and tender? Did they burn with open wounds, sweat and dirt being ground into them with each swing? Did his blood run down, making the handles of the hammer slick?

And yet he let them hammer on.

Why didn't he stop them? Make them put down their hammers and say, "No more, this hurts too much.". Because there was work yet to do. It was up to him to make a sacrifice, to provide a place of rest for each of us.

So as you swing a hammer and strike a nail, as blisters form and blood runs down, think of a wood cross where a hammer was swung and blood ran down. Each time you draw back your arm and your hammer comes down, striking a nail, think of Jesus being willing to take that strike for you.

The cross is a place where we can see faith, hope, and love in each nail.