THE MAKING OF A GREAT DAD
Eph. 6:1-3
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Ryan Carlson, 16-year-old, was out with friends one night at 8 p.m. when suddenly he realized it was Father's Day and he had neglected to buy a card for dad.
2. After much searching, Ryan located an open store, but was disappointed to find only two cards left him on a picked-over rack.
3. Selecting one, he brought it home and, somewhat sheepishly, presented it to his father. On opening it, Dad read this message, "You've been like a father to me." He looked at Ryan, puzzled.
4. "Well, dad," Ryan tried to explain, "it was either that or the card that said, ‘Now that I'm a father too!’"
5. HUMOR #2;
a. When one wife was ill, her husband volunteered to go to the store for her. She sent him off with a carefully numbered list of seven items.
b. Dad returned shortly very proud of himself and proceeded to unpack the grocery bag.
c. He had one bag of sugar, two dozen eggs, three hams, four boxes of detergent, five boxes of crackers, 6 eggplants, and seven Green peppers. [Joan Flood].
6. A small boy said, "Father's Day is just like Mother's Day, only you don't spend as much on the gift."
B. TEXT
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
C. THESIS
1. Father’s day is scriptural. Fathers are a gift to their children and children are a gift to their Fathers.
2. The title of this message is, "The Making of a Great Dad.
3. Look at three areas that God Word teaches about fathers: 1. Faithful Instruction, 2. A Father's Love, 3. The Godly Example of a Father.
I. FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION
“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching” Prov. 1:8.
A. IS PART OF DAD’S JOB
1. You probably thought it was just a naggy nature of your dad that caused him to try to straighten you out, but it's actually part of his job as a dad.
2. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” Deut. 6:6-9.
3. So when dad tells you his corny anecdotes, his boyhood experiences, and his moral platitudes, just know he's being the person God meant him to be. And believe it or not, what he says is valuable.
4. Now, Dads aren't perfect; sometimes we don't instruct in the right way or in the right attitude. That's why God reminds Dads that it matters what we do.
5. Eph. 6:4, NIV, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."
CEV "Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord."
LB "Don't keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves."
B. ALWAYS HAS A GOOD MOTIVE
1. Sometimes we get critical.
2. A man named Jim Burton said these words about being a father. "When I was young, baseball was my life. You can imagine the excitement I felt when my oldest son began playing.
3. This game would be one of our main bonding mechanisms. If my son would just listen, I could help him be a great baseball player.
4. Learning to read curveballs, shift his body weight with the swing, steal bases, turn double plays -- these things
separate the amateurs from the pros."
5. Burton said, "A pattern developed in our relationship. Because of my familiarity with the game, I saw every mistake my son made. In addition, I knew how to correct them.
6. So post game drives home became a critique of how to improve his game. It soon got old for my son.
7. One night he finally said, "Dad, could you NOT START by telling me everything I did wrong! Tell me what I did right first!"
8. Are you a Coach? Or a Critic? A good Father is a Coach. But regardless, we know that dad's motive is good.
C. IS WISER THAN IT FIRST APPEARS
Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."
II. A FATHER’S LOVE
“My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man”
Prov. 3:1-4.
A. THEY EXPRESS IT DIFFERENTLY
1. Most dads are not ooey-gooey, or real mushy about saying "I love you" a lot.
2. But they do love, just the same. How do they express it?
B. DADS EXPRESS LOVE BY:
1. WORKING & PROVIDING.
a. Dad's love is channeled into the action of working hard to provide for his family.
b. A man automatically assumes everybody knows that’s his motive. Dad's feel great pride in a job well done.
c. One son picked up on his Dad’s need to provide. He wrote home to his Dad, “Dear Dad, Please let me hear from you more often, even if it’s only fives or tens!”
2. SPENDING TIME WITH YOU. Doing things together equals love to a dad. Recreation: camping, sports trips, gun shows, etc.
3. CORRECTING/ DISCIPLINING their children.
Dads are sometimes strict because they want their kids to succeed in this hard, cruel world we live in. That's why:
a. They watch who your friends are.
b. They try to develop a work ethic in you and get you a good education.
c. Get you to marry the right kind of Person.
d. Try to protect you from the evils of society.
4. He does these things NOT because he's an evil ogre, but because he wants you to have a good life!
5. But dads, tell your kids often that you love them. They need that!
III. A FATHER’S EXAMPLE
A third Aspect of a Great Dad is his Example. 1 Cor. 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."
A. OUR PERFECT EXAMPLE
1. Paul didn't say, "Do everything I do." He said, "Do everything I do which is Christ-like."
2. Paul wasn't perfect and neither are we. We've probably all done some things we wouldn’t want our children to repeat. We're sorry for those things.
3. Sometimes we missed opportunities for spiritual emphasis.
4. ILLUSTRATION.
Here is the sad confession of one father.
a. "I took my children to school but not to church. I told them to drink but not of the living water.
b. “I enrolled them in Little League but not in Sunday School. I showed them how to fish but not to be fishers of men.
c. “I made the Lord's Day a holiday, rather than a holy day." "I taught them the church was full of hypocrites and made the greater hypocrite of them and me.
d. “I gave them a color TV but provided no Bible. I handed them the keys to the car but did not give them the keys to the kingdom of God.
e. “I taught them how to make a living, but failed to bring them to Christ who alone can make a life."
5. One Dad told his Boy, "Don't be like me, be like Jesus." The boy replied, "Dad you be like Jesus, and I'll be like you."
B. OUR POSITIVE EXAMPLE
1. But we've done many things -- good and godly things that honored Christ too. Those examples left an indelible impression on our kids.
2. ILLUSTRATION.
a. R.A. Torrey, a minister and writer, received a letter one day asking him to call on the woman principal of a school. He went to see her.
b. During the conversation she said, "I don't believe anything. I don't even read the Bible because it seems wrong for me to read it and disbelieve everything in it."
c. After she had talked for some time about her disbelief, tears came to her eyes. Dr. Torrey asked her why she was crying. She said,
d. “Oh, there is one thing I can't get over, and that is my father's life. He was a minister and whenever I think of the life he lived, I feel there must be something in Christianity. I can't get over his life."
3. We want our sons to "Be a man," masculine, honorable. Our daughters to be young ladies, feminine.
4. Keep living for God Dad's, others are following you!
5. ILLUSTRATION.
a. One winter day a man found it necessary to go see a neighbor who lived beyond a steep and rugged mountain.
b. He had climbed the dangerous trail for some time through the drifted snow when suddenly he heard a voice behind him call out, "Be careful, Daddy, I'm walking in your steps!"
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Several years ago, on a rainy August day, two young climbers decided to scale the highest summit in Switzerland -- Mount Dom.
2. Though they were young and relatively inexperienced, the two men felt confident in their mountain climbing abilities. Too confident, in fact.
3. For despite deteriorating weather, they boldly went forth from the tiny village of Randa at the base of Mount.
4. Their goal was a halfway point called "the High Hut" where they would spend the night before tackling the icy summit the next morning.
5. The two moved quickly up the forest trail as the rain continued to fall and soon soaked through their inadequate clothing. At 6 PM the rain suddenly turned to snow.
6. The trail before them became increasingly difficult to follow and they became lost. By 8 PM, night had fallen. It was pitch black, they were soaked, shivering, and heading toward hypothermia.
7. Just when their situation was becoming desperate, something miraculous happened. Out of the darkness, a tiny light began to flicker. Even at a distance, the faint glow shone as bright as a lighthouse beacon to those to shivering, frightened young men.
8. Where did it come from? Before retiring for the night, the Dom's "High Hut" keeper did what he always did --
9. He placed a kerosene lamp next to the door just in case a beacon might be needed by someone lost on the dark, stormy night. His simple action saved their two lives.
10. This true story isn't just a warning for climbers; it should be a call to action for every father.
11. Our children start out with great hopes of reaching high places, but they are walking right into the growing darkness of a fallen world.
12. Dads, our kids need our steady, guiding light to show them the way. Will you make sure it shines?
B. THE CALL
1. All Dads please stand. The best thing you could do is let the light of Christ shine in your life.
2. If you haven't made a full dedication of yourself to Christ, then today is the day. Pray with me.
3. All us Dads need God's help to be better Dads. Let God forgive your past, give you a new goal/ beginning.
4. Start today and be all God wants you to be.
