Sermon Central
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"A Father Who Walked With God" Series
Contributed by Marilyn Murphree on Jun 12, 2004 (message contributor)
Summary: Characteristics of an Old Testament Father that brought success.
Iliff and Saltillo UM Churches
June 20, 2004
Father’s Day
“A Father Who Walked with God”
INTRODUCTION: Today is Father’s Day and we can look at it from different perspectives. A child writes, “Father’s Day is just like Mother’s Day except you don’t spend as much money on the present.”
A fifth grader in answer to the question “What does it mean to be a Father?” said,
“To get a good job and make a lot of money. Going to work in the morning and coming home with a headache.”
Fatherhood has changed a lot over the years. One Father was asked who was in charge at his house. He answered, “Well, my wife bosses the children. My children boss the dog and cat, and I can say anything I want to the geraniums.”
Another father was trying to be helpful when his wife had the flu. Each morning he pinned a note to her pillow before he left for work. On Monday the note read:
Dearest,
Sleep late. Everything is under control. Lunches packed. Kids off to school. Menu for dinner planned. Your lunch is on a tray in the refrigerator--fruit cup and finger sandwiches. Thermos of hot tea by bedside. See you around 6:00.
Tuesday a.m. the note read:
Honey: Sorry about the egg rack in the refrigerator. Hope you got back to sleep. Did the kids tell you about the coke I put in the thermoses? The school might call you on this. Dinner may be a little late. I’m doing your door-to-door canvas for liver research. Your lunch is in the refrigerator. Hope you like leftover chili.
Wednesday a.m.
Dear Doris,
Why in the name of all that is sane would you put soap powder in the flour canister? If you have time could you please come up with a likely spot for Chris’s missing shoes? We’ve checked the clothes hamper, garage, back seat of the car and the wood box. Did you know the school has a ruling on bedroom slippers? There’s some cold pizza for you on a napkin in the oven drawer. Will be late tonight. Driving eight Girl Scouts to tour meat packing plant.
Thursday: Doris, Don’t panic over water in hallway. It crested last night at 9:00 p.m. Will finish laundry tonight. Please pencil in answers to the following:
1. How do you turn on the garbage disposal?
2. Why would that rotten kid leave his shoes in his boots?
3. How do you remove a Confederate flag inked on the palm of a small boy’s hand?
4. What do you do with leftovers when they begin to snap at you when you open the door?
I don’t know what you’re having for lunch. Surprise me!
Friday: Hey,
Don’t drink from the pitcher by the sink. Am trying to restore pink dress shirt to original white. Take heart. Tonight the ironing will be folded, the house cleaned and dinner on time.
I called your Mother!
TRANSITION: These are a few tidbits in the life of a father today, however, we don’t have any insight on what daily things took place in the life of our Bible character, Enoch. We don’t know about the daily grind he experienced in his work. We don’t know what frustrations that he encountered as he was raising his family; but even in the glimpse that is given in scripture, we know some very important things about him that still apply to us today.
Enoch was known as one of the Patriarchs before the flood. He was the son of Jared and the father of Methuselah. You probably have heard the saying, “He’s as old as Methuselah.” That comes from this scripture. Methuselah was the oldest person in the Bible living 969 years. Enoch was his father. Enoch was 7th in decent from Adam in the line of Seth and lived before Noah. In fact he was the great grandfather of Noah. What was so significant about this man?
1. Enoch Walked with God: In chapter 5 of Genesis the genealogy reads pretty much the same for everyone. It tells how many years they lived and who they became the father of and how old they were when they died. But in Enoch’s record there was something else included.
Verse 21 when Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah and after he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked with God.
In his earlier life no mention was made concerning the spiritual side of his life. Maybe it was not really important to him, and he was just indifferent to it. Maybe he lived his life without much thought of God. At any rate, religion is not mentioned in the early part of his life. Looking back at your own life there might have been a time when it wasn’t important to you either. You just lived your life year after year without much thought of the need for God. But at some point in our lives, we are confronted with our need for something or Someone bigger and more powerful than what we are. We are made aware of our inability to handle everything on our own. Some people experience crises, some experience wake up calls bringing them to a decision, for some it is change in their life’s situation--the impact of a family member. Think back on what it was that spoke to you of your need for God or what is speaking to you today of your need for Him.
