Being A Super-Dad

I Thessalonians 2:10-12

“You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed. For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory.”

This is really an admonition to fathers today as to how we’re to live.

The apostle Paul takes our fatherhood to the spiritual dimension in these verses---

but it might well be addressed to all of us dads today.

A Harvard University professor recently, wrote a book simply entitled, “Finding Our Fathers”

And then subtitled, “The unfinished business of manhood”.

He took his own troubled relationship with his dad and used it as a springboard into a study of the meaning of “Fatherhood”.

He did a study of 370 Harvard graduates. And that study led him to this conclusion:

“If you don’t come to terms with past relationships, especially your parents,

you may be condemned to reproduce them.”

In that study he indicated that very few men, relatively speaking, report a close, secure relationship with their father.

I’d like to see that turned around, wouldn’t you?

We may not be able to anything for society in general, but we can do something for those of us here.

So, in hopes of trying to turn that around this morning, I want to talk to you about being a “Super Dad”

Now, please don’t misunderstand – I’m not claiming to be one, although I want to be—and I’m working at it.

But God’s Word – and considerable experience give me the resources to preach this message with a measure of authority this morning.

So---let me quickly share with you 4 things that it takes to be a “Super Dad”

First of all. . .

I. A Super Dad is a Dad of Prayer

• I’m talking about praying for your children.

• I’m talking about praying a hedge of protection around your children

I want us all to know this morning that –a dad, praying for his children is essential to being a “super dad”.

And a dad, praying for his kids, will intern, teach his kids a number of things.

Let me mention four things a dad will teach his kids by his prayers.

1. It will teach them “dependence upon God”.

When you pray about the issues of life and about all the things that burden you and expose your inability to handle them, and your kids see and hear you praying for guidance…

They, in tern, learn to depend upon God.

Dad--- are you a man of prayer?

Do your kids know you’re praying specifically for them?

Do they see in you, a dependence on God?

Or

As far as they’re concerned – Do you just depend primarily upon self and your own strength and your own ingenuity?

Secondly, being a man of prayer,

2. It will teach your children “Strength against temptation”

Our kids are more tempted today than ever before.

The pressures are greater than ever before.

And

Maybe your son or daughter is struggling today with some specific

area of temptation.

You can lead the way by praying for strength for them.

• Maybe it’s a temptation to cheat in their school work –

Pray for strength against temptation

• Maybe you sense that your son or daughter is getting too physically close to their boy friend or girl friend --- and they are being tempted sexually & morally.

They are good Christian kids – yes – but hormones are raging and peer pressure is mounting --- pray for strength against their temptation.

When your kid is ready to cave in to temptation –

and they think about you praying for them –dad – it might well keep them from yielding to that temptation and give Jesus the victory-instead of Satan.

A third thing that being a man of prayer teaches is. . .

3. It will teach them “openness and transparency.”

Modeling “confessional prayer teaches kids not to hide their sins,

to hide their weaknesses –

• but to reveal them –

• and deal with them –

• and repent of them

• And to be forgiven of them.

Prayer also allows you to process things with God which need to be talked through.

In confessional prayer – you can deal with issues in your life –personally-

and issues that concern you about the close relationships you have.

Prayer is a powerful force – because God is Good – and he’ll listen

4. It will teach them to have a “Heart for God”

I’m going to be real blunt about something this morning.

The reason the church as a whole is lacking good solid leadership is because few men really take the role of spiritual leadership in their homes seriously.