Father's Day 2000

Brothers and sisters, you need to thank your father for the faithful instruction he gave you in life...for all the good advice. And especially, if that instruction included the Lord!

1- Thanks for material provision

2- Thanks for faithful instruction

III. THANKS FOR GODLY ILLUSTRATION

By this, I mean a godly illustration for life. Or a godly example for life.

I Cor. 11:1 Paul said to the Corinthians who were his children in the faith, "Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ."

Please notice: Paul didn’t say, "Do everything I do." He said, "Do everything I do which is Christlike." Or follow the example of Christ. Paul wasn’t perfect and neither are we.

Brethren, there are some things that I have done in life that I do not want my children to do. I’m sorry when I have given them a bad example. But I have also done some good things, some godly things, some Christlike things, which I hope they will copy from my life. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING BEING; loving people!

ILL.- One man said, "When I was a teenager, Dad would come in my room and say, ’C’mon, kid, let’s go.’ "’Where to?’ ’Lucy’s.’"

"Once a month Dad would visit Lucy Butchko, a woman whose body was twisted and pinned into a wheelchair by arthritis. He would reach his big arms around her frail body and lift her out of the wheelchair and place her in the front seat of our brown station wagon. Then he would fold the wheelchair, throw it in back, and drive Lucy to the monthly Communion service for shut-ins. Dad was a Vice President of a publishing company who shuttled shut-ins."

"Later, while in the hospital, trying to recover from a massive heart attack, Dad found out that a family down the street didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. So he wrote them a check. IT WAS THE LAST THING HE EVER WROTE, AND A LASTING LESSON."

Brethren, all I can say is, WHAT A FATHER THAN MAN WAS! And what a great illustration of Christ he was to his son!

ILL.- Here’s another. One man said of his father, "Once when I was a teenager, my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally, there was only one family between us and the ticket counter. This family made a big impression on me. There were 8 children, all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didn’t have a lot of money. Their clothes were not expensive, but they were clean.

"The children were well-behaved, all of them standing in line, two-by-two behind their parents, holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns, elephants, and other acts they would see that night. One could sense they had never been to a circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack standing proud as could be. The mother was holding her husband’s hand, looking up at him as if to say, ’You’re my knight in shining armor.’ He was smiling and basking in pride, looking at her.

"The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly said, ’Please, let me buy 8 children’s tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus.’ THE TICKET LADY QUOTED THE PRICE. The man’s wife let go of his hand, her head dropped and the man’s lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked, ’HOW MUCH DID YOU SAY?’ The ticket lady again quoted the price.