Father's Day 2001

FATHER’S DAY 2001

INTRO.- It’s Father’s Day and someone wrote, “What my dad taught me.”

- My dad taught me about religion - “You better pray that stain will come out of the carpet!”

- My dad taught me about behavior modification - “Stop acting like your mother!”

- My dad taught me about time travel - “If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

- My dad taught me about logic - “Because I said so, that’s why.”

- My dad taught me about the circle of life - “I brought you into this world and I can take you out!”

- My dad taught me about the weather - “It looks like a tornado swept through this room!”

Hopefully, our fathers did teach us some things about life, some good things!

ILL.- Comedian/entertainer Bill Cosby said of his father, “Now that my father is a grandfather he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was a kid and I asked him for 50 cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 5 a.m. when he was 70-years-old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 cows. And the farmer he worked for had no bucket so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk 8 miles to get a can. And all for 5 cents. The result was...I never got my 50 cents.

“But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house, ‘Well, let’s see how much money old Granddad has for his wonderful grandkids.’ And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. BECAUSE THAT IS MY MONEY.”

ILL.- Erma Bombeck said these words about her father: “One morning my father didn’t get up and go to work. He went to the hospital and died the next day. I hadn’t thought that much about him before. He was just someone who left and came home and seemed glad to see everyone at night. He opened the jar of pickles when no one else could. He was the only one in the house who wasn’t afraid to go into the basement by himself.

“He cut himself shaving, but no one kissed it or got excited about it. It was understood when it rained, he got the car and brought it around to the door. When anyone was sick, he went out to get the prescription filled. He took lots of pictures . . . but he was never in them.

“Whenever I played house, the mother doll had a lot to do. I never knew what to do with the daddy doll, so I had him say, ‘I’m going off to work now,’ and threw him under the bed. The funeral was in our living room and a lot of people came and brought all kinds of good food and cakes. We had never had so much company before. I went to my room and felt under the bed for the daddy doll. When I found him, I dusted him off and put him on my bed. He never did anything. I didn’t know his leaving would hurt so much.”

Any time we lose someone we love, it hurts. Some of you still have your fathers and some of you don’t.

Today, we need to remember and appreciate our fathers the best we can. And if your father is still living then somehow you need to try to express that appreciation.

PROP.- I want to share some Scriptural thoughts from the book of Proverbs in an effort to honor our fathers.

1- A FATHER’S COMMAND

Prov. 6:20 “My son, keep your father’s commands and do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” Keep your father’s commands. It seems to me that a father should have a few commands for his children.

ILL.- A mother named Jennifer Mangan wrote these words about her daughter Caetlin who is 14. “She reads the Bible, wears T-shirts that proclaim ‘I believe in God’ and writes down Scripture passages for friends who need encouragement. She is an honor roll student and holds admirable goals for her future. Caetlin also loves watching music videos and television programs such as ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ and ‘Friends.’

“Since I’ve written newspaper articles about television for the past ten years, I thought I had a handle on what my kids were watching. I felt my endless commentary (that’s polite for nagging) about appropriate and inappropriate programs had sunk in. But somewhere between ‘tween’ and ‘teen’ I lost control of the remote control. I remember walking into our rec room one evening and finding Caetlin laughing along with the laugh track of ‘Friends.’ ‘What are you watching?’ I asked, even though I recognized the program immediately. ‘It’s ‘Friends,’ Mom. There’s nothing wrong with it,’ she said defensively.