Father’s Day Let Us Be Transformed (Message With Humor)

Let us Pray....

O' Gracious Father - bless now the words of my lips and the meditations of our hearts. Breathe your Spirit into us and grant that we may hear and in hearing be led in the way ...... you want us to go. We ask this in the name of your son Jesus the Christ. Amen.

Someone noticed that the word "father" appears in the dictionary ... just before the word ... "fatigued" ...and just after the word ... "fathead."

So, ... to all us fatigued, ... fathead fathers, ......Happy Father's Day! (Long Pause)

I recently found a site called.... Kids speak a different language:

Parents frequently make the mistake of thinking ......that they speak the same language... as their children.

We see this kind of misunderstanding ...all the time.

Even though we Americans ...and the people in England .... supposedly both speak "English" ... there is often ... misunderstandings.

For instance, ... when an American says ..."bonnet" they mean ...a kind of hat.

When the Englishman says "bonnet" ...they mean ...the hood of a car.

The same is true ... when speaking with your children.

At first ... it seems ......we are all speaking ...English,

Yet... on closer inspection, ......it becomes clear ......that children ....and parents ......speak entirely different dialects.

In the interest of better...... trans-gen-er-a-tion-al communication, ...here are some key phrases ... and their... translations.

"I cannot finish ... my hamburger." ...Meaning: ... Your son has definitely full.

"I can't finish my dessert." Meaning: ...Your child is defiantly sick.

"I didn't do it." .... Translation: ...It has not been conclusively proven ... beyond any doubt ... that I did do it.

"Frankie Smith is such a no-good rotten liar!"

Meaning: ......Expect a call from Frankie's parents.

"Mom said it was okay."... Translation: I am going to ask Mom ...as soon as you say.... "yes."

"Dad, can I have a dog?" Meaning: Your son wants a dog.

"Dad, can I have a boa constrictor?"

Meaning: ...Your son wants a dog, ...but figures asking for something really awful... will put him in a better ... bargaining position ... for a dog. (Pause)

I think that all parents ... and grandparents ... can testify ... that their children or grandchildren ...... often times do speak a different language.

And it is one of the reasons...... that it is difficult ......to bring up Children.

There are other reasons of course ...... but I won't go into those today.

Rather I want to speak to the men who are here ...both fathers and grandfathers.

To address ... some of the things...... we can do ...to make ourselves better parents ...and grandparents.

There is a wonderful wisdom saying .... in Proverbs ..."Bring up a child in the way he should go ......and when they are old ...they will not soon depart from it". (Proverbs 22:6)

We love our children and grandchildren .... and treat them well ... yet sometimes ... they turn away from us.

Sometimes they journey on roads ......that we do not understand ... or roads ... that we do not approve of.

Yet ... in the end ... if our hearts are open ... if the foundation is well laid ... we see them return to us ... much as the Prodigal Son ......returned to his Father.

This seems to be ... the record of things.

If the door is open, ... they will normally pass through it.

I am convinced ...that part of the problem we have as parents ......is not that we have difficult children ......or even that they speak a different language than we do ... though all this ......is very often ... true.

I am convinced ......a portion of the problem ......is that we as parents ......often do not know the way ......our children should go.

And more importantly ... even when we know the way ... we so often fail ......to live it.

So, ... our children become angry ... distant ... alienated from us ... and from God.

So, ... what is the way?

Well .... As men under the Lordship of Christ ... we must ... actually live .... Godly lives.

We must keep promises ... concerning our relationship ... to the Lord.

We must keep our promises ... in our relationship with our family... and our relationships ... with other people.

We must be mature in the faith ......and be the spiritual head of the family ......as God .... has called us ....to be.

We as men ...must commit ourselves ....to building strong biblical marriages ......and support the mission of Christ ......with our time, .... With our talent ... and with our prayers.

As men of Christ ......we must devote ourselves ...to demonstrating the love of Christ ...in our community.

As our Gospel Text in Luke clearly commands us: Hear God's Word. BIBLE "Be merciful ... even as your Father (in Heaven) is merciful." END (Luke 6:36)