The Parent’s Guide To Surviving Summer Break
Psalm 127
June 15, 2008 FATHER’S DAY Chester FBC Dr. Mike Fogerson
Introduction:
A "I’m Watching You Dad" Video (SermonSpice.com)
B Tonight, 40% of all American children will to sleep in a house in which their fathers do not live.
1 Before the age of 18, more than 50% of our children will spend a significant portion of their childhood living apart from their fathers.
2 A generation ago, an American child could reasonably expect to grow up with a dad. Today, an American child can reasonably expect not to.
3 Stop worrying about spotted-owl, whales, seals . . . The Father who lives at home is a rarer species than any of those!
B Psalm 127
1 Authorship (David or Solomon)
a Both were fathers.
b Both had children that didn’t always do the right thing . . . got on their nerves.
2 In this short chapter, I believe there are tips to not only surviving Summer Break but also tips on how to be thriving as a father, mother.
C Let’s look at two tips that can help us survive the summer and thrive the rest of the year as parents.
I The first tip for parents to survive summer break is . . .Balance, Balance, Balance.
A David & Solomon knew of the enormous responsibility of having people depending on them. (Millions, kingdom, feed, protected)
1 They were charged as kings to provide for their folks.
a Built homes, cities, walls, infrastructure, temple (Solomon.)
b Some of the greatest structures of antiquity.
2 They knew that whatever they built had to be protected.
a (cf. Neh. 4.17-18) Rebuilding of the walls of Zion. (Trowel in hand/ sword on side)
b The fathers (David/Solomon) would put watchmen on the walls to . . .
aa Sound the alarm when strangers/enemy approached the city.
bb Kept watch and they prayed.
3 Like all good dads, they knew about hard work (Stay late, go in early)
a The secret of their success WAS NOT on being good builders, planners, protectors, providers, or hard workers.
b The secret of their success WAS balance!
c Building house, Protecting, Hard Work . . . ARE GOOD THINGS, but w/o God they are all hallow. ( . . . in vain. . .)
B We have been conned into thinking that if we have a nice house, provide for our family, work long hours that we are successful/prosperous. WRONG!
1 We can have all these things but if we do not have God’s blessing then it’s all in vain.
a vain means worthless, empty, failure. (Gain the whole world and loss your soul?)
b Cromwell said, "Trust God and keep your powder dry." BALANCE
aa There is nothing wrong with hard work, planning, nice things.
bb If God is not in our hard work, planning, nice things . . . in vain.
c Work while trusting God, and also rest while trusting Him.
2 We must focus all that we are/turn ourselves over into loving God and it is then that the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.
a God will even bless that person in their sleep!
b Then building our home, protecting our family, working hard becomes a ministry unto God.
c We may grow tired in doing the Lord’s work but we’ll not grow tired of doing it!
C I came home from the woods and covered with cockle burs, twigs, etc. Wearing camo face paint, pretty dirty.
1 Took them out sometime later, and they started asking when are they going to put on those "things?" Those little things all over our cloths?
a What about the make up? Okay. Camoed them up.
b At the end of our adventure, they asked, "When did you put those things on us, dad?" Those things like you wear. Thanks dad." Cockle burs.
2 It was then I realized that what ever I do I better be on guard, balanced.
a Little eyes are watching to see how I handle things.
b You’ve got little eyes, ears picking up everything . . . build on God!
ts. Balance keeping your powder dry and trusting God, but remember the second tip.
II The second tip is to remember your summer breaks are numbered.
A The Psalmist knew that all their gorgeous palaces, enormous wealth, land was nothing if there was no one to leave it to, pass down/on.
1 In the Hebrew text, Son is Ben, Daughter is Bath, House is Beith, and all of these come from the root word Banah, which means "to build."
a Rabbie Leo Trepp, "Children are the blessing for the Jew. Each child brings a blessing all his own, our ancestors would say. We rejoice in child brings a blessing all his own, our ancestors would say. We rejoice in children because we are a people, a historical people."
b Children was the opportunity of the Jewish people to shape their future.
2 The Psalmist points some things out about the gift/blessing/inheritance of children.
a Blessing (not a burden, incumbrance, inconvenience)
b Arrow (Offensive weapon used against the enemy)
c Fruit ( The Jew saw the lack of a child or the presence of a child as a blessing from God.)
aa Gen. 30.2; 33.5
bb The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord.
B If God has given you a child(ren), you have been given an inheritance, blessing, gift, reward that belongs to God.
1 vs. 3a, "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord." Our Kids do not belong to us
a The literal translation is NOT from (although they are), but rather it means possession.
b The blessing belongs to Him, He’s letting us borrow the blessing.
c I don’t want to break something that doesn’t belong to me.
2 vs. 3b, "The fruit of the womb is a reward." Kids are like fruit
a Easily bruised. (Don’t drop them, overly harsh, because they will carry it with them for the rest of their life.)
b They are only around for a short season. (In a few summers, they won’t be asking to go swimming, drive, fishing, park, will you play with me?)
c Bruised fruit goes bad quicker.
3 vs. 3c, "like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are children of one’s youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; . . ." Kids are like arrows
a Arrows are not grown on trees. (Planed down straight, knottiness sanded down, vanes added, there is a lot of work turning sticks into arrows.)
aa Good children do not grow on trees/come from the stork.
bb Dad/Mom who sanded the naughtiness out of them, took time w/ them.
cc Your arrows do not need more friends, they need you to set them straight and fire them toward God.
b Arrows are made to be released.
aa Only a fool shots an arrow into the air! I aim @ something!!!
bb Train up a child in the way they should go . . . if you don’t, the enemy will.
cc Aim them for the heart of God and let them fly!
dd Just because your kid has prayed/dunked doesn’t mean your done. (Never grounded from church!)
c If we are not careful with the arrows in our hands, they will become arrows in our heart.
Conclusion:
A We’ve looked at two tips from the Parent’s Guide To Surviving Summer Break.
1 Balance, Balance, Balance.
2 Remember that your summer breaks are numbered.
B If an archer hit the target with an arrow that is flying straight, who hits the target? The archer or the arrow?
1 Both of us do. We’ve both hit our target.
a Summer break is almost 1/3 over and your already ready for them to go back to school.
b I understand the stress, but I also understand the blessing.
Invitation:
A Salvation
B Balance
C Wasted time
1 Fruit
2 Arrow
D Pray Over You
