Dad – Talk
Opening video – Kids wishing their dads happy Fathers Day from Christian Hills
Introduction:
Today is Fathers day – a tradition that originated on June 19th in 1910 in Spokane Washington. It became a presidential proclamation in 1966 when President Lyndon Johnson signed a bill declaring every 3rd Sunday in June as Father’s Day.
Thesis: Today we follow the teaching of the Bible and we honor our dads today. Dads are different from moms and they are to be honored for being who God created them to be.
I read a recent Newspaper article talking about how Father’s Day cards were been banned in many public schools in Scotland:
Father’s Day cards banned in Scottish schools: Thousands of primary pupils were prevented from making Father’s Day cards at school for fear of embarrassing classmates who live with single mothers and lesbians.
By Simon Johnson, Scottish Political Editor
Published: 8:44PM BST 22 Jun 2008
The politically correct policy was quietly adopted at schools "in the interests of sensitivity" over the growing number of lone-parent and same-sex households.
It only emerged after a large number of fathers failed to receive their traditional cards and handmade gifts.
Family rights campaigners last night condemned the policy as "absurd" and argued that it is marginalising fathers, but local authorities said teachers need to react to "the changing pattern of family life".
An Office for National Statistics report in April found that one in four British children now lives with a lone parent - double the figure 20 years ago.
The Father’s Day card ban has been introduced by schools in Glasgow, Edinburgh, East Renfrewshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Clackmannshire.
Tina Woolnough, 45, whose son Felix attends Edinburgh’s Blackhall primary school, said several teachers there had not allowed children to make Father’s Day cards this year.
Mrs Woolnough, a member of the school’s parent-teacher council, said: "This is something I know they do on a class-by-class basis at my son Felix’s school. Some classes send Father’s Day cards and some do not.
"The teachers are aware of the family circumstances of the children in each class and if a child hasn’t got a father living at home, the teacher will avoid getting the children to make a card."
The making of Mother’s Day cards and crafts, in the run-up to Mothering Sunday, remains generally permitted.
But the Father’s Day edict follows a series of other politically correct measures introduced in primary schools, including the removal of Christian references from festive greetings cards.
Matt O’Connor, founder of campaign group Fathers For Justice, said: "I’m astonished at this. It totally undermines the role and significance of fathers whether they are still with the child’s mother or not.
"It also sends out a troubling message to young boys that fathers aren’t important."
Alastair Noble, education officer with the charity Christian Action, Research and Education, said: "This seems to be an extreme and somewhat absurd reaction.
"I would have thought that the traditional family and marriage are still the majority lifestyles of people in Scotland. To deny the experience of the majority just does not seem sensible."
Local authorities defended the change, saying teachers needed to act "sensitively" at a time when many children were experiencing family breakdown and divorce.
A spokesman for East Renfrewshire Council said: "Increasingly, it is the case that there are children who haven’t got fathers or haven’t got fathers living with them and teachers are having to be sensitive about this.
"Teachers have always had to deal with some pupils not having fathers or mothers, but with marital breakdown it is accelerating."
Jim Goodall, head of education at Clackmannanshire Council, said teachers are expected to behave with common sense but be sensitive to "the changing pattern of family life."
South Ayrshire Council said children should not feel left out or unwanted, while City of Edinburgh Council said the practice on Father’s Day cards was a matter for individual schools.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2176315/Fathers-Day-cards-banned-in-Scottish-schools.html
Father’s Day has become a day to honor fathers. I am glad we can do that today here at Christian Hills. In essence it’s a day to follow the Biblical mandate to honor your Fathers. There are four main references which refer to honoring our fathers in Scripture:
Exodus 20:12 “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Leviticus 19:3 “Each of you must respect his mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord.”
Deut. 5:16 “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord God commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”
Ephesians 6:1-3 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for it is right. Honor your father and mother”-which is the first commandment with a promise-“that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”
Today we will fulfill the commandment to honor our fathers today. Fathers you deserve to be honored. Fathers who are godly and who are there as servant leaders to their families are worthy of being honored.
The idea for my sermon title came from the following:
A while back I read an article about the different roles that moms and dads played with their children. The image that stuck was one of a little boy nervously clambering up a playground climbing frame for the first time. Mom was at the bottom calling up to him: ‘Be careful, watch where you put your feet, don’t rush it, and take your time...’ and Dad was shouting out: ‘Go on, you can do it, what a boy, well done, reach for it!’
This image has been etched into my heart. I have watched my children grow up and observed how their Mom relates to them and the way I relate them in my ‘Dad’ role. Neither role is more important than the other – they are just ‘different.’
What’s the difference?
Ask any child: What is the difference between a ‘Mom’ and a ‘Dad?’ I guarantee you will get some fascinating (& often hilarious) answers.
Moms are smaller dads are larger.
Dads go to work moms don’t.
You come from your mom’s belly.
Dads love to play moms don’t.
Moms talk a lot and dad listens.
Study reveals that women talk three times more than a man. The average women talks up to 20,000 words in a day whereas the man only 7,000. The Dr. who did the study (a women)said that women devote more brain cells to talking then men do. This Doctors also said that women get a buzz from chit-chat therefore it makes them more prone to talking – where men don’t ---http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-419040/Women-talk-times-men-says-study.html
In light of this study I felt it necessary then to share what few words of wisdom come from us dads. Our words are few but are filled with wisdom and knowledge.
Power point presentation Dad-isms (famous dad sayings)– plays to song Daddy’s hands
Here are a few dad-isms from a recent website I visited -
"Get in and get out." This applied to an open back door or refrigerator. Just because you don’t pay the gas and electric bills, that doesn’t mean you should waste energy, he’d tell us as we alternately let the cold air into the house and out of the fridge deciding if we wanted to play football or have some milk. This sage advice applies to life in general: Make your choice, then move ahead.
"Quit talking about it and do it." It doesn’t have quite the same ring as Nike’s famed "Just Do It" campaign, but it’s the same concept. Be smart and make an educated decision, yes - but once you’ve made the decision, act on it.
"Oh, those bases on balls." To this day, when we watch a game with my dad, we’ll hear him utter this every time a pitcher walks a batter. He hates a free pass. You earn everything in life.
He was also the voice of discipline:
"You’d better stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about." This was his most effective way of discouraging tears, because I don’t ever remember finding out what that "something" was.
"Don’t make me turn this car around." With four boys crammed in the back seat, at least one child was always crossing into the imaginary DMZ between us and drawing retaliatory action by the offended party. Whether we were a block or 700 miles from home, we always took my dad’s threat seriously. He would, in fact, turn this car around.
Finally, he was - and is - the guy who’s always there to encourage you, no matter what:
"Keep on plugging." To this day, this is probably my favorite expression of his. Not only does it encourage me to keep working hard in my professional and personal life, but it also implies that he approves and is proud of what I’m doing. Nothing means more than that to a son.
"It never hurts to ask." My dad made this his motto in his job as a college fundraiser. He adopted it from my younger brother who once presented a detailed 12-page wish list to be mailed to Santa. The lesson is that nothing is impossible - not asking or not trying is the only thing you’ll regret.
"Payback time, buddy!" This has emerged as his latest classic, now as a grandfather. If you tell him about sleepless nights with the baby, or about a kid who acted up in church, he’s sure to ooze with delight, "Payback time, buddy!" As I say, he’s there for you no matter what.
Idea to try with your dad today:
This Father’s Day, salute your dad by rattling off some of his favorite sayings. Let him know you were listening. More important, take the wisdom of your father and live by it. Pass it on to the next generation. You’ll soon see how your own children will benefit.
I. Fathers and fatherly figures do you know that your presence makes a difference?
a. Your protection makes a difference it builds confidence and security in your kids.
i. Skit – Dad’s Duct tape
b. Your daily direction gives your kids insight and wisdom from your many years of experience and from your relationship with the Lord.
c. Your teachings are essential to see to it that your kids succeed and make the right decisions.
i. Deut. 4:9 “Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.”
ii. Children are to be taught by their parents –they are role models to them.
iii. Proverbs exhorts us to “train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (22:15)
1. Thanks dad for all the training – I Thank You and the Lord Thanks you. It makes a difference!
II. Fathers do you know that your leadership will mold lives for all eternity.
a. Joshua was a father who has worthy of honor because of his stance in Joshua 24:1-15. He demonstrated a godly fathers leadership.
i. “As for me and my House we serve the Lord.”
1. It did not matter what everyone else was doing. He and his family would serve the Lord in spite of the pressure from the culture to not.
2. This once again shows the importance of servant father leadership.
3. This is the type of leadership that is worthy of honor by the Lord and what we honor today.
a. Thanks to all you dad’s who have made this proclamation to serve the Lord.
b. Sad to say many women have made this statement. Many more mothers have made this commitment than fathers.
b. Fathers need to be the leaders the Lord has called you to be.
i. It makes a difference
c. We thank you for being servant leaders!
Conclusion:
Dad’s I want you to listen to a poem from a teenager in Chicago who expresses how important you are as fathers and fatherly figures:
Maggie’s Poem
Do you know, do you understand,
that you represent Jesus to me?
Do you know, do you understand,
that when you treat me with gentleness
It raises the question in my mind
that maybe He is gentle too?
Maybe He isn’t someone who laughs
when I am hurt.
Do you know, do you understand
that when you listen to my question
and you don’t laugh, I think,
“What if Jesus is interested in me too?”
Do you know, do you understand
that when I hear you talk about arguments
And conflicts and scars
from the past, that I think,
“Maybe I am just a regular person
instead of a bad, no good little girl
who deserves abuse.”
If you care, I think maybe He cares.
And then there’s this flame of hope
that burns inside of me for a while
I am afraid to breathe because it might go out
and I will once again have nothing
But a God who mocks and laughs
and ignores me.
Do you know, do you understand
that your words are His words?
Your face, His face
to someone like me.
Please be who you say you are.
Please God, don’t let this be another trick.
Please let this be real
Please.
Do you know, do you understand
Who you are?
Copyright Maggie Gross 6/23/94
Maggie shared this poem at a convention I was at. It was riveting and full of compassion and insight. Dads and those who are fatherly figures in the church listen again to her question, “Do you know, do you understand who you are?”
Dear dad heroes are men who first of all are heroes for God and then heroes to their families. To be a hero for God you need to yield your life 100% to Him.
What’s in this name hero? Josh McDowell shares, “A few years ago, a radio jockey polled almost two hundred teen-agers in a shopping mall. Topping their list of heroes was Prince, followed by Madonna and Michael Jackson. Not a single teen-ager named his or her mom or dad. Does that mean that moms and dads are out of the running? Hardly. It simply means that almost two hundred kids equated the word “hero’ with their favorite entertainers. But real heroes aren’t glittering images on a TV or movie screen; they don’t come in for a one-night stand at a rock concert or sports event. True heroes are there for the long haul, and you can see their weaknesses along with their strengths” (12). He adds:
How do you define that word, ‘hero?” if you go to the dictionary, one edition will tell you a hero is ‘noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose; a hero risks or sacrifices his life.’ Another definition says a hero is ‘a person prominent in some event, field or cause because he or she has made a special achievement or contribution.’ That second definition ties in with the whole celebrity craze today and explains why so many parents fear they can never be a hero to their children-they don’t have enough ‘charisma.’ Dictionary definitions are good for starters, I suppose, but for me they don’t quite nail down the real point of what a hero really is. For someone to be me my hero, he or she has to be a person that I want to be like. A hero can’t be much of a hero if you don’t desire to emulate that person, act the way that persons acts, and live the way that person lives” (12).
Genuine heroes are rare today. We have many fake heroes today which have been created by the media. They are manmade heroes not God made heroes. The sad fact is there are not many genuine heroes out there today. The ones that I see labeled heroes lack compassion, ethics, family values, and many of the other Godly traits that actually creates heroes. The heroes I see called heroes may be able to sing or dance or play ball but they cannot and will not serve others. They choose to make the big play for the big money but their personal lives are not worth imitating. Their lives are focused on fame and fortunes. But they really could care less about you or I personally. Most of those culture labeled heroes today don’t even know you exist. Heroes – personal heroes are the ones who touch your life in positive way.
God is in search of a few good daddy heroes in this new millennium. He is looking for genuine heroes who share some of the following characteristics:
1. They know who and what they believe in.
2. They practice what they believe and do so no matter what the repercussions may be.
3. They are willing to see to it that their values are understood and upheld in their families’ lives.
4. Heroes are not just heroes on Sunday but 7 days a week 24 hours a day.
5. Heroes are men who are servant leaders in the church and in their families.
6. Heroes are always wise enough to be teachable by others.
7. Heroes love God and it shows in their life and in their actions.
