TODAY IS THE ONE DAY EACH YEAR
* We set aside to honor our fathers.
* What a shame we don’t do this
* Every day of the year
A FAMILY WAS CELEBRATING FATHERS DAY
* When the little girl
* Started giving it a lot of thought.
SHE ASKED HER MOM,
* If Santa brings presents,
* And if God gives us our daily bread,
* And if Uncle Sam gives us social security - -
* Why do we need daddy?
FOR THE MOST PART
* Men do a pretty good job
* Of being husbands and fathers,
* Even though we do tend to forget dates
I AM REMINDED OF A MAN
* Who was drinking his morning coffee
* And reading the newspaper
* Before he went off to work
HIS WIFE CAME IN
* And asked if he knew what day it was.
* Of course, he had no clue
* But didn’t want to appear that obvious
SO HE SAID YES,
* And quickly pretended
* He was very interested in what he was reading
AS THE DAY PROGRESSED,
* He wracked his brain
* Trying to remember what day it was
* But he couldn’t come up with anything
SO TO BE SAFE,
* He sent her roses at 9:00 am.
* And again at lunchtime
WHEN HE WENT HOME,
* She met him at the door,
* And said … this is the best
* Veterans Day ever !
THE MORAL IS:
* while men are not perfect,
* we need to be appreciated
* for trying so hard.
A WORD OF ADVICE FOR YOU MEN:
* Write down those dates
* and put them in your wallet.
* It will save you a lot of time, grief, and money later
LET ME START TODAY’S MESSAGE BY SAYING -
* any man can be a father
* not every father can be a daddy
AND THAT IS MY MESSAGE FOR TODAY –
* How to be the best DADDY
* That you can be
PROVERBS 3:12 says
* the Lord disciplines those He loves.
* He teaches them -
* like a father teaches the son
WE OFTEN GET THE WORDS;
* ‘discipline’ and ‘punishment’ mixed up‘
* Discipline’ means to train and teach’
* punishment’ means to give someone harsh consequence
* for a wrongful action already committed
MY DAD DISCIPLINED US
* by teaching us,
* but he never hesitated
* to punish us when we deserved it, too
HE WAS FULL OF WISDOM.
* he was going to punish me once
* by making me stay inside …..
I TOLD HIM I WAS INNOCENT!
* whatever it was I was being punished for,
* and he thought for a moment and said ….
IN THE OVERALL SCHEME OF THINGS
* You’ve gotten away with more
* Than you’ve ever been caught for …
* So take your punishment and be quiet
PROVERBS 13:22 says
* ’a good man will leave an inheritance for his children’s children’
WHEN WE HEAR THE WORD ’INHERITANCE’
* we think of money, don’t we?
* But the kind of inheritance the Word is speaking about
* Is the spiritual inheritance we will leave
THINK ABOUT THIS!
* with spiritual blessings, your great grandchildren
* will love and teach their children your values,
* all because you loved and taught your children!
* That is what a DADDY starts when he loves his children
EPHESIANS 6:4
* should be required reading for every father
’Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training &
the instruction of the Lord.’
NOW, THIS IS FOR THE CHILDREN:
* You’re parents aren’t perfect
* They don’t do everything right -
* Any more than you do !
KIDS - QUIT HASSLING THEM
* And stop giving them grief
* Every time you don’t get your way!
* They’re trying to love you and care for you –
* So love them – obey them!
A FATHER HAD 5 KIDS
* One day, he brought 1 present home.
* He told them he could only give it to one of them
HE SAID HE WOULD GIVE IT TO THE ONE WHO
* Had obeyed their mother,
* Did what she told them to do
* And never talked back to her
THEY WERE ALL SILENT,
* And then all of said
* ’You take it, Daddy!’
LOVING YOUR PARENTS
* Is so important to God
* That He made it one of the 10 commandments
BE THANKFUL
* your parents love you enough
* To put up with you
* And take care of you
WHEN MY SON WAS 6-YEARS OLD
* He go into my closet
* dressed in one of my suits (complete with tie)
* And came out with a big grin on his face
HE HAD MY GLASSES ON
* carrying my briefcase.
* Why did he do that?
* He wanted to be like the daddy he loved.
The HIGHEST REWARD
* A father can experience
* Is having a son
* Want to be just like him !
SOCIETY PORTRAYS FATHERS
* as being incompetents
* and as people who can’t do anything right
* so they don’t deserves any respect
THE MOST COMPETENT MAN IN THE WORLD
* Is the man who is holding
* His newborn baby
* While asking God to help him raise that baby
SOMEONE ONCE SAID,
* Any old man can raise a child,
* But only a Godly man
* Can raise a Godly child
AND IF FATHERS ARE THAT IMPORTANT,
* so are the blessings
* they bestow upon their children
WHAT ARE FATHERS CALLED TO DO?
* He is supposed to love his kids enough
* to be their daddy
* and enough to bless them
PROVERBS 20:7 says
* when a man is Godly
* his children will be blessed
GIVE YOUR CHILDREN THEIR DUE BLESSINGS
* by teaching them to be Godly.
* And give them your blessing today.
IT DOESN’T MATTER THE AGE OF YOUR CHILDREN
* That child needs daddy to bless them
* by putting our hand on their shoulder, and going into prayer
INTRODUCE GOD TO THE CHILD
* You are so proud of.
* And ask God to bless them,
* In all that they do.
SOME WOULD FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE
* Doing these things
* Because they have never done them before
* But we have to remember who it is about ….
IT ISN’T ABOUT HOW COMFORTABLE YOU ARE
* It’s is about your children
* having what they need and what they deserve.
A FATHER’S LOVE
* Can build your child’s life
* Or the lack of it
* will destroy your child’s life
A FAMILY’S LOVE
* Is the strongest cement in the world
* Why? Because it is a Godly cement
* It’s bond is permanent
WHEN I WAS A SMALL BOY,
* My dad would take us for walks
* And teach us the necessities of life -
* Like how to cross a swinging bridge and skip rocks on water
AS WE’D WALK UP THE HIGHWAY
* I would hold his big hands
* Then we’d cut across
* And take the old dirt road
* Just us kids and our dad!
WE KNEW WE WERE SPECIAL TO HIM
* Do your children know
* How special they are to you ?
THERE WERE THREE FATHERS
* Who wanted to teach
* their children about God
* so they took them for a walk
1st FATHER
* Took his son for a walk
* They saw bees flying around flowers -
THE FATHER EXPLAINED IT LIKE THIS.
* God is like those bees
* They won’t sting you unless you anger them,
* And God won’t punish you - unless you anger Him
THE BOY LEARNED OF GOD’S POWER
* but not about God’s love
2nd FATHER
* Took his son for a walk in the woods,
* As they walked, he explained
* How God created everything
BUT HE ALSO SAID
* God nearly wiped mankind out several times,
* And we’d better be good
* Or He could still do it again
HIS BOY LEARNED ABOUT
* God’s power wrath,
* But not about God’s loving heart
3rd FATHER
* Took his son for a walk in the woods,
* And he explained how God created us because He loved us
HIS SON LEARNED
* The truth about God …
* That He expects certain things from us,
* But when we fail, God still loves us enough to forgive us.
A FATHER IS NEVER SO STRONG
* As when he shows love for his children ….
* just as God does for us
A FATHER IS NEVER SO TALL
* as when he becomes a daddy
* and kneels down humbly on his knees
* to pray with his child
A FATHER IS NEVER SO LOVING
* as when he teaches his children
* about the love of God
A FATHER CAN BE MANY THINGS TO HIS CHILDREN
* including a critic - a disciplinarian, etc.
* but it takes a dad to be a coach
* because it takes love to be a leader
EVERY TIME WE GO TO ARIZONA
* I bless my children,
* and I introduce them to God by saying
’GOD, HERE IS MY CHILD’
* In whom I am so proud.
* Lord, love them as I love them’
’KEEP THEM SEALED
* In Your Spirit and let them walk in Your favor
* All the days of their lives’
THE BEST WAY TO
* Get your children close to God is for you to lead them there.
* But how can you lead them, If you don’t know the way yourself ?
WE ALL HAVE PROBLEMS
* But, as heads of households, men are responsible for the entire family,
* And that by itself poses problems !
WOULDN’T IT BE NICE
* To find a book
* That had all the right answers in it ?
EVEN IF WE HAD SUCH A BOOK
* We’d have to do something with it first -
* We’d have to actually read it
* So we could learn from it …..
* Something most people aren’t willing to do !
ACTUALLY - WE DO HAVE THAT BOOK
* It is called the Holy Bible.
* And we should read it,
* So we will finally know what it says …
BEFORE YOU CAN BLESS YOUR CHILD
* You need to know the Lord yourself
* On a personal level
YOU HAVE THAT CHANCE RIGHT NOW
* Just bow your head and begin talking to God …..
* And then listen as He begins talking to you
GOD WROTE A LAW
* That law is – ’Honor thy father and they mother.’
AND JUST AS CHILDREN
* Are required by God to honor their parents
* All of us are required to honor our Heavenly Father, too.
* To honor Him with our love and our obedience to Him alone.
HONOR HIM WITH OUR SURRENDER
* Honor Him by letting His Godly will overtake our worldly will.
* By giving up the control of our lives
* so that He might be able to better control us.
* Honor Him by putting Him as your top priority in life - all the time.
* Honor Him by humbling your heart to Him
* and by simply receiving His Son, Jesus the Christ.
INVITATION
