FATHERHOOD – IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE
MARK 4:3-8 / GAL 6:7-9 JUNE 13, 18 DR. M POPE
INTRO
Think of what a four-year-old said after coming home one Sunday after a lesson that taught about God as our Heavenly Father. Sound theology would quickly note that God is neither male nor female, but youngsters do not concern themselves with theological niceties. A four-year-old hears "Father;" and the only father he knows anything about is the one that lives with him, so he asks Mom..."Is God like Daddy?"
What a heavy load! But it’s good for us to consider on Fathers' Day...and a good one to consider when we realize that what Daddy is at home can become a role model for our children's concept of God.
1. v 4 THE UNWANTED –
a. Abandoned Children:
Shockingly, there are over 20 million homeless or abandoned children in the world today - a majority of them are orphans.
b. Aborted Children: An Avg of 890,000 aborted babies in USA
2. v 5 THE NEGLECTED
a. No Direction – These drift along with the tide of the world. Some of these kids end up on street corners, dropping out of school, trying drugs and sex to fill the empty holes in their lives. Some of them join gangs in order to feel a part of something
b. No Discipline It’s takes instruction in personal discipline in order for you and me to learn how to overcome adversities in life. These kids do not know how to plan and maintain goals today
3. v 7 ‘THE WORLDLY’
a. Distracted – Many things today, more than ever distract kids. I remember as a little boy, mom was forever trying to find me. I was always out in the yard, in the woods, exploring every nook and cranny in the area I lived. Today, you don’t have to look hard to find most kids, they’re sitting in front of the TV or playing games somewhere.
Teens on the internet, texting, social media.
Sports, which are a good thing for kids, but many leagues now play games on Sunday, that’s not a good thing.
Many parents have said, preacher, we’d be in church on Sundays but this is soccer season, and you know we have to have the kids there for practice and games, I’m sure you understand? No, actually I’m sure the Lord doesn’t understand that.
b. Disillusioned - May have been brought up in the church but they don’t see the practical side of faith. They are preached to about going to church, read your bible, pray, etc, but even as important as it is to do these things to strengthen faith, it is just as important to see the principles of the Christian faith lived out from day to day. I believe that is where the failure of the Christian family is today.
4. v 8 THE NURTURED :
a. A Prepared Heart, Soul, Mind (good ground)
b. A Productive Life for God and Society
1) A Life for the Glory of God
2) A Life for the Good of Man
Someone said: "We never know the timber of a man's soul until something cuts into him deeply and reveals the grain of the man’s strength."
CLOSE:
I am going read a quote to you first and then tell you who said it:
“A small child waits with impatience the arrival home of a her dad. She wishes to relate some sandbox experience. She is excited to share the thrill that she has known that day. The time comes; and dad finally arrives. The little girl asks daddy if she can tell him about her day, but beaten down by the stresses of the workplace, dad replies:
"Not now, honey, I'm busy and tired, go watch television. I’ll hear your story later.”
The most often spoken words in the American household today are the words: ‘go watch television.’
But later never comes for many and the parent fails to communicate the one important need what is vitally needed at the very earliest of ages, and that is our time.
We give her designer clothes and computer toys, but we do not give her what she needs the most. Now she has turned fifteen and has a glassy look in her eyes. Dad asks: "honey can we sit down and have a talk? She answers: "not now dad, I'm busy, and too tired, maybe later. Yep, it's too late, love has passed them by.
The person who wrote this acct was Robert Keeshan, better known to America as 'Captain Kangaroo'.
GAL 6:7-9 Read - It is never too late to begin to be a good example to your kids for the cause of Christ, but the later you wait, the more the world's hooks go deeper in the life and soul of your children, and one day, it may be too late for them to recover.
