A. Fathers are the spiritual head of the family.
Mat 10:25 CEV
(25) It is enough for disciples to be like their teacher and for slaves to be like their master. If people call the head of the family Satan, what will they say about the rest of the family?
A little food for thought: People view the whole household by how the father acts. If the father is a virtuous man but his children are devilish, then people take pity on him. But if a father is a devilish man but his children are virtuous, then people take pity on his wife. (pause for laughter and comprehension)
(Do not use in sermon)There is a statistic that shows that men who take their children to church will have children that are more likely to stay in a church after leaving the household than if the wife took them or neither parent did. (Could not find this statistic)
From The Barna Group: Just less than two out of three adults (63%) who were churched as children take their children to a church, which is double the proportion among adults who were not churched and who now take their kids to church (33%). (2001 study, ©2005 The Barna Group, Ltd.)
From Davon Huss: Research shows that 68 million of our nation’s 94 million men don’t attend any church, despite the fact that 86% of them grew up with some sort of church background. Also, if a child comes to know Christ first in a family, there is a 3.5% chance of the rest of the family turning to Christ, 17 % if the mother is the first, and a 93% chance of the family turning to Christ if the father is the first to accept Christ.
Clearly, men are a great influence on their children and the rest of their household. Being just a great influence isn’t enough without a husband who doesn’t love his wife.
B. Men are to love their wives as they do themselves.
An easy way to show your children that you and your wife love each other is to be affectionate in front of your kids. It wasn’t until just a few years ago that I knew that my dad loved my mom. There were times when I was younger that I would actually question whether my dad loved any of us, including myself, because he would sometimes discipline me with such anger that I never saw the love in it. It wasn’t until I saw my dad kiss my mom a few years ago under his own volition that I knew he loved her and us.
Col 3:19 MSG
(19) Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them.
Ecc 9:9 CEV
(9) Life is short, and you love your wife, so enjoy being with her. This is what you are supposed to do as you struggle through life on this earth.
Pro 5:15 GNB
(15) Be faithful to your own wife and give your love to her alone.
There are several more similar verses.
Put simply, loving your wife, loving her alone, and showing that you love her will make you the man she’s always wanted, and might even cause your neighbor’s wife to notice enough that her husband will get with the program too! And your children will be more likely to listen to you and respect you both, if they know they are in a loving and caring household.
C. Children are a blessing to a godly man.
You can’t be a father without having children. I like to look at it this way. Father’s Day should be renamed Dad’s Day, because it only takes a moment to become a father, but it takes a lifetime to become a dad. You can father a child, but you have to be a dad.
Psa 127:3 MSG
(3) Don’t you see that children are GOD’s best gift? the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
There are times that you don’t like your children, but you certainly love them. Otherwise you’d probably put the kids outside and bring the dog in, because the dog may not pick up its toys but at least he’ll come when you tell him to. (pause for laughter)
(Change tone back to more serious tone with next verse…)
Eph 6:4 MSG
(4) Fathers, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.
Col 3:21 CEV
(21) Parents, don’t be hard on your children. If you are, they might give up.
Exo 34:7 CEV
(7) I keep my promises to my people forever, but I also punish anyone who sins. When people sin, I punish them and their children, and also their grandchildren and great-grandchildren."
A quote from General Douglas MacArthur about seeing his children as a blessing, and not a burden:
“By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that, but I am prouder—infinitely prouder—to be a father. A soldier destroys, a father builds. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life.
“It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battlefield, but in the home, repeating with him our simple daily prayers.” (Borrowed from The Kennedy Commentary by Dr. D. James Kennedy)
When you die, when the last page of your life has been written and the cover closed, what do you want your dedication to be? (Give a few that come to mind as this is read)
Closing
There was a statistic that I mentioned at the beginning of this sermon about how when fathers are the first in a family to come to Christ that 93% of the time the rest of the family makes the same decision. Fathers, you have a very important role in your family. You are to be a spiritual leader, you are to love your wives, and to treat your kids as the blessings they are.
But none of that matters if you are not saved yourself. Don’t wait another day. If God is pressing on your heart for you accept His Son Jesus Christ as your Savior you may not get another chance. Your children depend on you to be their spiritual leader in your household. Let today be your first day in God’s spiritual household. If you know you have never accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, repeat this simple prayer after me.
(Go into the Sinner’s Prayer)
