That's My Boy

Dakota Community Church

December 9, 2007

That’s My Boy

Well it is that time of year again, the Christmas season is upon us already and I find myself scrambling to get ready – too late as usual!

What to preach about during the season is always a challenge, not that it is hard to come up with seasonal topics, just that there are so many angles to choose from, I sometimes find it tricky to focus on the one the Lord is leading with.

Do I hit the commercialism aspect, do I focus on the pagan vs. the sacred, should I give pointers on how to survive family visits and the often accompanying trauma, or do I do the standard manger scenarios.

I may use a few of these before the month is out but today I want to come at the Christmas message from an angle I have not taken before.

Isaiah 9:6

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

I realize that the Christmas message is about the “child born”, but today I want to talk about the “son given”. That’s right today I want to focus on the Father’s heart in the giving of the Son!

To do this effectively I want to look at a few famous Fathers and their “bad sons” to try to get a picture of a father’s heart.

1. Ishmael - Read Genesis 17

Genesis 17:18

And Abraham said to God, "If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!"

We hear that God would have sent Jesus to die for us even if we were the only person on earth, but how easy is that to believe?

Ishmael is the son of the flesh; he is the human solution to God’s tardiness. Ishmael is the child of the slave woman, he is not the promised heir, he is not the plan of God.

The heart of a father cries out for his blessing in spite of all that – and God respects the cry!

2. Absalom – Read II Samuel 18:5-33

II Samuel 18:33

The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: "O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!"

Here we see a son who is selfish and power hungry, one which seizes control of the kingdom from his dad the king. He has betrayed his father, slept with his concubines, mocked him in public and attempted to kill him.

When David’s men win the resulting war and Absalom is killed in the fighting – we see a fathers heart revealed.

3. The Prodigal - Read Luke 15:11-32

Luke 15:20

So he got up and went to his father.

"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

Jesus is explaining his acceptance of “unworthy people” with this story. He uses the picture of a father with a lost son; he is explaining the heart of God, the purpose for His being sent.

Luke 15:1-2

Now the tax collectors and "sinners" were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes sinners and eats with them."

Our Father loves his son, he sends his son to reclaim us, the lost sons. The descendants of:

4. Adam

Luke 3:37-38

…the son of Methuselah, the son of Enoch, the son of Jared, the son of Mahalalel, the son of Kenan, the son of Enosh, the son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.

I Corinthians 15:21-22

For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Luke 19:10

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

5. Jesus

Matthew 17:5

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!"

John 3:16-18

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.