The Making Of A Great Dad

THE MAKING OF A GREAT DAD

Eph. 6:1-3

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. Ryan Carlson, 16-year-old, was out with friends one night at 8 p.m. when suddenly he realized it was Father's Day and he had neglected to buy a card for dad.

2. After much searching, Ryan located an open store, but was disappointed to find only two cards left him on a picked-over rack.

3. Selecting one, he brought it home and, somewhat sheepishly, presented it to his father. On opening it, Dad read this message, "You've been like a father to me." He looked at Ryan, puzzled.

4. "Well, dad," Ryan tried to explain, "it was either that or the card that said, ‘Now that I'm a father too!’"

5. HUMOR #2;

a. When one wife was ill, her husband volunteered to go to the store for her. She sent him off with a carefully numbered list of seven items.

b. Dad returned shortly very proud of himself and proceeded to unpack the grocery bag.

c. He had one bag of sugar, two dozen eggs, three hams, four boxes of detergent, five boxes of crackers, 6 eggplants, and seven Green peppers. [Joan Flood].

6. A small boy said, "Father's Day is just like Mother's Day, only you don't spend as much on the gift."

B. TEXT

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise— “so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.”

C. THESIS

1. Father’s day is scriptural. Fathers are a gift to their children and children are a gift to their Fathers.

2. The title of this message is, "The Making of a Great Dad.

3. Look at three areas that God Word teaches about fathers: 1. Faithful Instruction, 2. A Father's Love, 3. The Godly Example of a Father.

I. FAITHFUL INSTRUCTION

“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching” Prov. 1:8.

A. IS PART OF DAD’S JOB

1. You probably thought it was just a naggy nature of your dad that caused him to try to straighten you out, but it's actually part of his job as a dad.

2. “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” Deut. 6:6-9.

3. So when dad tells you his corny anecdotes, his boyhood experiences, and his moral platitudes, just know he's being the person God meant him to be. And believe it or not, what he says is valuable.

4. Now, Dads aren't perfect; sometimes we don't instruct in the right way or in the right attitude. That's why God reminds Dads that it matters what we do.

5. Eph. 6:4, NIV, "Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord."

CEV "Parents, don't be hard on your children. Raise them properly. Teach them and instruct them about the Lord."

LB "Don't keep on scolding and nagging your children, making them angry and resentful. Rather, bring them up with the loving discipline the Lord himself approves."

B. ALWAYS HAS A GOOD MOTIVE

1. Sometimes we get critical.

2. A man named Jim Burton said these words about being a father. "When I was young, baseball was my life. You can imagine the excitement I felt when my oldest son began playing.

3. This game would be one of our main bonding mechanisms. If my son would just listen, I could help him be a great baseball player.

4. Learning to read curveballs, shift his body weight with the swing, steal bases, turn double plays -- these things

separate the amateurs from the pros."

5. Burton said, "A pattern developed in our relationship. Because of my familiarity with the game, I saw every mistake my son made. In addition, I knew how to correct them.

6. So post game drives home became a critique of how to improve his game. It soon got old for my son.

7. One night he finally said, "Dad, could you NOT START by telling me everything I did wrong! Tell me what I did right first!"

8. Are you a Coach? Or a Critic? A good Father is a Coach. But regardless, we know that dad's motive is good.

C. IS WISER THAN IT FIRST APPEARS

Mark Twain said, "When I was a boy of 14 my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years."