Father's Day and Trinity Sunday!
A. What is today? Father's Day and Trinity Sunday!
Our
first scripture reading, Rom. 5:1-5, is describes
the working of
the Trinity in our lives!
B. Today is a day that we are to honor &
remember our
Earthly
Fathers!
C. Today is also a day that we as Father's
usually stop
and examine
just what kind of father we are.
Trans.
Today I want to
build an acrostic using words to
describe
"A Good Father." Since it is
Trinity Sunday, I think it is appropriate we are looking at a scripture that
describes our Heavenly Father who is our ultimate example of what a Good Father
should be!
Prayer
Psalm 103:1-13
I. F is for Faithful! A good
father should be faithful.
A. Faithful to our kids! We should be fathers who
can be counted
on!
1. When we say we are going to do something, as
much as is in
our power, we should do it!
2. It may not seem very important to us, but to
our children,
it may be very important!
3. They will notice whether or not we keep our
word; they will
learn by our example!
4. We also need to be faithful in discipline: consistent!
5. As fathers of adult children, we should
continue
to
be faithful and someone our children can count
on.
B. Faithful to our wives!
1. We vowed that she would be our only one
until death do
us part! We need to be
faithful to
that!
2. We need to be faithful to keep our word in
other ways with
our spouse too!
B.
We need to be faithful to keep our words
commitments we
make to all! Our word needs to be something people can count on.
II. A is for available! In the
busy lifestyles that we lead,
We don't need to
forget to be available to our families!
A. This goes for all of us.
B. I once heard a preacher share how he came to
the
realization of
his need of this:
1. He shared how he became so busy helping
others
and trying to
be there for people in their need
that one day
his daughter called him on the phone
and said she'd
like to make an appointment to
talk to him!
2. Needless to say, he made the appointment and
became
available to her!
3. We don't need to make our families have to do
something like
this to catch our attention,
making us
realize we aren't being available to
them!
III. T is for teacher!
A. Fathers, God meant for us to be involved in
the
teaching of our
children too!
B. It is our responsibility to teach our
children right
and wrong and
about God! It isn't just the
responsibility
of the mother!
1. Today, too many times, the men leave the
teaching
up to the
mothers, at home and in our churches!
a. We
say, nurturing the kids at home is
a. women's
work!
b. We
say, teaching kids in church is women’s
work!
c. As fathers of adult children, our job is
still
one of an advisor! It is their choice
now whether
they listen, but we can still advise.
2. Men, we are falling short of what we should
be
doing,
and look what it is doing to our country!
a. Not that women are doing such a bad job.
b. But young boys need male examples to follow!
c. And young girls need that close relationship
with their
fathers as well!
3. Men, I believe we will stand accountable for
how
seriously we've
taken the teaching of our
children!
4. We may not all be teachers at church (some of
us
can be), but we are all teachers!
IV. H is for honorable!
A. Live such a life that you deserve to be
honored: that
you are easy to
honor!
B. Do not make,
"Honor they father and thy
mother; that thy days may be
long upon the
land which the Lord thy God giveth thee." Exo. 20:12
a hard
commandment!
V. E is for encourager!
A. Oh, how children need fathers who encourage
them and
tell them that
they are worth something!
C.
No kid is perfect; we can find something wrong
with any of them!
D.
1. If we concentrate only on what they do wrong
and
continually nag
them about that, never
encouraging
them with what they do right, they
will eventually
start believing that all they do
is wrong and
that they aren't worth anything!
They will
probably become just what we've told
them they
were! Nothing! This goes for adult
children too! We all need to be
encouragers!
2. On the other hand, if we take that same kid
and
encourage what
they do right, they will start
believing in
themselves and what they can
accomplish! They will grow up and accomplish
something with
their lives!
C. Fathers need to be encouragers; mom can't do
it alone!
Children Learn What They Live
If children
live with criticism,
They learn to
condemn.
If children
live with hostility,
They learn to
fight.
If children
live with ridicule,
They learn to
be shy.
If children
live with shame,
They learn to
feel guilty.
If children
live with tolerance,
They learn to
be patient.
If children
live with encouragement,
They learn
confidence.
If children
live with praise,
They learn to
appreciate.
If children
live with fairness,
They learn
justice.
If children
live with security,
They learn to
have faith.
If children
live with approval,
They learn to
like themselves.
If children
live with acceptance and friendship,
They learn to
find love in the world.
by Dorothy Law
Nolte
VI. R is for righteous!
A. Righteous means right-ness with God!
1. We can only attain that through what God has
done
for us in
Christ!
2. God did what we can't do for ourselves!
3. If we will trust in that, we can become right
With
God!
B. Us being right before God is the best thing
we can
Give
our children!
1. If we point them toward the importance of
living
for God, they
stand a good chance of following
our example!
2. If we teach them by our example that God
isn't
important, they
may very well live by our example
and live out of
relationship with God.
3. Tell them “why” God is important to you,
“why”
you live for God!
a. Children want to know why!
b. They want to know if it is worth investing
their lives!
c. This goes for adult children
too; tell them how and why God has made a difference in your life!
d. If you don’t know why, maybe as we encounter
Christ at the
table this morning, you need to present yourself to God this morning and learn
the why!
Conclusion:
A. What kind of father and influence do we want
to be?
B. God can help us to be "A Good
Father!"
a. As
we encounter Christ at the table this morning, we can allow our Heavenly Father
to give us a new relationship? We can allow our Heavenly Father to transform
us? We can allow our Heavenly Father to
give us our why?
Prayer
of Confession
Service
of Communion
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