[Propertalk] Fwd: Sermon Resources for Father's Day - Part 1

[Joe Parrish]

Sermons for Father’s Day: 
     Galatians 3:23-29 – “Sons of God” 
     Matthew 7:11 – “The Role of the Father”
 
Galatians 3:23-29, the sermon titled "Sons of God" 
 
On Mother’s day we listed nine things a mother will never say. Today on this Father’s Day we list “Ten Things Dad Will Never Say.” See how your Dad would do:
 
10.) Well, how about that! I’m lost. Looks like we’ll have to stop and ask for directions.
9.) You know, pumpkin. Now that you’re thirteen, you’ll be ready for unchaperoned car dates. Won’t that be fun?
8.) I noticed that all your friends have a certain negative attitude. I like that!
7.) Here’s a credit card and the keys to my new car. Go crazy!
6.) What do you mean you want to play football? Figure skating not good enough for you, son?
5.) Your Mother and I are going away for the weekend. You might want to consider throwing a party.
4.) Well, I don’t know what’s wrong with your car. Probably one of those doo-hickey thingies. You know, that makes it run or something. Just have it towed to a mechanic and pay whatever he asks.
3.) No son of mine is going to live under this roof without an earring. Now, quit your belly aching and let’s go to the mall.
2.) What do you want to go and get a job for? I make plenty of money for you to spend.
1.) Father’s Day? Ah, don’t worry about that. It’s no big deal!
 
Well, Father’s Day is a big deal, especially when we recognize fathers who seek to live their lives guided by Christ’s love and Christ’s commands.
 
A group of first graders was asked to draw a picture of God in their Sunday School class. Their finished products contained some interesting theology. One child depicted God in the form of a brightly colored rainbow. Another presented him as an old man coming out of the clouds. One little boy drew God with a remarkable resemblance to Superman. The best snapshot, though, came from a little girl. She said, “I didn’t know what God looked like, so I just drew a picture of my daddy.” I wish every little girl and every little boy could see God in her or his father. Unfortunately that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes the image of a bad father spills over into one’s understanding of God. That’s really sad.
 
Our lesson for the day puts the emphasis on who we are--not in relation to our earthly father--but to our Heavenly Father. Paul writes to the church at Galatia, “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
 
The rest of this sermon following the outline above can be obtained by joining www.eSermons.com.
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Matthew 7, the sermon titled “The Role of the Father” 
 
Some years back Bill Cosby wrote a book simply entitled FATHERHOOD. If you ever get a chance to read it I suggest you do. It is thoroughly humorous and you will also learn a few things along the way. I would like to share with you two observations that Cosby makes about Fathers. He writes:

Now that my father is a grandfather, he just can’t wait to give money to my kids. But when I was his kid and I asked him for fifty cents, he would tell me the story of his life. How he got up at 4 A.M. when he was seven years old and walked twenty-three miles to milk ninety cows. And the farmer for whom he worked had no bucket, so he had to squirt the milk into his little hand and then walk eight miles to the nearest can. All for 5 cents a month. The result was that I never got my 5O cents.

But now he tells my children every time he comes into the house: Well, lets see how much money old Granddad has got for his wonderful kids.” And the minute they take money out of his hands I call them over to me and I snatch it away from them. Because that is MY money.

The other story that Cosby tells that I like is the difference between Mother’s Day and Fathers Day. He insists that Mothers Day is a much bigger deal because Mothers are more organized. Mothers say to their children: Now here is a list of what I want. Go get the money from your father and you surprise me on Mothers Day. You do that for me.

For Father’s Day I give each of my five kids $20 so that they can go out and by me a present--a total of $100. They go to the store and buy two packages of underwear, each of which costs $5 and contains three shorts. They tear them open and each kid wraps up one pair, the sixth pair of underwear going to the Salvation Army. Therefore, on Father’s Day I am walking around with new underwear and my kid’s are walking around with $90 worth of my change in their pockets.

Well, of course, Father’s Day is technically not a religious holiday; it is a secular day. But, it is not, for that reason, less appropriate for our consideration. We also don’t simply want to give equal billing to fathers this morning because we gave homage to mothers a month ago. We want to recognize dads for another very important reason. The message that is going out to so much of society today is that fathers are simply not needed. While the number may numerically be small there are some women who actually chose to be single parent mothers. And there are far too many men in America today who father children that they have no intention of raising. The church, therefore, needs to send out the message loud and clear that fathers play a critical role in the life of the family, that they are needed, and that God expects something of them. Fathers, you will have a powerful impact upon your family if you connect in three crucial areas.
 
1. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with God.
2. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Family.
3. The Role of the Father Is to Connect with His Church.
 
The rest of this sermon can be obtained by joining www.Sermons.com
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What Are You Passing On?
 
At the first church that I pastored, I had the job of mixing feed to supplement my income. For a period of about two weeks, each day that I came home from work, my two boys, ages 2 and 3 would look at me, smile, and would say, "Boy, dad, you sure are dusty!" I would reply, "Yes, I sure am dusty." Then I would get cleaned up.
 
I didn't think too much of this until I was washing my car and saw my oldest son doing something very strange. He was picking up the gravel and stones that were in our drive and rubbing them into his pants. I asked him, "What are you doing?" He replied, "I want to be dusty like you dad!" 
 
I realized that if a child would look up to his father for being dusty and want to copy his father, a child could look up to his father and follow him for anything. What are you passing on to your son? 
 
Jerry L. Steen
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It Takes a Special Man
 
Father's Day is fast approaching. My very wise grandmother used to say, "Anyone can have a child, but it takes a special man to be a father." I wholeheartedly agree. Being a father is much more than performing a biological function. It is about loving and caring, guiding and sharing.
 
A father is the head of his family. He does this, not out of insecurity, selfishness or pride, but out of the desire to be an obedient servant to God. (Ephesians 5:22)
 
A father offers wise council so that he may lead his children to a path of righteousness. He is slow to anger, yet demands respect. "For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; ..." Ephesians 6:1-3 (See also Genesis 18:19)
 
A father is strong, reliable and confident. But, a father is also tender, loving and understanding. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: ..." Matt. 7:12 (See also Psalms 103:13)
 
A father is a good provider. As long as he is capable, he is willing to labor hard to provide shelter for his family, and food on the table ... "if any would not work neither should he eat"(II Thessalonians 3:10)
 
A father recognizes the importance of making time for those he loves. Little league baseball and dance recitals seem to be his favorite past time. "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)
 
A father is not judged by how much he earns or how many material goods he provides. What does matter to his children is how well he is being a father. 
 
Melanie Schurr
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