Father’s Day Welcome And Purpose

SPEAKER_00 0:06

A greeting in the precious name of Jesus. It's good to be here this morning. It has been good already to be here. God's presence is here. As was mentioned before, happy Father's Day. Dads, we have an awesome responsibility. It's a joyous responsibility. So let's take it to heart and do our best. This morning's sermon is themed around the subject of Father's Day. And I want this message to be an encouragement. This is not a hammer session on the fathers, but this is meant to be an encouragement to all the dads here and to everybody here that is here this morning. I'd like to begin with a question for you all this morning, and the answer is not fathers. But the question is this every one of us, from the youngest to the oldest, has one thing in common this morning, or has something in common this morning. This is not part of our body, but it's something that we all have. It's not something we bought, it's not something that we earned, but we all have this. Anyone want to make a guess of what this could be? Time? It's not the answer I'm looking for, but we that's a good answer. A soul. We all have a soul. You all have one that is uniquely different. That is well. We're getting closer. Okay. Now we're thinking too complicated. We all have a name. We all have a name. Every name in here this morning carries a story. You all have your own story. I have my own story. You all have your own story. A name is not just a label. As we would label our car out here, a Shivi Traverse. That's the name of our car. That's a label. A name for us as human beings is not just a label. I imagine the name that you all were given, a lot of your names might have a good reason for your name. Some of you might be named after your grandfather, as is Andrew, our son Andrew. Some of you might be named after your grandmother. Some of you might be named after a Bible character. I'm sure none of you in here. I'm sure your parents didn't all of a sudden at the hospital say, Oh, we forgot to grab a name. Let's call her Susie. It just didn't happen that way. Some of you might have a name that, like in Bo's case, we love that name. It's not because we like the character of Dukes of Hazard that much, but we like Bo as a name. We all have a name. The title of the sermon this morning is The Name We Share.

The Meaning Hidden In Our Names

SPEAKER_00 3:43

The name we share, specifically, we as fathers. The name we fathers share. God has many names. Let's name a few. I'll start it off. Prince of Peace. What's another name for God? The Good Shepherd. Alpha and Omega. Everlasting Father. Wonderful counselor. Creator. The name He chose for us to speak, and in the Gospels, the name He told us to say when we pray is what? Father. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Father. How would it sound if we'd pray our King or Our Judge who art in heaven? How would the picture change? Our ruler. The inspiration for this sermon came out of a comment that one of my co-workers made in his solitude report that I have numerous times talked about something we do at work. And I remember one thing that this person said. I can't remember anything else he said in his solitude report, but he made the mention of in my time of solitude, he thought about the fact that God allows us to share his name as in Father. Think about that. God allows all of our all of us dads to borrow that name. How special is that.

God Invites Us To Say “Father”

SPEAKER_00 6:27

Again, for this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth and on earth is named. Did you realize that God has a name for your family? He knows each of us individually, as we as fathers know our families. Now we like to continue and read verses 16 through 21, and this has nothing to do with the sermon. But as I read through this, I was like, how nice would it be for thank you? I appreciate that. I would just like to bless all of you dads with these words that Paul penned here in Ephesians. And again, you don't have to follow along, but just take it in and take it as a blessing to you dads. Verse 16, that according to the riches of his glory, he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. And I'm gonna take the chance of taking it out of context and apply that to you as Dads this morning. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Dad, this morning, may you feel and be filled with the love of Christ for all the decisions, all the work, and all the time that you invest in your families. It takes a lot. And I want to bless you, Daz, with that.

Blessed And Strengthened For The Work

SPEAKER_00 8:43

Back to us borrowing the name Father or God allowing us to use his name as in fatherhood here on earth. God is not named after any of us human fathers, we are named after him. This is an awesome privilege. Think about it. What other name could we want? This is an awesome privilege for us to be able to carry his name. Along with this privilege comes responsibility. I'd like to look at uh a couple points this morning. And the first one I'd like to look at for us fathers is simply we are privileged to carry God's name. We are privileged to carry God's name. I don't know if you've ever received an heirloom from maybe your grandparents, one of your grandparents. I know my wife has some dishes that she got from her grandmother, Lizzie Ann. And there's been numerous times when we might have company, or or the ladies might be in the kitchen, and these dishes are out on the island or something, and somebody mentions something about these dishes, and Renita goes, Yeah, they were my grandmother's. There's a name attached to those dishes. It's a name that's attached to an object, and the name means something. It was my grandmother. Dads, this is what happens the first time your child says daddy. The first time you hear your child say data or daddy, all of a sudden you are identified with the name that Father God allowed you to use. How precious is that? We were handed a name that belongs first and foremost to God. And anytime our sons or daughters say father or dad, it doesn't matter if they're talking to God Himself or to us, it's the same word. And I love that when I think about it. We did not earn the connection, it was given to us. Think about what he could have used that name, what he could have anchored his identity. He could have anchored his identity in nations, he could have anchored his identity in kings and princesses, he could have anchored his identity in anything what we would think see larger than us. But he chose to anchor the name father in one of the most universal relationships that we have on earth, and that is a dad and his children. He chose to allow us to use that name. The father and child playing in the backyard, the father and children sitting around the dinner table, just ordinary connections, ordinary relationships. This means that every time you as dads show patience, every time you as dads show love to your children, in some way or form you're echoing to them what God the Father is to you. Those times when you might stay up late to help with homework. Those times when you might not be on the same page as your teenager. Those times when you're up at 2 a.m. caring for your crying baby. The way you show love to your children is the way our Father God wants to show love to us as fathers. Think about that. And don't only think about it, but let's embrace that. Sometimes it's hard for us to accept that because we like to earn things, but we can't earn that. The same way we don't look at our children as earning it from us. We don't earn that from God the Father. All we have to do is accept it. All we have to do is accept it. We are not the inventors of fatherhood. We are only reflecting what fatherhood means by our father being a father to us. So number one, we are privileged to carry his

Privilege Of Carrying God’s Name

SPEAKER_00 13:33

name. Number two, we are responsible for how we reflect God's name. We are responsible for how we reflect God's name. If we carry his name, we should be asking, so what kind of father is our father? What kind of father is God? Number one, God the Father is near, he is not distant. Although he's this huge God, when we call him Father, we call him by his first name. Yahweh Elohim. The last word alohim is more of a title of God. Yahweh means a personal relationship. Father. Psalm 103 13 says, As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. God is not a father that likes a distant relationship, but he is one who stoops down and gets on our level no matter what we're going through. Just as every one of our desires is for our children, even though sometimes it's hard. God is not formal. I think sometimes we get this because of how great he is and all the names that we we prescribe to God, we can get this inaccurate picture of actually who God is to us. Romans 8:15 says this the Spirit allows us to cry, Abba Father, Daddy, Daddy. God is our father. What kind of father is he? He is a father that disciplines with love. He is a father that disciplines with love. He does not deal with us angrily. He disciplines with love. Hebrews 12 reminds us that a father who does not discipline his children is not being kind, but is actually absent. And I encourage all of us, dads, this morning, let's not run from the hard. Let's not run from the hard. God, part of what God, what makes God God is His His loving way of bringing correction to us as His children. The same way God does that to us. We are called to bring that to our children. So God is not distant. God is relational. God brings correction through love. And the last one on what kind of a father is he? He keeps his promises. He keeps his promises. Fathers, this morning, there is nothing more detrimental to our relationship with our sons and daughters than if we don't carry out what we promise. And if we don't live out what we say, what we teach. God is faithful. Us as dads are called to be faithful to our word. God does not abandon, He does not forget, He does not walk away when things get hard. We are called to the same. Be near and present in relationships, loving and bringing correction, and unshakable in our faith and in our promises. Fatherhood

Reflecting A Near And Faithful Father

SPEAKER_00 17:35

can look daunting at times. And I would love to take time, I don't think I will, but I would love to hear from a lot of you dads. So what is your favorite part of fathering and what is your most dreaded part of fathering? I think I could probably guess what the dreaded part is. None of us likes to bring correction, none of us enjoys discipline, but I'd like to know what do you enjoy about fatherhood? Fortunately, we are not asked to be a perfect dad. Remind yourself of that. We are not asked to be a perfect dad. We're not asked to be a perfect provider, we're not asked to be flawless in bringing correction. But what we are asked is to reflect our Father God to those that we care for. The one who draws us near, the one who invites closeness, and the one who is always present. Now I'm going to talk about something that is not fun to talk about, but I think we need to just touch on this briefly, and that is unfortunately this name can be very misrepresented. That as our young children, their first experiences as us as dads, have a huge bearing on shaping their first impression of who God is. Our young children, they adore, your young children, they adore you as dads. I see it in my grandchildren. I remember it when my children were young. Now at a different degree, at a different level. Just imagine what their view of the Father, the Heavenly Father, could be. Some of you may struggle with praying the phrase, our Father, because of past experiences in your growing up years, where you maybe didn't experience a father that exemplified God the Father. We are all operating out of our own tiredness, out of our own fears, out of our own failures. That's okay as long as we can point our children to our Father God. The name we carry matters too much to be handled carelessly. Don't allow that to strike fear in you, but allow it to humble you. We don't need to be fearful of God, but if we come in a humble spirit, we will do everything we can to represent our Father God accurately. The verse I read in verse 14 and 15 in Ephesians 3. The thought of us portraying God accurately to our children should drive us to our knees, guys. The title Father is not to bring pride, but it's to bring us to prayer. In order to be a father that is effective. That leads humbly, that leads in order to bring glory to our Father God. We need to seek our Father God for direction and wisdom. The appropriate posture, this is a quote. I'm not sure who said this, but I found this. The appropriate posture for any man who carries this name is not pride, it's prayer.

Compassion Over Condemnation And Closing Prayer

SPEAKER_00 22:27

Number three, we do not carry this name alone. Here is the good news, dads. We are not asked to be the Father. We are only asked to reflect our Heavenly Father to our children. When you fall short, and we all do, we are not left to build, rebuild on our own strength. We can go to our Father anytime, just as our children can come to us. And find compassion rather than condemnation. And I challenge you to share that with your children. As our Father God shows compassion rather than condemnation. And I know how it is. If you come home from work, you're tired, you want some space, and your wife tells you how the children were today. It's easy to go to condemnation versus compassion. Don't get the C's mixed up. Lead with compassion. Never show condemnation. This is the real privilege of Father's Day, and I'm gonna read what I wrote down here. The real privilege of Father's Day is not so much to praise us for our performance, but that we as fathers are invited into relationship with the perfect father, who fathers us patiently, faithfully, lovingly, so that we have something real to pass on to our children. To every father here today, we carry a name older than any name handed down to us. It was God's name before it was ours. He is not asking us to be flawless, but to stay close enough to him that his patience, his nearness, and his faithfulness are reflected to the children who call us by that sacred name. That name Father. This morning I want to bless all you fathers, all of us fathers, as we continue leading and teaching our children. If there's one thought I'd like for you to take away from this morning, is that we are not called to be perfect dads, but we are called to honor our Father God in order to pass his love that he shows to us on to our children. I'm gonna leave it up to Randy. If Randy wants to open it for some father experiences or blessings of your dad, Randy, you can do that. I know it's a little bit of a shorter sermon this morning, but I'm gonna pray and then turn the time over to you. God, this morning, as we think of fathers, I just pray that you might encourage and bless each father here this morning. Lord, I pray that we could take this seriously and that we could reflect your love to us and pass it on to our children. So, Lord, this morning, I pray that you might again help us to lead with passion with passion and help us to lead the way that we that you love us and what we feel from you. Thank you for your goodness. I pray this on your name. Amen.