Being a Good Father

Being a Good Father – Prov. 22:6- EBC  6/21/09

Far too many men have become detached, distant and passive in the 2 most important areas of their life -- Home and Church. They no longer take lead; or show the imitative, they avoid responsibility. They run away from commitment and resist obligation; and they renege on the promises that they made to their wives, children, Church and Lord.

63% of youth suicides are from fatherless homes.
. 85% of children that exhibit behavior disorders are FFH
. 80% of rapists are FFH
. 71% of high school drop outs are FFH
. 75% of all adolescent patients in chemical abuse centers are FFH
. 70% of juveniles in state operated institutions come FFH
. 85% of youths in prison are FFH
. 70% of teen pregnancies are FFH
. 72% of Americans polled recently said the physical absence of fathers is the most serious problem facing America’s families.

THERE IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM IN OUR SOCIETY -- MEN ARE MISSING FROM ACTION -- THEY ARE SHRINKING AWAY FROM THEIR GOD GIVEN RESPONSIBILITY AT HOME AND IN THE CHURCH...

   How can we be the men we are to be?

I. Love your Wife to the extent Christ loved the Church (Eph. 5:25)

  A. Your children watch how you treat their mother. They watch, learn and forms concepts of marriage from their parents.

    1. If they see you show disrespect for their mother your son will probably carry that into his marriage. 

  B. If you cherish your wife as a valuable part of your life, your children will carry that into their marriage.

II. Don’t expect perfect Children (Col. 3:21)

  A.As there are no perfect fathers there are no perfect children.

    1. Instead of criticizing their imperfections acknowledge their imperfections and love them thru it.

  B. Don’t try to live your life our thru your children. (ILL. Parent had son playing baseball for two teams one under an assumed name).

III. Enjoy your children (Psa. 127:3)

  A. Children are given for us to enjoy but for a burden not to ignore but to enjoy.

  B. The time you spend with your child is never wasted it tells them how important they are to you.

    1. Don’t just give them your leftovers.

IV. Listen to your children (Prov. 1:5)

  A. Give them your undivided attention not with one eye on the TV and the other eye on them.

    1. When they are sad, they don’t need friends or comic books they need you. No one replaces Mom and Dad.

  B. Get involved with your children. Know what’s going on in their lives every day. Be the kind of father that they can come to no matter what is going on.

    1. If you listen to them when they’re small and their problems are small … and then they’ll come to you when they’re bigger, and their problems are bigger.

  C, We can’t buy our way into being a good parent. Too many fathers think they can buy off their children and make up for not being what we should be.

V. Train your Children (Eph.6:4)

  A. We must teach and train (we train as they watch us) our children to respect authority in the home … or they won’t respect authority at school or in the world. We need to teach our children that there are BOUNDARIES … rules & regulations … a line that they will not cross.

  B. We can’t expect our children to respect authority if they see us not respecting authority.

VI. Be a Positive Role Model (Prov. 22:6)

  A. Like it or not, we are role models whether good or bad. What kind of example are we setting for our children? Would we like for them to turn out just like we did. Would we want them to have the same habits as we?

VII. Prepare your Children  (Prov. 23:24)

  A. Are you preparing your children to leave home? Some day they’ll take what they have learned from you and begin using it in the world.

  B. Not only do we need to prepare our children for life we need to prepare them for eternity.

     1. How are you preparing your children for eternity?