A Christ Centered Father

3 Readings - A father’s unconditional love

Luke 15:11-16 - “The parable of the prodigal son”

11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. 12 The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.

13 “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. 14 After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. 16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

Luke 15:17-20

17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

20 So he got up and went to his father.

Luke 15:20-24

20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

“A Christ Centered Father”

Father’s Day

Introduction

· Parents have a powerful influence over their kids at an early age

· They listen and watch our words and actions and imitate them at an early age

· Studies show that children develop their morals and values by the age of 5-6 years old

· This means it’s never too early to teach your children Biblical morals and values

· But, it’s also never too late

· As parents, we must be both on offense and defense when teaching Biblical morals and values

· Kids are bombarded and influenced by the world - By others they’re around

Today - Looking at a father’s role in raising children to become disciples of Jesus

· Fathers – You are the spiritual leaders of the household and tasked to raise your kids to become disciples of Jesus

· Raising Godly kids begins and ends with us being a disciple of Christ and is defined by sacrificial love

Memory Phrase

· “To train a disciple, you must be a disciple”

Prayer

Body of Sermon

Let’s look at 6 qualities and characteristics of a Biblical Father

· All of these are backed up in Scripture – Don’t worry about writing down Scripture reference – They are in the bulletin

1st– A Godly father exhibits spiritual leadership in family

Listen to Joshua’s (24:14) determination to fulfill this role

14 “Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness.

As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

2nd- Next, as spiritual leaders, fathers teach and mentor their children through our words and actions

Proverbs 22:6 – Gives us a comprehensive view of this

6 Train up a child in the way he should go;

even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Here is what Scripture tells us about what to teach - Bulletin

· First and foremost it begins with teaching them the Gospel of Jesus Christ that leads to redemption and salvation

PAUSE

They other things will instruct our kids in are to:

· Teachthe 2 greatest commandments - To love God above all else and to love our neighbor as ourselves

· We teach our kids to fear the Lord – To show reverence and awe to God

· We teach them all the glorious deeds of God

o All He has, is, and will do

o This includes sharing with our kids what you have seen God do in your life

o Sharing our experiences is a great teacher

· We teach them to lean on God’s strength and wisdom – not their own

· We teach what a disciple of Jesus is and does as revealed in Scripture

· We teach them Christ’s commands and to follow them

o This means we teach, train, and encourage our kids to live (walk) in a manner worthy of God

· We teach them to not be conformed to this world

o Includes teaching them to not store up treasures on earth but treasures in Heaven

o And to be content with what they have – Because every good gift is from God

· This one is very important:

o Kids place a high value on what other people think about them and they will do just about everything to win other’s approval

o This means it is imperative to teach them that their identity is established in Christ, not by others

· We prepareour children for the hardships they will go through in life – And we tell them why God wants us to go through them

James 1:2-4

2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

· We teach our kids to value God’s discipline and why

Hebrews 12:5-9

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.

· We teach them humility – To think and serve others before ourselves - Because God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble

· One of the most powerful ways to teach our children is to read the Bible with them

3rdquality and characteristic of a Godly father – They show unconditional love and compassion

· Saw this in the parable of the Prodigal Son

· But what does this look like?

1 Corinthians 13:4-7

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

· It’s also displaying the fruit of the Spirit to your kids

Galatians 5:22-23

22 The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control.

4th– We make sacrifices

· We give up many of our own wants and desires - And put our kids ahead of ourselves

· To do this effectively, we imitate Jesus – Ultimate example of sacrifice

Philippians 2:3-8

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

5th– A father Provides and protects

· Provides for both their physical and spiritual needs

· A father also protects his kids – We are a refuge for them to run to

Proverbs 14:26

26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence,

and his children will have a refuge.

6th– We set the are an example of a Godly man and disciple of Jesus in word and deed for our kids to follow

· This means we model what a disciple of Jesus looks like

Memory Phrase

· Remember “To train a disciple, you must be a disciple”

Titus 2:7-8

7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech

· We model a Biblical husband so they will be one too

Ephesians 5:25

25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.

· We model the importance of prayer by being a prayer warrior

· Set an example by personal Bible study

· Set example by going to church

Impact on kids of a father’s faith and going to church

· Statistics show that when fathers go to church irregularly – 1/2 to 2/3 of kids will go on a regular

· And when the father does not go to church (even if mom does) – Between 2-4% of children will become regular church attendees when they grow up

· Well Scripture teaches us many others ways to raise kids to be a disciple of Jesus – No time however

o In my opinion, these are the 6 most important ways

PAUSE

Conclusion/Application

As fathers, we are responsible for so many things to help our kids grow to be successful in life

· But none are more important than raising them to follow Jesus

· This can certainly be overwhelming – Even impossible

o But the good news is that we have help – And it goes back to the Gospel of Jesus Christ

o When we came to faith in Jesus, we received the indwelling Holy Spirit

o And it is He who gives us the wisdom and power to be successful with our children

Here are some concretes things we can do right now to make an eternal impact for our kids

· Pray and study Bible with your kids

· Do a self-examination – Where do you spend your time, talents, and treasures?

· Make the Sunday church service a priority and go regularly

o The truth is, if you win the father, you win the family

A couple other things: Go back to our memory phrase

· “To train a disciple, you must be a disciple”

· This means we must prayerfully study our Bibles on a regular basis

· Lot of information – Impossible to remember all we talked about

o Use your bulletin and study the Scripture references there – They give us an in depth look at qualities and characteristics of a Godly father who raises up the next generation of disciples

o And as you do go take it a step further, study them with generational faith in mind – Our kid’s kids