Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction: Wanting our father around.

In 1996 we were living in Lindenhurst while I was attending Trinity.

The brakes on our car needed to be replaced and I decided to do the work myself to save money.

I had the car on jacks and tried to get the first brake drum off but it wouldn’t budge.

I tapped it with a hammer to no avail.

I kept trying and trying and trying.

It wouldn’t move.

I called a friend who’s an auto mechanic, described the problem and asked for advice.

He said to get a bigger hammer.

He told me to whack away.

It wouldn’t hurt anything.

I did what he said and it still didn’t come off.

At that moment in time a thought came to my mind that surprised me.

No it wasn’t profanity.

I thought “I wish my dad were here.”

That surprised me.

I had been out on my own for years and I didn’t have a great relationship with my dad.

Yet there I was stuck with a problem and wished he with me.

How do we describe God? Father . . .

[listen to responses]

How many of you have had a similar experience when you were in a situation and wished your dad were there?

Does someone want to give an example?

Jesus makes more than 150 references to God as Father.

Jesus makes more than 150 references to God as Father.

Proposition: We want an accepting, affectionate (love us), and active (present  and involved), father who provides, protects (make us secure), supports and guide us.

A few years ago, a German scholar was doing research in New Testament literature and discovered that in the entire history of Judaism—in all existing books of the Old Testament and all existing books of extrabiblical Jewish writings dating from the beginning of Judaism until the tenth century A.D. in Italy—there is not a single reference of a Jewish person addressing God directly in the first person as Father.

There were appropriate forms of address that were used by Jewish people in the Old Testament, and the children were trained to address God in proper phrases of respect.

All these titles were memorized, and the term Father was not among them.

The first Jewish rabbi to call God "Father" directly was Jesus of Nazareth.

It was a radical departure from tradition, and in fact, in every recorded prayer we have from the lips of Jesus save one, he calls God "Father."

It was for that reason that many of Jesus' enemies sought to destroy him; he assumed to have this intimate, personal relationship with the sovereign God of heaven and the creator of all things, and he dared to speak in such intimate terms with God.

What's even more radical is that Jesus says to his people, "When you pray, you say, 'Our Father.'"

He has given to us the right and privilege to come into the presence of the majesty of God and address him as Father because indeed he is our Father.

He has adopted us into his family and made us coheirs with his only begotten Son ().

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/what-does-it-mean-us-call-god-our-father/

“Wanted: The Perfect Father!”

Bottom Line: We want an accepting, affectionate and active father who provides, protects , supports and guides us.

This is something everyone wants, it’s built into every person who has ever lived because all families are based upon the model of the family of God.

Paul says, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,” that is it’s characteristics. .

The only way to understand God as Father is to experience Him as Father.

We want an accepting, affectionate (love us), and active (present  and involved), father who provides, protects (make us secure), supports and guide us.

This is something everyone wants, it’s built into every person who has ever lived because all families are based upon the model of the family of God.

Paul says, “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,” that is it’s characteristics. .

The New International Version.

(2011).

().

Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.tells

us that the model of families comes from God the Father.

But we have a problem.

Problem

“Wanted: The Perfect Father!”

We have pictures of God as Father, descriptions.

Those only give glimpses.

The only way to understand God as Father is to experience Him as Father.

Our sinful disobedience messed up God’ plan in lots of ways.

Sin separated us from God and changed us.

Now, there is no righteous, no not one.

God created our first parents, Adam and Eve perfect.

If they had not sinned Adam would have been a perfect Father.

But they did sin and no one has ever had a perfect father.

Yet this doesn’t stop of from wanting one even when we are older, well past the time when we should depend upon our fathers like children do.

No matter how old we are we still want what only a perfect father can give us; acceptance, affection, active involvement, provision, protection, support and guidance.

If you had a good father, you’re blessed.

You have been given a glimpse of what fatherhood was meant to be.

All of us have a father shaped hole in our hearts that we want filled.

Perhaps your good father has filled part of it.

For some of us the hole is empty.

We all want it filled.

And there are times when it hurts that it is empty.

When we are alone, afraid, or insecure about something we would love to have a wise father right beside us who knows us and what to do.

This is just plain wrong.

We shouldn’t have to feel this way.

We shouldn’t have this unmet longing in our hearts.

This is a problem we all share.

We know this but it doesn’t stop us from wanting a perfect father.

Guide

Jesus is Our Guide

Throughout time, everyone has struggled with this issue.

Here is something I read this week by R. C. Sproul.

A few years ago, a German scholar was doing research in New Testament literature and discovered that in the entire history of Judaism—in all existing books of the Old Testament and all existing books of extrabiblical Jewish writings dating from the beginning of Judaism until the tenth century A.D. in Italy—there is not a single reference of a Jewish person addressing God directly in the first person as Father.

There were appropriate forms of address that were used by Jewish people in the Old Testament, and the children were trained to address God in proper phrases of respect.

All these titles were memorized, and the term Father was not among them.

The first Jewish rabbi to call God "Father" directly was Jesus of Nazareth.

It was a radical departure from tradition, and in fact, in every recorded prayer we have from the lips of Jesus save one, he calls God "Father."

It was for that reason that many of Jesus' enemies sought to destroy him; he assumed to have this intimate, personal relationship with the sovereign God of heaven and the creator of all things, and he dared to speak in such intimate terms with God.

What's even more radical is that Jesus says to his people, "When you pray, you say, 'Our Father.'"

He has given to us the right and privilege to come into the presence of the majesty of God and address him as Father because indeed he is our Father.

He has adopted us into his family and made us coheirs with his only begotten Son ().

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/what-does-it-mean-us-call-god-our-father/

https://www.ligonier.org/learn/qas/what-does-it-mean-us-call-god-our-father/

Plan:

Jesus has a plan to restore our relationship with the Father.

One problem that we face is that we have either inadequate or absent fathers.

came to restore our relationship with the Father.

Another problem is that we aren’t great kids.

Inadequate or absent fathers.

John 14:6-

The Father gives life.

The Father gives:

Life ;

Family ;

Abundance ; ,