Sermon Tone Analysis

In Ramsey Count, Minnesota, 9th and 10th graders were asked this question: "What comes to mind when you think of the word 'dad'?"

Answers came from both ends of the spectrum.

Some of them said, “When I think about the word /dad /I think of the word /jerk/."

Others thought of the words /angry, mad, and absent/.

On the other hand, some said, " when I think of the word /dad /I think of wholeness, kindness, security, safety."

[i] /What comes to your mind when you think of the word, “dad”?

//When you think of dad, you may remember your father’s strength, tempered by his gentleness, wisdom, and goodness.

On Father’s Day, you may have fond memories of the man who provided for you, and protected you.

One son I know once gave his father the ultimate compliment when he said, “My dad was my best friend.”//On the other hand, maybe the word “dad” doesn’t fill your mind with good memories.

Maybe your father was distant, or even abusive.

Maybe your father wasn’t around at all.

Perhaps Father’s Day opens up old wounds that have never really healed.

//Fathers have an enormous impact on the lives of their children.

Being a father is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility.

Some fathers take that responsibility seriously, but sadly, some do not.

//This morning, I want to look at some characteristics of a faithful father as defined by the Bible.

If you are a dad, I want to offer you some tips for being the best father you can be to your kids.

But I also want for each of us to realize that no matter great your earthly father was, or how deeply disappointed you’ve been in your dad, you have a perfect Father in Heaven who wants to bless you with the love of a father’s heart.

//            To do this, I want to look at 3 ways Jesus compares earthly dads to His heavenly Father.

Let’s begin in *Matt.

7:9-11*.

/

*PRAYER*

*            */To begin with, let me point out that /

*I.              **GOOD FATHERS ARE GIVERS (Matt.

7:9-11)*

/     /Fathers have a reputation for stinginess.

/Bill Cosby writes in his book //Fatherhood//: /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…How he got up at 4 A.M. when he was 7 years old and walked 23 miles to milk 90 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 8 miles to the nearest can.

All for 5 cents a month.

The [end]result was that I never got my 5O cents.

*            *Your may remember your dad telling you similar stories.

But it really wasn’t because dad was stingy—it’s because he wants you to appreciate how good you have it.

One reason we have it so good is because a good father is a good provider.

I am not referring just to money or material things.

A faithful father gives of his time, his energy, his life.

To be a good provider, you have to be a giver.

Good fathers are givers, and Jesus uses this fact to teach us about prayer, and God the Father’s generosity to His children.

In this passage he tells us:

            /He gives them good things.//

/Human fathers give their children /good gifts (*v.

11*) /A good father doesn’t give his kids anything that will hurt them.

In fact, most dads want their kids to have better things than they had growing up.

Sometimes that is why he spends so much time working to provide those good things for his family.

Jesus says God is a good father who always gives good gifts to His kids when we ask Him.

The book of James goes further: / /

            *James 1:17*/ *Every* good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning./

/            /Good fathers give us good things, which also means

/            He gives them what they need.//

/Bread and fish were staple foods of that day, necessary parts of the family diet.

Dads couldn’t always give their children every thing they wanted, but they did work hard to give them what they needed.

In the same way, our Heavenly Father promises to supply all of our needs.

*Philippians 4:19* And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

A faithful father gives his kids good things they need, but often dad goes one step further;

/            He gives them much of what they want./

Good dads don’t just supply the requirements of life- they look for special ways to give gifts their children will enjoy.

Just look down the aisles of a department store as Christmas nears, and you will see Dads who are searching for that gift that their son or daughter just /had /to have.

Like any good dad, Jesus implies by His use of the word gift that God is also interested in generously giving His kids not just what they need, but many things they want.

*John 15:7*/ If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you./

Our Heavenly Father enjoys giving you the desires of your heart.

Of course, like any good dad, he does not give us /everything/ we desire- that would spoil us, and end up doing more harm than good.

But I have experienced those special times when God showered me with a blessing that I neither needed nor deserved.

I believe He enjoys giving us those presents just to see us smile.

/Faithful fathers are givers.

They may gripe and complain about all the work they have to do, but  most of them get a satisfaction from giving their wives and kids the good things they need and want.

/

/            Our Heavenly Father is even more generous to His kids.

He gives us all that we need in life- from the food on our tables to the air that we breathe.

He gives us our families, our jobs, and our health.

He throws in those extra special gifts for no other reason than he likes to see us smile.

A //good dad is a giver, but he’s not only a giver---/

*II.

GOOD FATHERS ARE TEACHERS (John 5:19)*

     /Mark Twain once wrote/ When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around.

But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.

Isn’t it amazing how much more we appreciate the wisdom of our father as we grow older?

A father is one of a child’s most important teachers.

*            *Do you remember some of the things you learned from your dad?

Maybe it was dad who taught you how to bait a hook, how to hit a baseball, or ride a bicycle.

Later he taught you how to drive, how to balance your checkbook.

Dads are teachers, and Jesus reminds us our Heavenly Father is a teacher also.

How does a good father teach His children?  

/He teaches them through example./

The familiar phrase, /like father like son /expresses an important truth.

Jesus says He does exactly what He saw His Heavenly Father doing.

Example is probably one of the most important ways we learn.

Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.

-  James Baldwin

Earthly fathers have a big responsibility to model righteous behavior for their kids, just as God sets an example for all of His children.

*Ephesians 5:1*Therefore *be imitators* of God *as dear children*.

/            He teaches them through discipline./

/Just wait until your father gets home!

/Anybody here remember that line?

Most of us have experienced dad’s discipline.

Sometimes mom spanked us, but when dad pulled off his belt- /it was all over.

/Mom might ease up a little, but dad usually did a more thorough job.

We didn’t believe it then, but it was good for us—as the Bible says in

*            Pr 13:24* He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.

*Hebrews 12:9-11*/ Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect.

Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?

…Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it./

When you read these verses, you need to remember there is a difference between discipline and abuse.

Nowhere in Scripture does God approve of abuse.