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June 19, 2005

FATHER'S DAY SERMON

June 19, 2005

I AM GOING TO MAKE AN IMPORTANT PHONE CALL TODAY. I KNOW THAT EVERYONE CANNOT DO THIS, FOR GOOD REASON. TODAY I AM LOOKING FORWARD TO PLACING A PHONE CALL TO MY DAD.

SOME OF US CAN BE WITH OUR DAD TODAY OR CALL OUR DAD TODAY. OTHERS OF US I KNOW WILL SIMPLY REMEMBER OUR DAD TODAY.

BUT, EITHER WAY, WE HAVE COME TO CELEBRATE FATHER'S DAY.

WITH THAT THOUGHT OF CELEBRATING FATHER'S DAY, I WAS CONSIDERING A SCRIPTURE THAT MIGHT BE APPROPRIATE. AND THE SCRIPTURE STORY THAT CAME TO MIND WAS THE ONE OF A REALLY GREAT FATHER FROM THE GOSPEL OF LUKE.

LET'S HEAR AGAIN ABOUT THIS FATHER.

The Parable of the Lost Son

    ¹¹Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. ¹²And the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood. ¹³And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. ¹⁴But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. ¹⁵Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. ¹⁶And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.
    ¹⁷"But when he came to himself, he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! ¹⁸I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, ¹⁹and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants."'
    ²⁰"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. ²¹And the son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
    ²²"But the father said to his servants, "Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. ²³And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; ²⁴for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' And they began to be merry.

THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS WE CAN CELEBRATE ABOUT THE FATHER IN THIS STORY.

FIRST, THE FATHER IN THIS STORY WAS GENEROUS. HE WAS WILLING TO GIVE THE YOUNGER SON HIS INHERITANCE, EARLY.

LAST FALL I WAS WATCHING A FOOTBALL GAME THAT OUR SON JON HAPPENED TO BE COACHING. NANCY WAS TAKING PHOTOS OF THE PLAYERS. I WAS NANCY'S CONSULTANT AS TO WHERE THE NEXT PLAY ON THE FIELD MIGHT BE GOING SO SHE COULD BE READY TO TAKE A PICTURE.

AT HALF TIME, I HAD A CHANCE TO VISIT WITH A GENTLEMAN WHO I FOUND OUT HAPPENED TO BE THE BUS DRIVER FOR THE PLAYERS IN THE GAME.

AS WE GOT TO TALKING, IT TURNS OUT THAT HE HAD FOUR CHILDREN WHO WERE NOW GROWN. AND THEN HE SAID SOMETHING IMPORTANT THAT I WILL REMEMBER. HE SAID THAT HE HAD DRIVEN TRUCK FOR MANY YEARS WHEN THE KIDS WERE GROWING UP. HE SAID HE FELT BAD THAT HE COULD NOT BE THERE FOR THE KIDS WHEN THEY HAD THEIR SPECIAL EVENTS AT SCHOOL BECAUSE HE WOULD BE DRIVING A LOAD OF PRODUCT SOMEWHERE IN THE UNITED STATES. BUT HE SAID THAT HE WAS PROUD THAT HE WAS ABLE TO EARN ENOUGH MONEY THAT ALL FOUR OF HIS KIDS COULD GO TO COLLEGE. AND, NOW THEY HAD GOOD JOBS AND FAMILIES.

THOUGH THIS FATHER COULD NOT ALWAYS BE THERE FOR HIS KIDS IN PERSON BECAUSE OF HIS JOB, I WOULD SAY THAT HE WAS A GENEROUS FATHER HE HOW HE PROVIDED FOR HIS CHILDREN.

PERHAPS ONE OF THE THINGS YOU TOO CAN CELEBRATE ABOUT YOUR FATHER IS THE WAY THAT HE TRIED TO PROVIDE FOR YOUR FAMILY.

A SECOND THING I NOTICED ABOUT THIS FATHER IS THAT HE LET HIS SON MAKE HIS OWN MISTAKES.

IN OTHER WORDS, THE FATHER NOT ONLY GAVE HIS SON HIS INHERITANCE EARLY, HE DID NOT TRY TO STOP HIM FROM HEADING OFF INTO A FAR COUNTRY.

WHEN I WAS A BOY, I WAS PLAYING AT MY FRIEND'S HOUSE. HE WAS A GOOD FRIEND SO THAT I ENJOYED PLAYING AT HIS HOME.

WHILE I WAS THERE, MY DAD STOPPED OVER TO SEE ME. I THOUGHT THAT MAYBE I WAS IN TROUBLE, BUT I SOON FOUND OUT THAT SUCH WAS NOT THE CASE.

HE HAD ACTUALLY COME OVER TO INVITE ME TO GO TO A DEDICATION OF A NEARBY SCHOOL THAT HAD JUST BEEN BUILT. LATER I WOULD ATTEND THAT SCHOOL.

HE ASKED ME IF I WANTED TO GO TO THE DEDICATION. HE SAID THAT A FAMOUS MAN WOULD BE AT THE DEDICATION.

AS A BOY, GOING TO A DEDICATION DID NOT SEEM TOO INTERESTING TO ME. SO I INSISTED THAT I DID NOT WANT TO GO.

SO MY DAD WENT ON TO THE DEDICATION HIMSELF.

THE NAME OF THE SCHOOL WAS HERBERT HOOVER. AND THE MAN WHO WAS THERE TO DEDICATE THE BUILDING WAS FORMER PRESIDENT HERBERT HOOVER HIMSELF.

MY DAD LET ME MAKE MY OWN MISTAKES.

A THIRD QUALITY OF THIS DAD IN OUR SCRIPTURE STORY TODAY IS THAT HE WAS A FORGIVING DAD.

WHEN THE SON SPENDS ALL HIS MONEY AND RETURNS HOME TO ASK HIS FATHER'S FORGIVENESS, THE FATHER SEES HIS SON FROM FAR, RUNS TO HIM, EMBRACES HIM, AND CELEBRATES WITH FATTED CALF THE RETURN OF HIS SON.

THERE'S A SPANISH STORY OF A FATHER AND SON WHO HAD BECOME ESTRANGED. THE SON RAN AWAY, AND THE FATHER SET OFF TO FIND HIM. HE SEARCHED FOR MONTHS TO NO AVAIL. FINALLY, IN A LAST DESPERATE EFFORT TO FIND HIM, THE FATHER PUT AN AD IN A MADRID NEWSPAPER. THE AD READ: "DEAR PACO, MEET ME IN FRONT OF THIS NEWSPAPER OFFICE AT NOON ON SATURDAY. ALL IS FORGIVEN. I LOVE YOU. YOUR FATHER." ON SATURDAY 800 PACOS SHOWED UP, LOOKING FOR FORGIVENESS AND LOVE FROM THEIR FATHERS. (BITS & PIECES, OCTOBER 15, 1992, P. 13.)

WE ARE HERE TO CELEBRATE WITH DAD'S. AND WE ARE HERE TO SAY THANK YOU TO DAD'S. JUST AS THIS YOUNGER SON IN OUR SCRIPTURE STORY TODAY HAD A DAD WITH WHOM HE CAME TO UNDERSTAND THAT HE COULD CELEBRATE, I HOPE THAT YOU TOO HAVE THINGS YOU CAN CELEBRATE WITH YOUR DAD, THINGS FOR WHICH YOU CAN SAY THANK YOU.

THIS STORY TODAY ALSO HAS A DOUBLE MEANING. FOR THE FATHER IN THE STORY NOT ONLY IS AN EARTHLY FATHER, HE IS ALSO THE HEAVENLY FATHER.

THUS, WE HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER WHO IS GENEROUS TO US WITH THE GRACE AND BLESSINGS HE BESTOWS IN OUR LIVES. FOR IT IS THE HEAVENLY FATHER WHOM WE CAN THANK FOR THE GIFT OF A FATHER IN OUR LIVES.

WE HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LETS US MAKE OUR OWN MISTAKES. AT LEAST, IN MY OWN CASE, I UNDERSTAND THAT ALL TOO WELL.

YET, FORTUNATELY, TOO, WE HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER WHO FORGIVES.

WE HAVE A HEAVENLY FATHER WHO, WHEN WE ASK FOR THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS, RUNS TO EMBRACE YOU AND WELCOMES YOU HOME.

SO, MAY WE BE THANKFUL NOT ONLY FOR OUR EARTHLY FATHERS BUT FOR OUR HEAVENLY ABOVE AS WELL.

FINALLY, WE ARE ALL AWARE THAT IN TODAY'S SOCIETY THAT THERE ARE MANY CHILDREN OR YOUTH WITHOUT FATHERS.

AT THE BEGINNING OF THIS DECADE DAVID POPENOE WROTE AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "A WORLD WITHOUT FATHERS." HE GAVE SOME RATHER DEPRESSING STATISTICS THEN: IN JUST THREE DECADES, FROM 1960-1990, THE PERCENTAGE OF CHILDREN LIVING APART FROM THEIR BIOLOGICAL FATHER HAS MORE THAN DOUBLED, FROM 17% TO 36%. IT IS NOW ESTIMATED THAT BY THE TURN OF THE CENTURY, 50% OF ALL AMERICAN CHILDREN MAY GO TO BED AT NIGHT WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO SPEAK TO THEIR FATHER.

SO HOW ARE WE DOING? I AM SAD TO SAY THAT I FOUND AT LEAST ONE SOURCE WHICH CONFIRMED DAVID POPENOE'S PREDICTION.

IN AN ARTICLE ENTITLED "FATHERING FATHERLESS AMERICA" DR. SCOTT J. LARSON REPORTS: ONE IN TWO CHILDREN NOW GROW UP WITHOUT A FATHER IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IN OUR INNER CITIES ONLY ONE IN FIVE CHILDREN LIVE WITH THEIR FATHER. A WHOLE NEW MISSION FIELD HAS DEVELOPED IN AMERICA: FATHERING FATHERLESS KIDS.

PERHAPS THE MOST RELEVANT MISSIONARY CHALLENGE FOR OUR SOCIETY WAS PENNED BY THE APOSTLE PAUL IN HIS LETTER TO THE CORINTHIANS: EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVE TEN THOUSAND GUARDIANS IN CHRIST, YOU DO NOT HAVE MANY FATHERS, FOR IN CHRIST JESUS I BECAME YOUR FATHER. (I COR. 4:15 NIV) PAUL KNEW THAT THESE PEOPLE DIDN'T NEED ANOTHER TEACHER, THEIR NEEDS WERE MUCH DEEPER, THEY NEEDED A FATHER. ONE CAN'T BE A FATHER TO VERY MANY, BUT PAUL KNEW THAT GOD WAS CALLING HIM TO BE A FATHER TO SOME PEOPLE IN CORINTH.

IN RESPONSE TO THAT NEED OF FATHERLESS CHILDREN, I CAME ACROSS 11 PRACTICAL WAYS FOR MEN TO HELP.

THE LIST I CAME ACROSS INCLUDES.

11 PRACTICAL WAYS FOR MEN TO IMPACT FATHERLESS KIDS:

1. BE A MENTOR TO A BOY WITHOUT A FATHER THROUGH BIG BROTHER OR SOME OTHER AGENCY
2. CONTACT YOUR LOCAL JUNIOR OR SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL TO TUTOR A NEEDY KID
3. TEACH SUNDAY SCHOOL
4. BECOME A LEADER IN A YOUTH GROUP
5. MEET ONE-ON-ONE WEEKLY, WITH A BOY IN YOUR CHURCH OR NEIGHBORHOOD WHO DOESN'T HAVE A FATHER IN THE HOME
6. BECOME A LEADER IN BOY SCOUTS OR CUB SCOUTS
7. COACH LITTLE LEAGUE OR SOME OTHER SPORT
8. VOLUNTEER TO WORK WITH NEEDY KIDS IN AN INNER CITY MINISTRY
9. HIRE A POTENTIALLY "AT RISK" KID FOR YARD WORK OR IN YOUR BUSINESS
10. START A CHURCH-BASED SPORTS LEAGUE THAT REACHES OUT TO NEEDY KIDS IN THE COMMUNITY
11. LEAD A BIBLE STUDY IN A JUVENILE DETENTION CENTER OR GROUP HOME
(JUNE 1996 ISSUE OF THE STANDARD (PP 20-23), PUBLISHED BY THE BAPTIST GENERAL CONFERENCE, 2002 S. ARLINGTON HEIGHTS RD., ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL.)

SO, I INVITE US NOT ONLY TO CELEBRATE WITH FATHERS, BUT TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO CANNOT BE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH THEIR FATHER AS MUCH AS THEY WOULD LIKE AND TO REACH OUT TO THEM TOO.

LET US PRAY.

DEAR GOD,
WHETHER BY CALLING, VISITING OR REMEMBERING, WE ARE THANKFUL WE CAN CELEBRATE WITH OUR FATHERS TODAY AND THANK THEM.
HELP US ALSO TO REMEMBER THOSE WHO NEED SOMEONE TO BE LIKE A FATHER TO THEM AND REACH OUT TO THEM AS WELL.
FOR IN THE NAME OF OUR HEAVENLY FATHER, WE PRAY. AMEN.

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