GRANT COUNTY CHURCH OF CHRIST
JUNE 21,2009

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
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A FATHER'S PLEDGE


I pledge allegiance to my home...to my wife...to my sons and daughters. I will honor my home and consider my trust in supporting it a sacred one. I will do more than this. I will take time to cultivate a friendship between myself and my family. I will not be too busy when they need me...even though it is only to catch a football or mend a doll's broken leg. I will love my children as only I can. I will compliment their mother's hours of care and concern. I will introduce my children to Christ and share with them the joys of Christian values in a Christian home.


GOALS FOR FATHERHOOD
Jerry W. Carmichael

Families have changed drastically in the past 20 years. Over half of our children are being raised in homes where the parents don't live together. Millions don't even know who their fathers are! Abandonment by mothers is more common now than ever in our history. An ever increasing number of children are being raised in homes by homosexual partners. Horrible physical abuse is ever present with us. It is difficult to find all of the clear cut answers for every situation into which a family can get themselves

Being a parent is a great privilege (Psalms 127:4) "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them;" Most any man can father a child, but not every man is a good father. The primary goal for many fathers is to give his children large sums of money What does the Bible say about goals for fathers.

Father hood is a God-given position (Genesis 1:28).

We should strive for the following goals as fathers:

I. ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR
OUR CHILDREN:
Many young men want the pleasures of sex, who are not willing to accept the responsibilities of fatherhood! Sex carries with it serious, sobering responsibilities. Often when one conceives outside of marriage, she is encouraged to have an abortion, which results in the murder of a child! “Do not sin against the child" (Gen.42:22). Being a father has many great rewards, but it also carries with it backbreaking, stay awake at night, constant anxiety, never-ending worry and responsibilities! Unless one is ready to handle these responsibilities, he'd better abstain from the activity that causes fatherhood in the first place! Abandonment is not an option for the good father.

II. PROVIDE FOR THE NEEDS OF
OUR CHILDREN:
1 Timothy 5:8- " But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” The needs of a child are many and varied: They need food, shelter and clothing.. They also need attention/time, this is part of being a father (Ephesians 6:4). A man who becomes so busy in his career, or with recreational activities that he has no time left for his family is not a good father. A child who has his father's love and time, doesn't need to be in style or have a great deal of money and fancy things!


III. BE GOOD EXAMPLES:
1Timothy 4:12- "Be thou an example" is especially important when it comes to being a parent. Children learn from what they see more than what they hear. “Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations; ask thy father and he will show thee; thine elders will tell thee” (Deut.32:7).

IV. DISCIPLINE CHILDREN
PROPERLY:
Proverbs 22:15 “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; the rod of correction will drive it far from him”.

V. TEACH CHILDREN THE
IMPORTANCE OF HONEST
LABOR:
"He who does not teach his child a trade, trains him to be thief." Mankind is to earn his bread by the sweat of his face." "If any will not work, neither let him eat" (2Thessalonians3:10). To give a child everything without requiring him/her to work teaches them to depend on others for their living.

VI. BE FAITHFUL, CHRISTIAN
FATHERS:
No man reaches his full potential in life apart from God. There are good non- Christian fathers out there, but not as good as they could be if they were Christian fathers, being guided by God and His word! Josh 24:15 The most important lesson one can show his child is "The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of knowledge" (Proverbs 1:7)