FROM YOUR PASTOR’S HEART June 10, 2024

This coming Sunday is “Father’s Day.” This should be an important day for all of us, no matter what our present situation. The fact remains that none of us would be here without our earthly father. God’s plan was that a family would consist of a father, a mother and their offspring. We should be happy to celebrate the man who helped to give us life and bring us into this world.

Yet, the truth is that there is only one perfect Father, our Heavenly Father. The rest of us are humans, with faults, flaws and failings, like everyone else. The Bible is clear that the father is to be the head of the household and lead his family to God. We are told in Proverbs 22:6 to “train up a child in the way he should go.” In I Timothy 5:8 we are told that fathers are to provide for their household. Proverbs 13:24 teaches us that loving dads will also discipline their children promptly. However, Ephesians 6:4 warns the father: “do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”

We find examples of good fathers in the Word of God. The story of “The Prodigal Son,” found in Luke 15:20-24, teaches us that fathers never give up on their kids. King David was far from a perfect man, or even a great father, but in 1 Chronicles 29:19 we see where he prayed for his son, Solomon, who was to follow him as king of Israel. Moses told the people of Israel that the commandments of God were to be in their hearts and that “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when your rise up” (Deuteronomy 6:7).

One of the greatest gifts that you could give to your father next Sunday, would be to join him in worship of the Heavenly Father. Take this opportunity to give praise to the God who chose the man who would be your dad. If your father is with the Heavenly Father, like mine, then take some time to recall the good times that you shared and the many lessons that you learned from his example. I want to wish all of the dads in our Cordova Baptist Church family a “Happy Father’s Day!”

Serving in love,

Bro. Jim