“Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, that your days may be prolonged and that it may go well with you on the land which the Lord your God gives you.” Deuteronomy 5:16

“I dreaded coming to church on Father’s Day. I always left feeling like a failure. Today was different. It was like Mother’s Day without the carnations!”, these are the paraphrased words of an honest man. The title of my message was “Making Dad Glad”. My own father’s influence greatly impacted my preaching on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. He often reminded me that these special days of worship would provide the best opportunity to impact the largest number of ears and hearts,  “Don’t beat them up. Lift them up.”

Why is this so important? Aren’t Mother’s and Father’s Day redundant, feel-good services? Not if they are taken seriously. The transformational impact of the preaching and teaching of God’s Word should never be underestimated. Unfortunately, too often the subtle and not so subtle attacks of Satan against God’s order have been underestimated. Over the years, in the church and society, liberalism has gained momentum. With precision, the Biblical role of manhood in home, church, and state has been targeted for destruction. Coupled with his old nature’s inclination to avoid responsibility, man has more often than not, waved the white flag of surrender. The casualty of this surrender has been the family as the cornerstone of the church and state.

God’s Word holds the power to transform. Truths the Spirit of God can use to shape men of God. It begins with God’s desire that every man be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4). From this new beginning, every man in Christ needs to be discipled. Sowing the seeds of Scripture on Father Day is an opportunity worth seizing. A day to encourage, teach, and uphold men and their God-ordained role. Men, God calls to take their place in home, church, and state, as His servants. Men, he promises to never fail.