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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
Revised 5/19/2022
A Father’s Responsibility
Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Introduction
:In recognition of Father’s Day I will preach on the topic of A Father’s Responsibility this morning. The concept of Fatherhood has been under attack for many decades and many of our societal elite now consider it to be something that is dangerous. Not the idea of a man’s role in bringing about a child, though even that has also been under attack, but more so the concept that a dad has responsibilities toward his family in leading, guiding, providing and protecting them. If a man acts like a man, feminists and their allies have hissy fits about supposed “male toxicity.” Such people consider the manly virtues to be poisonous when in reality it is the lack of them is a major cause in the rapid decline of our society.
We need more men, lots more men, that walk in integrity, are diligent in their work, and pursue the role God has given them as men embracing their responsibilities to God, to their families and to society. Men who properly fear the Lord and so strive to develop the godly qualifications of a Deacon such as being above reproach, temperate, prudent, respectable, dignified, honest, hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, gentle, and peaceable. Men who manage their own households well, are committed to one woman and keep their children under control with all dignity. Men who are humble instead of selfish and self-willed and generous instead of greedy. Men with self-control so that they are not quick-tempered, pugnacious or addicted to alcohol or drugs. Men who trust God to see beyond themselves and so are courageous to step out in the direction of what is fearful instead of cowering in fear or running away. (See: God’s Design for Men).
These are characteristics that were at one time common in American society and our heroes were men who modeled these virtues, but tragically, they are now greatly lacking. In our cancel culture society you will be attacked by the politically correct and the woke folk if you simply fail to show your support for their evils, so it takes even more courage to stand up for what is right before God. Yet God wants men to be courageous in proclaiming righteousness instead of trying to ignore evil.
I commend Tyler Jornov for speaking up at a recent School Board meeting against the pornographic and immoral literature being promoted at the school he attends. I commend those like Cris Hanganu who stood up to run for the School Board in his district to advocate education that is moral in character and stand against the lies and immorality that is being pushed in our public schools. I commend his wife, Sarah, who created Moms for Liberty to support such candidates. All of them have received their share of slander against them as I did for hosting a candidate forum in our own district because it was focused on letting such candidates proclaim their message. It would have been nice if those candidates had won and the literature promoting immorality was removed from the school, but the goal is to do what is pleasing to the Lord whether others heed or message or not. Do not be surprised by persecution since Paul warned in 2 Timothy 3:12 that “all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” And when persecution does come, remember that the last Beatitude Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount is that you are blessed when such persecution and slander happens because your reward in heaven is great and that was the way the prophets were treated. You are walking the same path as they did.
That brings us back to the subject for this Father’s day. Dad’s, God will hold you responsible for what you do as a dad. The pressure by society to conform to what it advocates can be very strong and even coercive, yet, as pointed out in Romans 12:2, you are not to be conformed to this world. You are to instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind through the influence of the Holy Spirit and God’s word. You are responsibile to make sure the same thing is happening with your children. What then does it mean to be a father and what responsibilities has God placed on you in that position? Everyone here needs to pay attention to this because if you are not a dad, you need to be encouraging and supporting those that are dads, and if you do not know what God commands dads you can’t do that.
Wives, make it better for everyone in your family by being the helpmeet God designed you to be. Build your husband up instead of undercutting him. For a long time the entertainment industry has presented dads as buffoons who are not respected. Ephesians 5:33 commands the wife to respect her husband. Your example will go a long way in helping your children to do the same even if they see the opposite in entertainment and in their friends. Proverbs 14:1 admonishes that “the wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tear it down with her own hands.” You who are single or are past the years of your active parenting because your kids are grown and out of the house, the men who are active dads in the present time need your encouragement in knowing and following the Lord’s direction and even practical help in fulfilling those responsibilities. And finally, these principles need to be fulfilled regarding the children even if the father is absent or failing them, and you may play a role in doing so as the mother, a relative, a care-giver, a teacher, a friend.
The Concept of Fatherhood
The concept of fatherhood is very important in the Bible. God refers to Himself often as our Father so this is of primary importance. A distorted concept of fatherhood may also distort your concept of God. I have noticed over the years that there is often a correlation between those people who have grown up with a father who failed in his role for various reasons – absent, neglectful, immoral, drunk, abusive, etc. – and those who struggle to believe that God is good, kind, merciful, gracious, just, etc.
The concept of fatherhood is also important in the Bible because God has a specific design for how the family is to operate, and at the head of it is the father. As a background for this I must point out that the concept and system of learning for the Israelites was related to the concept of fatherhood. A Hebrew boy would be apprenticed or trained by his father in that father’s trade – whether it be farming, carpentry, fishing, business, etc. The son had to be able apply his trade well enough to earn his own living at an early age. He might be married by his late teens. The father would also teach the boy the practical aspects of everyday living and the basic truths of the Law of God. The son would have to be able to understand and communicate the truths of God’s word before he could go through his bar-mitzvah, a ritual in which he became a “a son of the law,” and join the adult community. It was the responsibility of the father to teach his son all of these things.
Underlying the concept of the Rabbi as a teacher of the Law was the concept of fatherhood. The word Rabbi is based upon the Hebrew word “Ab” or “Abba” which means daddy. Boys who were going to study the Law would attach themselves to a Rabbi, and that Rabbi would become as a father to him. This was true of Paul and his relationship with Gamaliel. This was also true of Jesus and his relationship with the disciples. Jesus taught them, directed them, rebuked them and lived with them. His father image can be seen very clearly during the last supper which was a Passover meal. Jesus took the position that a father would take with his family during that meal.
The concept of fatherhood, and in specific the concept of the father as the spiritual teacher of the children, is demonstrated throughout both the Old and New Testaments.
Overview of Responsibilities
Now a father has many different responsibilities. Some of these are a great joy and others are a little harder to accomplish. A father is responsible to:
1. Provide the material needs of his family (Matthew. 7:9-1; 1 Timothy 5:8)
2. Instruct his children (Proverbs 1:8)
3. Exhort, encourage and implore children (1 Thessalonians 2:11)
4. Punish unruly children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
5. Raise the children in the discipline and nurture of the Lord without provoking them or exasperating them causing them to lose heart (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21)
6. Discipline his children (Hebrews12:7)
7. Love his wife (Ephesians 5:25,28,33)
Of course a father also gets the benefits of:
1. Children commanded to obey (Ephesians 6:1)
2. Children commanded to honor the parents (proper respect – Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 15:4, Ephesians 6:2)
3. Children directed to seek his advice (Deuteronomy 32:7; Proverbs 4:1; 23:22)
4. Children directed to care for him, if unable to do so himself (1 Timothy 5:8)
Most of these were well understood in generations past and most men understood and would fulfill what was expected of them. The vast majority of men would marry young by today’s standards and family was the center of life. His work in agriculture or a trade usually meant his children were nearby and he was intimately involved in their rearing. Boys would be alongside him and learn to work. Girls learned to keep house from their mother. Both parents actively trained the character of their children.
The industrial revolution brought a shift to cities and dads working long hours away from the family. Along with that the idea grew that dad provided for the family by supplying a paycheck, and the bigger the paycheck, the more successful he was as a father. Mothers took on more of the role of instructing the children which developed into the idea that the children were her responsibility. The Great Society laws of the 1960’s that developed our welfare system separated the mother from the father of her children by government not only replacing him as the provider but financially penalizing her if she marries him. That has caused no end of social problems which have been made far worse by the sharp moral decline over the last 60 years. For many decades since then between 21-24% of all children live in a home with just their mother, and that does take into account those homes in which the man who is there is not the father and may only be there a short time before being replaced by a different man. The idea of the mother having the primary responsibility and rights over children became entrenched in our society when abortion laws stripped the father of any ability to prevent the woman carrying his child from murdering their baby. In some subcultures of American society three-fourths (3/4) of children are born out of wedlock. Many men believe they have little to no responsibility when it comes to the children they have fathered.
With that in mind, the first responsibility of a man as a father is to be in the home with the children if at all possible. 1) Marry the woman before you have children with her, and if she does not want to marry you, then don’t play married with her – and that goes the other way around too! 2) If you failed in point one, then take on the responsibility to be involved in the lives of any children you have fathered regardless of your relationship with the mother. That means being with them, talking with them and being actively interested in the matters of their lives. Sending a support check and a gift on birthdays and at Christmas is not being a father. 3) As you learn the responsibilities that God has given to you as a father, then follow through on them and work hard to overcome any obstacles that are put in your way.
For the rest of this morning I will be concentrating upon the responsibility a father as the spiritual leader of the home and in particular the responsibility of rearing the children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord.
God’s Command – Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Turn to Deuteronomy 6. Moses is near the end of his life. He has led the children of Israel to the plains of Moab just across the Jordan river from Jericho. The generation that escaped Egypt has died in the wilderness, and their children are poised, ready and waiting to conquer and posses the land before them. But Moses has a problem. Many of those in this second generation were not yet born when God gave His law from Mt Sinai. Moses also knows that he will soon die and would not cross over into the land with them. How will he teach these people the Law of God so that all the future generations to come will know God, obey His commandments, and be prosperous and successful in the land? The name, “Deuteronomy,” means “second law.” In this book Moses retells the laws of God. Look at verses 1-3.
“Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the LORD your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the LORD your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Notice the reasons for the giving of the law, so that by keeping it:
1. Your life might be prolonged
2. That it might be well with you
3. That you may multiply greatly
Notice as well that this is for you, your son and your grandson. Three generations. Moses was also interested in the generations to come. How was Moses going to accomplish this task if he was not going to be there to teach them?
First, Moses reduced all of God’s law to its essential essence of a basic statement that encompassed all of the law. This is the Shema. “Hear, O Israel, The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5)
This is the passage that Jesus quoted in Matthew 22:35-40 when asked by a lawyer which was the great commandment in the Law. Jesus added that the second was like it, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and that the whole Law and the Prophets depended on these two commandments.
How to Carry Out the Command
After reducing the whole law to this basic precept, Moses gives his instructions on how this will be transferred from generation to generation in verses 6-9. It is from this section that we will draw our principles of how a parent can raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. This is how a father can rear his children in the Lord’s way.
“And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-9)
1. The Parent must love the Lord.
2. The parent must teach his child diligently.
3. The parent must model this life to his child.
Now I say parent instead of just father because the responsibility is upon both parents. If the dad is not a Christian or not following the Lord as he should, the mother is still responsible to train the children as best she can in the Lord’s way. The father has the greater responsibility before God for the spiritual welfare of his children. This is seen in a number of different passages.
Ephesians 6:4 is addressed to the fathers specifically; “fathers, do not provoke your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” This is repeated in Colossians 3:21. The principle is also found in that men are specifically designated as the head of the household in Ephesians 5:23. 1 Corinthians 11:3 also brings this out saying, “For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church,” The husband has the God given responsibility of directing the family.
However, the mother is also responsible. For example, Proverbs 1:8 states, “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and do not forsake your mother’s teaching,” and Ephesians 6:1 commands the children to obey their parents, not just the dad. She helps, but if he can’t or won’t, then she fulfills the command herself.
1. The Parent must love the Lord
Look back at Deuteronomy 6:6. “And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.” This is a very profound statement. Remember that references to the heart in the Scriptures refer to the seat of the will and belief and not emotion. In our society there is a strong tendency to separate what is thought from what is actually believed. This is a consequence of the Greek philosophy of our educational systems in which knowledge about something is considered learning whether the student can apply it to real life or not. However, the realities of life require wisdom which is the ability to apply true knowledge, and that usually requires some experience as well. If what you claim to know is false, you come to false conclusions. If your knowledge is too narrowly focused, you will lack the wisdom to practically apply it to life. In claiming that truth is fluid and absolute truth is denied, post-modern philosophy has made this much worse. And what has been bad in secular life is much worse in spiritual life.
It is not enough to make an intellectual assent to divine truth. The truth of what is believed is revealed in how you live regardless of what is claimed. Your actions arise from your heart (Matthew 15:19). You say you believe in and love God? How does your claim affect your purpose in life, your character, and your manner of life? Parents that want to teach their child God’s truths must first be affected by and experience those truths themselves. God’s truths are to result in a changed life and not just be left in the intellect.
This is a common reason for parents to fail in the proper rearing of their children. They may greatly desire for their children to grow up to be moral, responsible, productive adults, but because they have no foundation in God’s word on which to stand, they cannot pass on a stable foundation to their children. The children grow up and start challenging the parents’ value system. They want to see that what mom and dad have been saying is true. Too often mom and dad say one thing, but do another. Why? Because mom and dad do not really love God with all their heart, soul and might. They have not committed themselves totally to God. Mom and dad love themselves more than God, and that fact quickly becomes evident to the children. I guess I react a bit strongly to this because it has so strongly affected my generation and those that have followed. I cannot begin to recount all the people I have grown up with that turned away from actively following the Lord, and it has only become worse in the younger generations. For many of them, the hypocrisy they saw in their parents and other adults resulted in them concluding that what they were taught was a farce, a big lie, and they developed their own moral code of conduct, or perhaps I might more accurately say, their own immoral code of conduct based on their own desires.
How blessed are those raised by parents who have the Word of God on their hearts. They want good for their children and so they also want their children to know God and follow Him. They strive to demonstrate in every way that what is most important in their lives is knowing and following God. Their lives match what they say they believe. They are the same way wherever they may be – at church, at work, at home, on vacation. They are without guile. There is no hypocrisy. Not only are their children blessed, but so are their children’s friends who will see this as well. The truly godly parent has something that is real to pass on to the child.
If a parent wants to raise their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, the truths of the Word of God must be on their heart affecting their lives and not just in their minds.
2. The Parent must diligently teach his child
.Deuteronomy 6:7 “And you shall teach them diligently to your sons.” The word here for “teach” is not a passive impartation of knowledge. It is not simply giving information to your sons. The root meaning of this word means “to sharpen.” The idea is an active piercing of your son’s heart and mind with these truths. This means that there is work involved in teaching your children. You have to actively look for opportunities in which to teach both the information and stress the practical application of the lesson as well as the consequences of failing to apply the lesson.
A good example of this in action is in Joshua 4. Joshua takes command in chapter 1 and encourages the people for the task that is ahead. In chapter 2, Jericho and the surrounding land is spied out. In Chapter in 3, the children of Israel cross the Jordan river. In chapter 4, something odd happens. One man from each of the 12 tribes goes back into the river bed and picks up a stone. These stones are then set up together in the place in which they had made camp. Why? Joshua 4:6 – “Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
The stones of remembrance were set up so that parents would be prodded to teach their children about the Lord God of Israel and what He had done in that place for their ancestors. This is the diligence which we need to have in looking for and making opportunities to teach our children.
3. The parent must model this life to the children
Deuteronomy 6:7-9 “and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontalis on your forehead. And you shall write them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates.”
Notice when and where the lessons are to be taught to the children. It is during the course of normal daily activity in the common places and situations of everyday life. That is quite different from how most parents think about their children being taught the things of God. Most think it is the responsibility of the church. After all, isn’t that what all the various children’s programs are for? Certainly those are opportunities for your children to learn about God and how they should live, but they are not substitutes for the home. The church can only assist the parents in their responsibilities, and children’s programs are meant to be supplemental to the parents teaching, but too often they become the only place these kids are taught anything about the Lord. We rejoice for opportunities to bring the Gospel and basic truths of God’s word to children whose parents are not Christians. But professing Christian parents should not neglect this aspect of training their children thinking that some church program will take care of those needs.
Look at the location Deuteronomy 6 states parents should talk about God and teach their children .
A. When you sit in your house. Do you have a time of family devotions? What is the subject matter when your family gets together? What is discussed around the dinner table? Has entertainment, sports or hobbies divided the interests of your family so much that you do not talk as a family? Many families do not have family devotions or even sit at a meal with each other, and many that do leave on the TV or something else that distracts from family interaction. I am very grateful that in my parents home, distractions were turned off and the focus was on family interaction. It helped to strengthen us as a family, and it is amazing the things that we would learn during dinner conversations. I did the same with my family. Turn off the TV, radio and phones. If it is important, the caller can leave a message on the answering machine or service. Do something radical. Sit together during a meal time and talk about the things of the Lord. Do you talk of the Lord when you sit in your house?
B. When you walk by the way. When you travel with your children, do you talk about things of the Lord? Do you point out the things God has made, or point out the site of someplace where the Lord worked in your life or in the life of someone you know? Do you look for opportunities that will spark the interest of your child so that you can teach them some truth about God and how he wants them to live? Do you talk of the Lord when you walk by the way?
C. When you lie down. Are your thoughts centered on God when you get ready for bed? Do you spend the time to put your children to bed and pray with them? Or for that matter, do you take the time to pray with your spouse before you go to sleep? Seek to make the last act of the day one of worship. Psalm 4:8 says, “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for Thou alone, O Lord, dost make me to dwell in safety.” What pleasant and restful sleep there is knowing that the Lord is in control. Do you speak of the Lord when you lie down?
D. When you rise up. What is on your mind when you first get up? Are you one of those people that seems to consistently get up on the wrong side of bed? Are you one of those people that everyone runs away from (including the cat, dog) when you get up? I know, you’ll be fine once you have had your first cup of coffee. Why not be like David who says in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O LORD, Thou wilt hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to Thee and eagerly watch.” Why not put the day into the Lord’s hands and seek out ways to bring him praise in the coming day? Do you speak of the Lord when you get up?
And notice verses 8-9 of Deuteronomy 6, “And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontalis on your forehead. And you shall write them on the door-posts of your house and on your gates.” The Jewish use of Mezzuzas and Phylacteries are based on these verses. A Mezzuza is the little ornamental box found on the doorpost of a Jewish home, and Phylacteries are the boxes that Orthodox Jews strap to their foreheads and or wrists. Inside them is written copy of the Shema – Deuteronomy. 6:4-5.
What was Moses’ purpose in these instructions? Moses wanted the people to be reminded of the Lord whenever they entered or left their property or house. He wanted them to love the Lord with all their heart, soul and might as they did their daily work. He wanted them to be thinking about the Lord and His commands at all times.
The parent that wants to raise their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord must model that life before his child, because every area of life is involved. This requires a life given over to the Lord. This requires a heart after God like David’s. This is what the Lord desires from you. This is what he requires of parents.
Parents are role models for their children whether they want to be or not. For that matter, so is anyone else that interacts with your child or you allow to influence them including entertainment, social media and the internet. The question really is, what kind of role model for life are you and these other influences demonstrating? There are plenty of positive role models of godly fatherhood in the Scriptures including: *Seth (Genesis 5), his descendants were the righteous men of their age. *Job (Job 1), he sought God while looking out for the spiritual welfare of his kids. *Abraham (Genesis 22), whose life of faith was reflected in the life of Isaac. *Joshua (Joshua 24), who committed himself and his family to following after and serving the Lord. *King Asa (1 Kings 22:43), whose example set a model for good king Jehoshaphat to follow. There are also negative ones such as *Cain, whose descendants sought evil continually (Genesis 6) and *All the kings of Israel who themselves and their descendants were evil.
Keep in mind that even godly examples can have flaws that get passed down generationally unless there is humility to recognize it and correct it. Abraham lied to Pharaoh and Abimelech about Sarah saying she was his sister instead of wife because he was afraid. His son Isaac did the exact same thing. His grandson, Jacob, became known as a deceiver, and Jacob’s sons lied to him about Joseph. So be humble to admit your faults, correct them, and apologize to your children about them so that they can avoid them in their own lives.
A final point I need to make is that a proper perspective of responsibility must be maintained. Ezekiel 18:14-20 makes it clear that regardless of the father’s actions, the father and the son will each be held accountable only for their own actions. Each person is responsible before God for his own sins and cannot blame someone else for them. You cannot blame your mom and dad for your sin. But mom and dad can do a tremendous amount to help you in your fight against sin.
Conclusions
A godly father will
1. Love the Lord with all his heart, soul and might.
2. Be diligent in teaching his children Biblical truths. This includes being proactive to create opportunities and take advantage of unplanned opportunities.
3. Be a positive role model of a godly man in every area of life.
4. Be humble to admit faults and correct them. That will be a blessing to you, your family and others at any and every stage of life.
Your life is demonstrating something to your children, but what? Do you reflect a life devoted to the Lord, or devoted to satisfying your own needs? Do you show how to live a life pleasing to the Lord, or one of self seeking and pleasing yourself? Are you being diligent to make sure that the other major influences in the lives of your children will be complementary to what you are striving to teach them? So this includes all of you that are not dads.
If you are doing well at these things, then praise the Lord and keep going forward while encouraging other dads to do the same. If you are not doing very well at these things or you see areas to improve, then develop a plan of action to change it. Seek out whatever help is needed – and those of you who are not a dad, be quick to help and encourage them.
Sermon Notes – 6/19/2022 A.M.
A Father’s Responsibility – Deuteronomy 6:1-9
Introduction
We need men of ________character: Integrity, Diligence, Qualified to be Deacons, Trust God, Courageous
____________to stand up to Cancel Culture
Those _______________conformity to the world to be transformed by God – Romans 12:2
____________wives make it easier for their husbands to be godly
The Concept of Fatherhood
God uses the term “Father” for Himself, so distorted concepts of fatherhood give distorted concepts of ____
Hebrew fathers were to make sure their children were ____________skills for living and God’s law
A Rabbi – from Abba, daddy – were substitute ___________in teaching God’s law to others
Overview of Responsibilities
1. Provide the material needs of his family (Matthew. 7:9-1; 1 Timothy 5:8)
2. Instruct his children (Proverbs 1:8)
3. Exhort, encourage and implore children (1 Thessalonians 2:11)
4. Punish unruly children (Deuteronomy 21:18-21)
5. Raise the children in the discipline and nurture of the Lord without provoking them or exasperating them causing them to lose heart (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21)
6. Discipline his children (Hebrews12:7)
7. Love his wife (Ephesians 5:25,28,33)
The industrial revolution tended to ___________fathers from children & led to changes in family dynamics
Fathers became responsible to provided a paycheck and ___________became responsible for the children
1) Marry ___________ you have children.
2) Take responsibility to be involved with children regardless of the relationship with the mother
3) Learn the responsibilities God has given you as a father & strive to fulfill them
God’s Command – Deuteronomy 6:1-5
Moses is _______the Law to the second generation prior to their crossing over to conquer the promised land
Keeping the law was to 1) ________your life, 2) That it would be well with you, 3) That you would multiply
The “Shema” (vs. 4-5) is the essence of______________________(Matthew 22:35-40)
How to Carry Out the Command – Deuteronomy 6:6-9
The parents must 1) __________the Lord, 2) Be diligent to teach the children, 3) Model a life lived for God
The __________responsibility is on the dad – Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21; Eph. 5:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3
The mother helps, and if he can’t or won’t, she will _____________it herself – Prov. 1:8; Ephesians 6:1
1. The Parent must love the Lord – Deuteronomy 6:6
Heart refers to the seat of the ______and belief. Thought, action and belief should coincide, not be separated
Intellectual assent is _____ ______________for what is believed is revealed by how you live
Parents must live out the claim to love the Lord or they prove to be ______________to their children
Hypocrisy in parents (& other “Christians) is a primary reason for children to _________their parent’s faith
Parents who demonstrate their love for God in every area of life are a _________to their children – & others
2. The Parent must diligently teach his child – Deuteronomy 6:7
Teaching is an ___________piercing of your child’s heart and mind with the truths of God
The memorial stones in Joshua 4 is a good example of being ___________in creating opportunities to teach
3. The parent must model this life to the children – Deuteronomy 6:7-9
The _____________are responsible to teach their children about God – the church can only assist them in it
A. When you _______in your house – family devotions & meal times.
Turn _______the TV, radio & phones so you can interact with your family without distractions
B. When you ______by the way – while traveling from place to place point out things of God to them
C. When you ____down – read them Bible stories and moral tales, pray with them as they go to bed (Ps. 4:8)
D. When you ____up – start the day by helping them seek the Lord before the day’s activities begin (Ps. 5:3)
Mezzuzah’s & phylacteries used as ___________of God’s law in daily life
Moses instructed them to teach their children so that the ________generations would know God’s blessings
Parents are role models for their children, it is only a question of _____ _____of role model they are setting
Even otherwise godly role models have their flaws – be __________to confess, ask forgiveness, and correct
Ezekiel 18:14-20 – God holds each person is responsible for their _______sin – you can’t blame your parents
Conclusions
If you are doing well, praise the Lord! Keep doing it and be a ________to others to do likewise
If you need to improve, develop a _______and seek whatever help is need – & everyone encourage the dads
KIDS KORNER Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Count how many times the word “father” or “dad” is mentioned 2) Talk with your parents about the responsibilities God has given to fathers.
THINK ABOUT IT! Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. What are your observations of our society’s concept of fatherhood? Why is the concept of fatherhood important in the Bible? What is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? List as many responsibilities of a father that you can think of? What is a mother’s responsibility? Which are Biblilcal & which are cultural? Evaluate yourself in each of those areas? What is the purpose of Deuteronomy? What is the Shema and how does it fulfill Moses’ purposes? What were the benefits of keeping the law? What is the great commandment? According to Deut. 6:6-9, what must a parent do to raise their children in the Lord? What does your life reveal about your love for God? Why does it take diligence to teach children? What is effect of the parent’s example on the child? Where & when should a child be taught about the Lord? What is the role of the church in teaching children? Describe how you could teach a child in each of the following situations: Siting in the house; Walking by the way, Lying down and Rising up? What have you (will you) set up to remind your family of God & His commands? List some examples of godly fathers to emulate? What improvement can you make in your own example. How can you encourage dads to be godly?
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